I don't know about you, but tights are one of the trickiest items for me to style. I never seem to know what shoes go best and what hemlines to wear. If you're in the same boat, you've come to the right place. I scoured photos across Instagram, street style galleries, and red carpets to come up with some stellar outfit ideas to wear with tights as well as the mistakes to avoid.

Now, don't freak out when you hear the word "mistakes," because I'm a huge proponent of anyone dressing as they please.

I just wanted to provide some guidance in case you want to see how well-dressed women are (and are not) styling tights right now. So without further ado, keep scrolling to read my tips.

An easy rule of thumb: Show your legs! If your outfit only reveals a couple of inches of leg, it may be a bit awkward to wear tights. For example, instead of wearing tights with midi skirts, style them with knee-high boots that cover your leg entirely.

In my opinion, tights are best for when you're wearing short hemlines.

I often find myself wearing tights with casual boot outfits, but don't forget that tights look excellent with pointy-toe pumps for a night out. Just grab your best LBD and your favorite semi-sheer tights and you're good to go.

Black tights are certainly the classic choice, but plenty of well-dressed women are having fun with colorful tights as well. Cult luxury shoe designer Amida Muaddi, for instance, even designed her own bright green tights in collaboration with Wolford.

While it's true that many of our outfit examples in this story feature black shoes, they are far from your only option. Don't be afraid to contrast your black tights with white shoes like these women expertly pulled off below.

Next, 27 awesome winter finds from H&M and Zara that will sell out by December.