Well gosh darn, this is so helpful. I just signed on to BYC this morning hoping for some words of wisdom about leg coverage, and get barraged with information! Thank you all so much.
So the upshot is that if you are forced to wear a dress, are very fair-skinned and freckled, and don't mind being squeezed to death and having the circulation cut off in one or both legs, you should wear pantyhose to make your outfit look more "finished" and sleek.
Purplechicken, I will work on getting photos for you.
By the way, nobody mentioned hose with the seams up the back. Don't bother, if you can manage to get them perfectly vertical and centered, they stay that way for approximately five paces.