Hitherto elegant, sadly exposed (2,3,10)
I believe the answer is:
in the altogether
'exposed' is the definition.
(both can mean naked)
'hitherto elegant sadly' is the wordplay.
'sadly' indicates an anagram.
'hitherto'+'elegant'='hithertoelegant'
'hithertoelegant' anagrammed gives 'IN THE ALTOGETHER'.
(Other definitions for in the altogether that I've seen before include "unclothed" , "barely seen" , "wearing nothing?" , "exposed" , "Naked" .)