To Hose or Not to Hose
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@Carrie Stuart You are correct, Carrie. "Knickers" and "bloomers" are two terms that came to mind when I wrote that line. And I think "pannyhose" is just a way of "defusing" the word a bit -- sort of saying it without really saying it.
And I agree that "sheer" is a very attractive and very feminine word. Sheer Energy, sheer-to-waist, "sheer without fear" are all very sexy and sensuous concepts in my mind.
And speaking of Sheer Energy, we're quickly approaching Easter, a holiday where girls (who were about to turn into women) were often given their first pair of pantyhose by their mothers, neatly packaged in little plastic eggs. With any luck, they fell in love with them for a lifetime. How I miss those innocent days... 😭
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@Carrie Stuart Here's a bright and beautiful Sheer Energy egg for you, Carrie:
Both L'eggs and No Nonsense were very big here in the states. In fact, besides the popular TV and magazine ads and store displays, I used to see L'eggs delivery vans travelling along the roadways up until the '90s -- something I never saw for any other clothing item... EVER.
I developed such a strong affection for pantyhose growing up (and for the women who wore them), that even the mere sight of a L'eggs egg was enough to send my heart racing. 😍
Nearly 50 years ago, L'eggs introduced their first sheer-to-waist pantyhose, and ran this ad in the May 1973 issue of "Good Housekeeping" magazine promoting it:
How amazing is it that something that can fit in the palm of a woman's hand can stretch and grow to envelop more than half of her body, while hiding nothing and enhancing her natural beauty in the process! Perhaps some unintended symbolism exists between pantyhose elasticity and that of a man's anatomy that I didn't realize while growing up, but I saw it (and certainly felt it) even to this day.
After making this incredible breakthrough 50 years ago, L'eggs sheer-to-waist pantyhose are hidden in obscurity today. They make an "Everyday" style where they pack 3 STW pairs into a really ugly cardboard box, but good luck finding them in stores where women might see them and want to purchase them.
Instead, what women typically find in stores are styles that are meant to compensate for what might politely be described as a combined "calorie management and lack of exercise problem". 🤭 (Maybe that's why pantyhose are so often sold in drugstores?)
And perhaps one of the reasons physically fit women shy away from pantyhose is that they have come to believe they're designed to correct a physical or medical problem they don't have (and would be embarassed to draw attention to by wearing pantyhose, if they did).
If that's true, then I think the time has come for mainstream hosiery companies to focus on promoting sheer-to-waist pantyhose as their "baseline" product, and put their "girdle hose" styles on the backburner where they belong.
50 years ago we knew that it was the reinforcements, T-bands, control panels and control tops that conceled a woman's natural beauty and made pantyhose look old and feel uncomfortable. And yet, today, that's all you see being promoted and sold in mainstream stores.
It seems like there's a golden oppotunity out there for someone who remembers history and is willing to change the tide of the future.
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@JA Ya, that's them!! LoL...exactly what I wore in uniform for a few years in the 80s. Eventually, they became easier to find in Canada, but for a while they were either sold out or never stocked in the drugstores I used to shop at. So, I'd have to dash off the airplane during a 1 hour turnaround and walk quickly through the terminal building in search of a L'eggs display in the hope that all the local flight attendants hadn't already exhausted their inventory of Sheer Energy...very popular with women who spent a lot of time on their feet during the working day.
They weren't that aesthetically attractive, at least not compared to other regular styles. There was something about the thread and the weave that made them look less sheer. But they weren't as ugly as medical support hosiery, that some flight attendants wore. (and likely still do) For me, they were a compromise between the 2 parameters of a nice look and a nice feel on your legs.
A couple of things you stated are a little difficult for me to get on board with. The statement or conjecture on your part as to why physically fit women shy away from wearing pantyhose having to do with not wishing to draw attention to a medical or physical problem, is a bit of a reach. I think the true reasons a lot of women don't even think about wearing pantyhose has more to do with convenience, efficacy when getting dressed for work, and the fact that they've worked very hard in the gym to obtain the legs and tight butt(s) they now have that they simply wish to display their hard work in its natural state...nude, bare and lotioned to a healthy glow. It's an attempt to show off their lifestyle of fitness and healthy living, as well as earn some street cred among their peers. Wearing pantyhose over those sculpted gams could be viewed as cheating, and therefore disqualify that person from any potential lauding of praise that might be otherwise bestowed upon them. I'm being somewhat facetious, but the point stands that women prefer to keep things natural these days...ever hear of the no-make up look? Even though you wear some make up, the purpose is to look as though you haven't gone to the effort and expense to do so in order to look "good". Pantyhose, when worn, follow a similar way of thinking. The idea is to match the nude shades as closely as possible to ones own natural skin tone so as to give the appearance that your legs aren't actually covered by hosiery. They just "naturally" look that flawless.
But I'm with you in general, and would have no issue whatsoever, if times evolved such that a sheer pair of natural or nude shade pantyhose was adopted as the default baseline upon which the rest of ones fashionable appearance was built. For me, it pretty much is anyway, as rarely a day goes by that I'm not wearing a pair of sheer hosiery. When a friend sees me in some skinny jeans, socks and runners, they'll joke about it and ask if all my pantyhose are in the wash today. It's a rare look for me not be in a skirt and heels with the prerequisite pair of sheer hosiery on my legs.
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@Carrie Stuart I said it before, and I'll say it again. The world needs more women like you, Carrie. You get it. Most women don't, and even if they do, they would be too embarassed to admit it and do something about it.
There's a very attractive and intelligent woman who works at the same company as I do. Our paths used to cross on a daily basis up until around the year 2000. She always wore pantyhose, heels, and a skirt. While other women frequently wore similar clothing during that time period, her legs were in a class by themselves.
There was once a job related event that took place on a weekend. I didn't attend, but during the week that followed, I overheard some co-workers comment that she was there and was wearing shorts and "stockings", and looked incredibly attractive in her casual attire.
Years went by and we all moved around to different parts of the company. She earned advanced degrees while working full-time and steadily climbed the corporate ladder. I hadn't seen her in perhaps 20 years, but our paths crossed a few years ago. She's no longer wearing heels, hose, and skirts, but has dressed down significantly to pants, socks, and flats. (a.k.a. men's wear)
One thought I had was that if panythose have fallen out of style, then she might prefer to wear pants than to submit to the lazy, crazy, bare legged look.
And I'm all for the "natural look" you mentioned, Carrie. Blue hair, tatoos, piercings, and fake eyelashes from the 60s don't look attractive to me at all. And while there's certainly more to people than just their looks and how they dress, I have to question what's going on in the heads of anyone who would go out of their way to dress like it's Halloween 365 days of the year. 😄
To me, pantyhose, when intelligently chosen and properly worn, can significantly improve the appearance, atrractiveness, and confidence of any woman, even if she spends considerable time and effort at the gym to keep her physical appearance in top-notch condition. I wouldn't consider wearing pantyhose as "cheating" any more than having power steering in your car or indoor plumbing in your house. It's the 21st century and we're living in a hi-def world, so why not use all the tools we have available to us to make life more enjoyable for everyone?
And speaking of L'eggs, one final chuckle. One of the company's slogans used to be, "She's got L'eggs". I would like to suggest that a woman not wearing pantyhose as someone who's got L'oggs:
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