Hosiery! To wear or not to wear?

[maccers]

Recently, there have been a few threads on PS about dress style, what to wear or not...my question has been partly answered in perusing the other threads but I'd like some specifics when it comes to hosiery, pantyhose, sheers etc.

Today, I wore a classic navy dress to work. It's tailored, slim fitting but not tight, to the knee, 3/4 sleeves, crew neckline...i threw a blazer over it because I have a meeting later on -- I've gotten several positive comments on my outfit, I don't wear dresses all that often to work. I chose to wear sheer pantyhose, my legs look like they have a slight tan which is nice. A colleague of mine made a comment today that no one wears pantyhose anymore and that it's dated. I asked her what people do as an alternative and she didn't have an answer. I work in a government office environment, dress code is business attire but you don't have to wear suits everyday. I consider myself to be a good dresser, I'm mid-30s...is pantyhose dated? I feel uncomfortable with the idea of having bare legs, tanned or not. I'll continue to do what I'm comfortable with but I am wondering if I need to revise my views on hosiery?

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

Well, my mother still wears pantyhose, so to me, that is for an older woman. Even then, I try to talk her out of it (she doesn't have legs that need them). I just go without. Unless it's fall and I'm wearing some colored tights/hose, I think a bare leg is nicer to look at. I'm 30, if that helps.

 

[aviastar]

I'm with Fancy- I tend to go bare when the weather allows it and tights in lots of colors and patterns when it's chilly. I'm also 30.

I don't think hosiery has to feel dated, but agree that it can. I think a sheer stocking with some interest, like a seam line up the back, can be very sexy. Or a nude, small gauge fishnet is understated, but with an edge and doesn't leave legs bare if you like some extra coverage.

I love playing with stockings as the pop element of a fall/winter outfit, but usually I am simply too warm to bother with them in the summer.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I am 42 and work in a finance firm. We are business casual dress, but I wear nylons with my skirts and dresses. It just seems more professional *to me.* I am also in the rare spot of being one of the few women who is not in an admin capacity (there are only 5 women out of a firm of 80 people outside of EAs), so I am very conscious of my presentation. Long winded answer, yes, I wear hosiery to the office.

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

I'm with Fancy- I tend to go bare when the weather allows it and tights in lots of colors and patterns when it's chilly. I'm also 30.

I don't think hosiery has to feel dated, but agree that it can. I think a sheer stocking with some interest, like a seam line up the back, can be very sexy. Or a nude, small gauge fishnet is understated, but with an edge and doesn't leave legs bare if you like some extra coverage.

I love playing with stockings as the pop element of a fall/winter outfit, but usually I am simply too warm to bother with them in the summer.

I totally forgot about this option! The ONLY pair of nude tight/hose that I own are fishnets. They don't look like fishnets unless you're really close, but they also don't look like pantyhose either.

 

[aviastar]

I'm with Fancy- I tend to go bare when the weather allows it and tights in lots of colors and patterns when it's chilly. I'm also 30.

I don't think hosiery has to feel dated, but agree that it can. I think a sheer stocking with some interest, like a seam line up the back, can be very sexy. Or a nude, small gauge fishnet is understated, but with an edge and doesn't leave legs bare if you like some extra coverage.

I love playing with stockings as the pop element of a fall/winter outfit, but usually I am simply too warm to bother with them in the summer.

I totally forgot about this option! The ONLY pair of nude tight/hose that I own are fishnets. They don't look like fishnets unless you're really close, but they also don't look like pantyhose either.

I had a pair that were my absolute favorite nude stocking option- I think there were Vera Wang's Kohl's line- and I wore them for years! They were so great- no runs, perfect color/size of fishnet holes so they didn't look trashy, comfy waistband, no crotch droopage; but they finally gave up the ghost last year and I have never found their equal

 

[NewShiny]

I'm 35 and would not wear hose in warm weather. I grew up in the CA desert and now live in the humid South though, so maybe where you are from/where you live has something to do with it? I also work in a conservative dressing industry too.

Now opaque tights + tall boots in cold weather? Bring them on - I love them!

 

[Smith1942]

I'm in my thirties, and wearing a suit skirt or any kind of formal dress without tights seems odd to me. I only became aware that tights were considered "old" when people started saying that about Kate Middleton wearing them.

In addition, doesn't wearing proper shoes (as opposed to summery sandals) with bare feet make your shoes all sweaty? I'd only have bare legs if I was in a very warm climate and wearing a summery dress with flip-flops.

I agree that a lot of tights CAN be very grannyish - the thick ones in darker tan colours. Ew! But if you have 7 denier in a very nude colour, they just airbrush any skin flaws and give your shoes something to grab onto! Sometimes I see pictures of women in newspapers wearing nice dresses and shoes with bare legs, and even if they have good legs you can see all the little skin flaws and knobbly knees - often, they would look much better with very fine tights in the right colour. I read this article the other day, and it's a good example of what I mean.

Scroll down to this woman's pictures of her wearing dresses after she lost all the weight. She has great legs, but the knees let her down. Her legs would look even better in 7 denier tights in the right colour.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2335123/Being-married-fat-Obese-wife-Taryn-Wright-Grays-Essex-lost-7-stone-year-leaving-husband.html

 

[marymm]

I'm a California girl with two years recently spent in New York City - I work in legal support field - and I very rarely see women wearing sheer skin-tone hosiery - if I do see hosiery, it is dark in color (black, navy, coffee) and often sheer. I do not consider dark hosiery to be dated, but skin-color hosiery does look out-of-fashion/dated to me.

Still, I believe fashion and trends are one thing, and style is something else - if you find yourself feeling and looking right in your outfits when you wear sheer nude hose, then forget about other people's opinions. Whether I am in Nordstroms or Target, there is definitely quite a bit of shelving devoted to hosiery, so clearly there is a market.

But I guess I would add the caveat, in the workplace if you aspire to promotion and/or to longevity, you may want to take a look at how your colleagues and those above your work level dress - and not just those in your age group. If none of them wears hosiery, I might think again on this issue. If hosiery in your workplace is widely considered dated and no one other than you wears it, it is possible you will be perceived as out of touch or slow to change... (Just putting this out there - this is not my mindset but HR and employers often make promotion and salary decisions based on considerations outside of pure workplace performance)

 

[ChristineRose]

I'm not sure how people can wear closed shoes without any hosiery or sock. I'm talking about pumps and the like. Your feet will get all torn up and the shoes will get ick pretty fast. And where I live it snows in the winter.

Anyhow, I always wear socks or hose because I'm allergic to chromium which is used to tan most leather. I have some vegetable tanned boots and sandals but they don't fit well because they only come in a limited range of sizes and they give me friction blisters. I have some cloth sandals, which I rarely wear to work.

 

[maccers]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies and different perspectives. I believe I need to re-think my view of hosiery. Growing up, my mom was a firm believer in wearing hosiery at work and I still recall her saying that naked legs were not appropriate in an office environment. This was drilled into me, apparently.

Newshiny - You make a good point about where we live and how we dress. Where I live, summers are short and not very warm, right now we're lucky to hit 20C. People are fairly conservative here, I think in large part due to cold, long and dark winters. We don't get to wear our summer wardrobes for very long -- most people invest in interesting and trendy fall/winter clothes. This isn't Miami, that's for sure!

For the ladies that wear fishnets or patterns - I think I'm going to continue wearing hose but I will be on the lookout for small fishnets or something subtle but less dated. My concern there is 'looking sexy' -- again something I don't think is appropriate for work. But perhaps I'm more old fashioned (hahaha punny!) in my thinking than I realized. Any recommendations? Too bad about the Vera Wang!

Marymm - Another good point for me to think about. Senior executive women at my place of work, for the most part, wear hosiery, or, at least the ones I wish to emulate wear it. Though I have to say, working in government, the spectrum of acceptable office fashion is very broad.

Smith - I have a similar type of question about nylons and peep toe shoes. I don't wear my peep toe shoes with dresses at work because I can't wear nylons with them. So they stay in my closet and I feel sad that I'm not wearing them more. What to do?

 

[iluvshinythings]

I was kind of sad when I found out that pantyhose were out of date. I think they do look more professional and are warmer. I typically wear tights and dark hose (black or navy) in the colder months or for formal wear (funerals, weddings, interviews). In the summer I go bare.

I'm 46 and I do think my legs would look a lot better with a little coverage but I don't want to look like the grandma that I am.

 

[aviastar]

Express carries the nude fishnet, but I haven't tried them yet myself. Nordstrom has some very cute lace, opaque, and patterned tights, as does Modcloth. Some are more workplace appropriate than others, of course.

 

[chemgirl]

I think in general they're seen as part of professional attire. For example, my sister the lawyer buys cases of them at Cosco to wear to work. On the other hand, I work in a lab and would never wear a skirt or dress to work. If I wear a dress, it will be a sundress or something for a fun night out. I generally don't wear nylons or hosiery (except bold tights in the winter, Canada is cold!)

 

[amc80]

I work in a a large office (1000 people or so) and there is a wide variety of dress codes, depending on the department. I need to look around but I don't think any of the women wear pantyhose. Personally, I've never been able to wear a pair without them getting runs in them. Thank goodness I can wear jeans every day

 

[momhappy]

Unless dictated by some other norm (like a professional dress code, cultural norm, etc.), yes, pantyhose are outdated. The only people I see wearing them these days are older women and/or certain professional women.

 

[AprilBaby]

Neither my best friend or I (54/55) have owned any hose for the last twenty years. Only seniors wear them around here. We go bare leg or pants.

 

[ForteKitty]

Scroll down to this woman's pictures of her wearing dresses after she lost all the weight. She has great legs, but the knees let her down. Her legs would look even better in 7 denier tights in the right colour.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2335123/Being-married-fat-Obese-wife-Taryn-Wright-Grays-Essex-lost-7-stone-year-leaving-husband.html

Do you really think her legs look bad? Tights would look terrible with any of those dresses unless she had boots on.

 

[Niel]

Neither my mother nor my mother wear them. I am 24 she 55. Both of us feel they are too dated. I dont consider fashion tights like colored tights or fishnets to be the same thing

 

[Kaleigh]

Do what makes you feel good.

 

[Kaleigh]

I don't love the feeling squished they give me. I gave them up a long time ago.. But also get there is a time and a place for them. But havent felt that myself. Sons graduation I got a spray tan on arms and legs...

 

[iheartscience]

Scroll down to this woman's pictures of her wearing dresses after she lost all the weight. She has great legs, but the knees let her down. Her legs would look even better in 7 denier tights in the right colour.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2335123/Being-married-fat-Obese-wife-Taryn-Wright-Grays-Essex-lost-7-stone-year-leaving-husband.html

Do you really think her legs look bad? Tights would look terrible with any of those dresses unless she had boots on.

Yeah she looks fantastic. Knees are meant to stick out and have wrinkly skin on them. It's hilarious that you think her knees somehow make her look worse. I guarantee any man or woman who saw her IRL wouldn't notice her knees.

I never wear hose, just black opaque tights in the fall/winter. Hose look dowdy and are uncomfortable. I don't GAF if someone doesn't like my knees.

 

[usnwife]

I hate wearing pantyhose. However, I still believe that pantyhose look more professional and refined. I guess in a society where wearing flip flops with a dress is now common, pantyhose and class are probably considered dated. If your legs aren't airbrushed, most ladies could probably use the cover and refinement pantyhose provide. Now, if we could just make a pair that are comfortable and don't run, we could all have unlimited funds for our diamond addictions.

 

[manderz]

I'm in my thirties, and wearing a suit skirt or any kind of formal dress without tights seems odd to me. I only became aware that tights were considered "old" when people started saying that about Kate Middleton wearing them.

In addition, doesn't wearing proper shoes (as opposed to summery sandals) with bare feet make your shoes all sweaty? I'd only have bare legs if I was in a very warm climate and wearing a summery dress with flip-flops.

I agree that a lot of tights CAN be very grannyish - the thick ones in darker tan colours. Ew! But if you have 7 denier in a very nude colour, they just airbrush any skin flaws and give your shoes something to grab onto! Sometimes I see pictures of women in newspapers wearing nice dresses and shoes with bare legs, and even if they have good legs you can see all the little skin flaws and knobbly knees - often, they would look much better with very fine tights in the right colour. I read this article the other day, and it's a good example of what I mean.

Scroll down to this woman's pictures of her wearing dresses after she lost all the weight. She has great legs, but the knees let her down. Her legs would look even better in 7 denier tights in the right colour.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2335123/Being-married-fat-Obese-wife-Taryn-Wright-Grays-Essex-lost-7-stone-year-leaving-husband.html

I wear these with dress shoes! Super comfy!

http://www.payless.com/store/product/detail.jsp?catId=cat10375&subCatId=cat10281&skuId=084590005&productId=69594&lotId=084590&category=&catdisplayName=Accessories

FWIW, I don't wear hose. I wore fishnets for my wedding, and that's the first and last time I've worn them in YEARS. I'm at the end of my 20's. I think the girl in the article looks wonderful! I never would have thought her legs looked bad. Knees are simply not a super attractive part of the body (mine are all scarred anyway) but it's just a fact of life, IMO.

 

[maccers]

Wow, I am just shocked at how few ppl wear hose! I had no idea. And I can't believe that I'm dated in this respect! I going to pay strict attention tomorrow at work for who wears hose, what they are wearing it with, their age, and does it look good. Truly ladies, I'm shocked. I'm sure you're all envisioning me as a terribly dressed mid-30s gal

 

[madelise]

Scroll down to this woman's pictures of her wearing dresses after she lost all the weight. She has great legs, but the knees let her down. Her legs would look even better in 7 denier tights in the right colour.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2335123/Being-married-fat-Obese-wife-Taryn-Wright-Grays-Essex-lost-7-stone-year-leaving-husband.html

Do you really think her legs look bad? Tights would look terrible with any of those dresses unless she had boots on.

That lady has really nice legs, even when she was larger!


I don't wear pantyhose unless it's a dark black to wear under dresses that I think are too short and show off too much skin. It makes me feel less slutty if I wear dark hose underneath them. I also find the trend of wearing colored hose a great way to balance too-short skirts and dresses. One of my favorite outfits is to wear a black sheath dress in the mini length, with an opaque burgundy pair of pantyhose. It looks fabulous in the fall!

Honestly, pantyhose are just a PITA to put on and take off. And I hate worrying about them running, then replacing them when they're damaged. My old employer use to enforce that we wear pantyhose everyday, even under pants (short ones were okay, as long as our skin was "covered"… you know, those 2 inches of skin that show between your shoes and your pants! ridiculous.) and I hated it. Absolutely hated it. When I resigned, I threw all of those things out as therapy

But hey, if YOU like them, why not? Honestly, I can't even tell if someone is wearing nude hose unless I'm really paying attention…. Who the hell stares at others' legs that much?

 

[monarch64]

Oh, boy. Maccers, nothing against you, but I think this thread is hilarious. I haven't worn hosiery for years and years, not even with suits (pants or skirts!) My first "real" job, post-college, required females to wear hosiery and close-toed heels, and although I excelled at my position and was awarded honors and promoted several times, I didn't last more than 9 months there before moving on. I just couldn't reconcile squeezing myself into sausage casings day in and day out.

I'm probably close to your age, graduated high school in 1995. Even back then, girls had just stopped wearing hose under their prom dresses. Hosiery was reserved for professional occasions only. I think, with the advent of Spanx, shaper undergarments, and the prevalence of liposuction, , we females have evolved into not NEEDING to encase lower bodies into nylon/lycra/spandex tubing. (Thank deity of your choice.)

Now, I do believe that if you have a lot of jiggle in your wiggle, you should make an effort to control it in any professional situation. Meaning, if your ass shakes like jello when you're walking across a room, maybe you should contain it in some Spanx or some sort of controlling undergarment so as not to feed the fantasies of your subordinates. There's nothing wrong with having a gloriously jiggly ass, don't mistake me, but it can send the wrong message in a corporate setting. Same with boobs. They make all sorts of well-fitting holsters for the ladies, so that nobody gets too turned on by being exposed to your goodies at work.

 

[missy]

Scroll down to this woman's pictures of her wearing dresses after she lost all the weight. She has great legs, but the knees let her down. Her legs would look even better in 7 denier tights in the right colour.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2335123/Being-married-fat-Obese-wife-Taryn-Wright-Grays-Essex-lost-7-stone-year-leaving-husband.html

Do you really think her legs look bad? Tights would look terrible with any of those dresses unless she had boots on.

Yeah she looks fantastic. Knees are meant to stick out and have wrinkly skin on them. It's hilarious that you think her knees somehow make her look worse. I guarantee any man or woman who saw her IRL wouldn't notice her knees.

I never wear hose, just black opaque tights in the fall/winter. Hose look dowdy and are uncomfortable. I don't GAF if someone doesn't like my knees.

Huge ditto to this. Smith-I think this woman's knees, legs and everything else looks fantastic and I don't even know what you are talking about with her knees.

I haven't worn pantyhose for decades. Never liked them, never could get past one wearing without ripping them and once I stopped wearing them I never looked back.

I just recently started wearing shorter dresses (I never wear pantyhose anymore-hate them) and had to get over my self consciousness about my knees. I'm with thing2 now - I don't GAF what other people think about my knees and it took me some time to get there because I am my own worst critic (like most people are). You know what, I worked hard to get to where I am and my knees are imperfect sure but they are my knees and allow me to do all that I do and I am thankful they are both working and I show them off proudly- too bad if they are not "model" perfect. I love them (though it took me a while to get there).

In the colder weather I wear leggings and boots with my short dresses and now thanks to my new attitude I wear short dresses with nothing on my (very pale) legs in the warmer weather. It's very freeing. Ofc I don't work in a corporate environment so I guess it would depend on your work environment, because it sounds like you may have less freedom in dressing than I do maccers, but personally pantyhose are a no no for me.

 

[Rhea]

I'm in my early 30's and only wear hose and tights if it's cold outside. I haven't worked in professional environment for years but rarely see women wearing hose in the summer. I think of the nude ones as what an older woman would wear. If younger women wear them they are lightly patterned or different, like fishnets.

 

[LaraOnline]

I was kind of sad when I found out that pantyhose were out of date. I think they do look more professional and are warmer. I typically wear tights and dark hose (black or navy) in the colder months or for formal wear (funerals, weddings, interviews). In the summer I go bare.

I'm 46 and I do think my legs would look a lot better with a little coverage but I don't want to look like the grandma that I am.

I find this thread very relevant. I am in my early 40s - but of small stature and told I look quite young for my age.
However as a married woman with kids, I just don't like 'getting my legs out'.
But I love to wear dresses! So comfortable, and so convenient (no ironing, sorting out matching things etc etc)

I am desperate to wear thin nylons for the coverage and for the polish, but at a loss because they have become less fashionable!