I think that I am the only person in my school who still wears panty hose (even among the middle-aged Talbot’s women I have talked about before). Hose have been made into symbols of feminine oppression by many, but I cannot ditch them completely. Here is why:
1. When it is cold outside and I want to wear a skirt, I like some covering on my legs. Yes, even if the covering is only a scanty layer of sheer nylon.
2. When by “oppression” you mean sucking in my tummy with a control top, I’m all about it.
3. When I want to wear a knee-length skirt but have not shaved my legs in a couple of days, hose still gives my legs a smooth, presentable texture.
4. When it is REALLY cold outside, I even like to wear hose under my jeans or slacks for an extra layer of warmth. It’s not just the placebo effect, either; it helps!
5. It just looks WRONG to go bare-legged with certain skirts and shoes. Yes, it does…Yes, it does.
The one thing that I will concede is that hose seem to be about as durable as tissue paper (oh wait, I can use that more than once). It ticks me off when I get dressed and get out my favorite pair of hose and discover as I am putting them on (three seconds before I need to be rushing out the door) that they have a giant run in the leg. This happened to me this morning, but I refused to change because I was in my special Open House professional outfit. Hose were essential, and I didn’t have another pair. And besides, the run is just barely peeking out. It’s 4:00 and no one has noticed yet…Unless some pervy dads show up and show unnecessary attention to my knees (unlikely), I think that I am home free.
running in circles 
I agree with you totally about hose. Of course, I’m of a different generation and had to learn to go “hose-less” in the summers. But now I love it … except with certain dresses/skirts like you said. And some of my shoes just don’t fit right with hose and some don’t fit right without. sigh. I certainly don’t buy as many hose as I used to, probably because I wear slacks more now. It’s almost like I decide what to wear each day based on whether I feel like wearing hose!
I decide what to wear each day based on what shoes I want to wear. Or what earrings. Or sometimes a favorite shirt. Okay, so I have no method.
I, however, never consider hose. I haven’t worn hose since….wow….my wedding? Surely I’ve worn them since then, but I guess I’ve blocked it out.
It has nothing to do with oppression vs. tummy slimming. Hose are just awful. The less elastic around my waist, the better! I always thought hose would be improved by making “hip hugger” styles that didn’t constrict me right in the middle. Still not sure I would do it, though.
In the winter, that confines me to pants, or tall socks hidden by tall boots. I like to wear knee socks with pants to stay warm. And I like cuddleduds! They’re a winter staple!
I avoid hose like the plague. I hate the things. I almost always snag them with a fingernail or something. I hate having to wash them (except now we have a delicate cycle on the washing machine). But, really, I think the main reason is…
I drink water constantly throughout the day. Therefore, I am going to the bathroom constantly. I hate having to pull the hose on and off all day long.
Do hose make anyone else’s feet sweat in their dress shoes? That’s another thing I don’t like…
Lyd, remind me of what cuddleduds are… do you think we’ll actually have a cold enough winter this year?
Cuddleduds are long underwear!! A coworker of mine called them cuddleduds, and I started calling them that just because it’s funny. I think it’s a brand name or something.
And I’m pretty cold-natured, so I’ll probably be busting them out when it’s consistently in the 50s.
cuddleduds are a brand name…they’re very thin and soft, not meshy like old timey long underwear. But they’re still bulkier than hose.
Anyone else’s feet sweat in hose or am I just a freak?
I think you’re a freak, but it doesn’t have anything to do with panty hose.
HAHA!! 🙂
I couldn’t resist! But seriously, I don’t have sweaty feet problems. As a matter of fact, wearing hose prevents my shoes from getting that foot funk smell. Then again, it’s been forever since I’ve worn hose, so I don’t really remember.
Wow, what a conversation. Hose. I don’t like them, but if a skirt needs hose, then I stoop. I actually only have one skirt left that I actually wear tights with. But they’re not really hose, they’re just black tights. Does that count? I always feel like a nerd in them because I don’t know of anyone my age that wears hose…ever.
I think foot sweat/odor depends more on the shoe. In some shoes, I think that hose helps with the foot funk. In others, not so much. I think that tights are a different conversation all together…a little more casual and I think a little more trendy. But maybe it’s just because I live in private school world where girls are forced to wear skirts.
I don’t have feet sweat problems otherwise. Just in hose.
im not a big fan of hose either…they are really ichy to me and dont make me any more comfortable in cold weather because they are making my legs itch so any comfort they would have brought to my cold-naturedness is kind of cancelled out…i do wear tights on occasion-like when it is freezing outside and for some strange reason the people at my school take that to mean the AC should be colder too,and since we are forced to wear skirts too, i have no other reasonable option.