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Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Do Gentlemen Still Prefer Hanes?

"Gentlemen Prefer Hanes"
FLASHBAK has a thought provoking article on “The Disappearance of Hosiery”. 

Hose (stockings) have always been the defining item that offered the tactile reminder that you had arrived into the land of femininity. Along with the bra, it defined the “no man's land” that you had ventured into. 

In the last year, I have only worn hose three times that I can remember.  One time was with a LBD that was short and needed black hose to be elegant. Number two was with a red dress at a transgender event – No justification needed. The third was a short leather skit worn to a winter theater event in a northern city.

What has happened? How could an item be so defining and needed one day, then be absent in fashion the next. There was a time, when if I did not have on hose, I did not feel dressed as Rhonda. Wearing hose was one of the defining elements of me being dressed feminine.

Hose are not completely extinct. I attend several business network groups and do see hose occasionally on businesswomen that are attending after work. In some business environments (banking/legal), hose must still be an essential with dresses and skirts.

Be sure to read the “10 Reasons Legs Went Bare” on the FLASHBAK site. All logical and well stated. Here is my personal take and reasons why I seldom wear hose:    

1.       Here in Florida hose are hot.  Really hot in the summer and uncomfortable.  Yes we have plenty of air conditioning, but from the car to door and while waiting for the car to get cool, your legs send the message, “I am hot.”
2.       They are a pain the a.. to get on.  Maybe I am just not as flexible, but they seem to be more difficult.  In addition, the quality is not what I remember. One strong/wrong tug and there goes $15.00+.
3.       When needed I do have a stash of hose, just in case the occasion requires them. For no good reason I have noticed that the waist band on more than a few has deteriorated and lost its elasticity. Wearing a pair in that condition is a mistake you only make once. Sensing that your panty is sliding down your leg is not a good feeling. 
4.       Only the sheerest of “sheer color” or absolute opaque seem to work.  In the day of tan legs and cosmetic tanning, many of the colors look orange or fake on my legs – Not natural.
5.       Hose are not required; for the mall, dinner, or a casual party. In general women do not dress as formal as previously. It is a matter of blending in with pants or jeans.      
6.       With sandals and open toe shoes, hose look silly. Enough said. Please don't tell me you have ever worn sock and sandals.
7.       On one of the occasions that I needed hose, I found that my stash did not have the color/type required. On the way to the event, I stopped in at an upscale Worth Avenue store and found the selection and sizes to be very limited. There is an obvious message there.   


Sorry, I could not come up with my own top 10 list – so feel free to add to my list. Or, maybe you still wear hose on a regular basis. Give us your rational.


1981





1 comment:

  1. Rhonda, your point on hose being hot is well taken.

    For me, I wear Hanes silk reflection thigh highs. They last and stay up and not having the "panty" part of the hose makes them cooler. For me, I prefer hose and how they interact with my slip and skirt. But I agree, on HOT days, I will go without.

    - Christina Cross

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