Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pantyhose

Below the hemline...

lois1950 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:13:57 -0800

Fancy restaurant tonight = black/white jersey wrap dress. It's October in Seattle. Can I wear panty hose? I have not worn a dress all summer and I missed the memo about not wearing panty hose anymore. I don't think that black or white tights will look good with the dress; nude or bare would be better. Is this a big fashion no?
The alternative is dress pants. I am in my 50s and no one has ever accused me of having any fashion sense. Thanks for any advice!

What are these thin, stretchy dress socks called?

hjo3 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:18:44 -0800

What do you call these dress socks? They're very thin and stretchy, almost like opaque calf-high pantyhose. Where can I buy them? I have exactly one pair of these dress socks that I adore. They come almost to the top of my calf and have a one inch wide band at the top. The material is patterned and just barely thicker than women's pantyhose (enough to be opaque and slightly less clingy).

I'd really like to buy more. They may even be a women's product, but I don't care. Sadly, I forget where I got the pair I have and they don't have a tag.

Questions: What are these called? Where can I buy them? Do you know a good place to order them in bulk (i.e. by the dozen or more)?

Help me find hose/tights for the larger - but not largest - woman

tristeza — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:43:00 -0800

Please help me find hose/tights that fit the larger - but not largest - woman. So, apparently the hoisery industry has a very different idea of NUMBERS and PHYSICS than I do.....

I am not a small girl, I'm 5'8" and about 180 lbs. Not a freak of nature, but surely not bony, I'm pretty well proportioned if a bit large.

This morning I opened a package of hose size Queen 3. Yes, Queen 3. The back of the pack indicates that they should fit women up to 265 lbs and 5'11". They do not.

I literally - and I mean that literally - could not get them on past mid-thigh. I gave up after I ripped them with sheer force of pulling them upwards. What the fuck? These were some JC Penney cheapo brand.

Do you guys know any brands that *actually* fit the larger woman without causing nerve damage? I find that I either find hose like this that are made for Bratz, or when I buy them at, say, Lane Bryant, they're made for 6'7" Amazons so they pool up around my puny ankles.

Please help!!

What do I wear with dress shoes?

peep — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 12:58:17 -0800

Ladies of MetaFilter: what socks/hosiery do you wear with dress shoes and boots? I'm trying to update my wardrobe and dress more stylishly at work. I'm lucky enough to have the choice, and in the past it's been so easy to dress like a slob but I'm trying to change that.

I have black pumps that I usually wear with dresses and skirts, and ankle boots that I wear with floor-length pants.

Right now I wear pantyhose - which I HATE - with the skirts and dresses. I only wear the nylons because without any hosiery, my shoes don't really fit right. My feet sweat and swell and the shoes become totally uncomfortable and give me blisters.

I wear knee-high nylons or trouser socks with the boots, but I don't really like those either. They feel constricting and don't absorb sweat so I always feel like my feet are moist. But regular cotton socks slip down and that bugs, too.

So do you go bare-legged with dresses? My shoes are moderately-priced or cheap; maybe better-made shoes are more comfortable with bare feet? And what do you wear with boots? I'll be buying some knee-length boots soon, so suggestions welcome there, too.

Replacement for Hanes Resilience nylons?

Orinda — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:11:39 -0800

What's a good replacement for Hanes Resilience nylons? Now that Hanes Resilience nylons have been discontinued (yes, there are still a few remainders for sale at the above link, but not the whole range of colors, sizes, and shapes), I am looking for a replacement brand. I have tried most of the other L'eggs/Hanes offerings and am not happy with any of them. The specific qualities I am looking for in a pair of nylons are:

Smooth feel. This is a little hard to explain, but most drugstore-type nylons are a little soft or fuzzy to the touch; I am looking for the totally smooth, slick surface. Another way to put it: if you cross your legs while wearing the nylons, they should slide easily over each other; the nylons on opposite legs shouldn't "catch" and drag each other.

Resistance to runs, picks, snags, and punctures. Within reason, of course; no pair of nylons is going to be perfect in this respect. But I hate it when I damage nylons before I even have them all the way on, because my thumb pokes a hole in them or they get snagged on the dry skin on the back of my hands. (Yeah, I could use lotion before putting on nylons; it's just an example of how snag-prone a lot of them are.)

Non-baggy. No baggy, saggy knees and ankles, please!

Sheer. Yes I know some of you favor opaque tights, but at the moment I'm searching for sheer nylons.

It has been alleged on AskMe that more expensive nylons are more durable. I'm ready to move on up from the L'eggs/Hanes/Bali discount catalogue, but before I invest $15/pair in what may turn out to be single-use garments, I'd like more specific recommendations.

I'm looking for brands (mainly pantyhose, but I'd be willing to try thigh-highs, and I need to find a source of knee-highs, too) that would be available by mail order or in chain/department stores in the U.S.

Do I have to have perfect thighs to wear stockings?

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 13:24:43 -0800

Does one have to have perfect thighs to properly wear thigh-high stockings? I've worn thigh-highs before - Victoria's Secret and another anonymous department store-type brand - and every time the top band ends up rolling into a tight torniquet-style roll. It's pretty uncomfortable. I'm not overweight per se, but do have a little extra chub on my thighs (who doesn't?), which seems to be the only cause of the problem. This wouldn't be a huge problem except for the fact that I know someone... who quite likes the look... and they DO feel very sexy, and I like them a lot in theory. So my question is, am I destined to not wear stockings unless I find a way to banish the cellulite? Can only people with perfectly slim thighs pull these off, or am I wearing the wrong types?

Do silk stockings run easily?

lisaj32 — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 11:02:46 -0800

Are silk stockings less likely to run or snag or be otherwise damaged through regular use than nylons?

Help me find work-appropriate hose.

joannemerriam — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 09:00:20 -0800

Southern New Hampshire and/or Montreal Filter: Where do you get fashionable, thick hose with no wool in them? I have just moved to southern New Hampshire and it's getting cold. Years ago when I lived in Nova Scotia (I've been in the South the past few years and haven't needed to keep warm), I used to wear thick hose to work under my skirts to keep from getting cold - I would buy them at a locally-owned specialty sock shop so I have no idea what chain stores would sell them. I tried Target and they have some wonderful pantyhose but no hose that's thick enough.

I am also going to be in Montreal in three weeks for a day or two, so suggestions local to there would also be helpful.

I am looking for the kind that's still a solid color when it stretches out on your skin (i.e. it doesn't go nearly transparent like pantyhose), and which feels like it's made from some sort of cotton or something, not silky like pantyhose and not scratchy like wool tights. (Wool irritates my skin.) And no shiny sheen like pantyhose either, I don't want people's attention being drawn to my freakishly shimmering legs at the office.

I don't want to look like a schoolgirl so I don't want to get those kind of tights with the vertical braid pattern, which are the only kind they had at Target that fit my other criteria. I'd like them to look classy. Dark colors (navy, charcoal gray, chocolate brown, black, burgundy, wine red). Typically I'd be wearing them with dark-coloured skirts and flats.

And preferably they'd be relatively inexpensive, not more (or much more) than ten bucks a pair.

Where do I go to get this sort of thing?

Should I wear fake pantyhose on my face?

duck — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 20:59:15 -0800

Why shouldn't I spray pantyhose on my face? I bought these spray-on pantyhose and sprayed them on my legs. I liked it so much I tried it on my face. Looked great there too. Is there any reason I shouldn't be doing this? This stuff just evens out your skin tone really nicely and hides any minor flaws in the process. I find when I wear normal foundation, it always looks like I'm wearing make-up (like you can see a layer of foundation and/or powder). I've tried lots of brands and shades and it's always the same, even when the ladies ot the store do it.

This stuff appears to just be foundation that's very watery and sprays on into a thin layer which you then just sort of rub into the skin. However, the bottle lists no ingredients, so I can't do any research that way. It also says (of course) "Use only as directed" and I'm thinking that if it were a good idea to use this on your face, they'd make a face formula and raise the price. Since they haven't, maybe it's a bad idea.

But why would it be a bad idea? What harm could come of putting this on my face. I sprayed it into my hand and then rubbed my hands on my face, so I'm not spraying aerosol directly onto my face. I did not break out or observe any other negative effects in the following few days.

Are there any potential bad effects I may not be thinking of?

Are pantyhose really necessary for a job a interview?

awegz — Sun, 10 Jul 2005 18:29:15 -0800

Are pantyhose really necessary for a job a interview? I know in the past, pantyhose have been a must for job interviews, particularly at conservative companies, but are they still 100% required?

I have an interview tomorrow and I am adamantly anti-pantyhose. Am I ok wearing a knee-length pencil skirt and closed-toe heels minus the nylons? It's a somewhat creative office environment, it's summer (and 90 degrees), and I'm young. And it seems like fewer and fewer women wear them these days anyway.

I've looked at some of those one-size-fits-all interview tips online and some of them just seem horribly antiquated.

I know this seems like a trivial question, but you always hear those horror stories about people not getting jobs for really weird reasons.