Well, you certainly would never have worn open toe shoes with hose, would you’ve?
I, like the Maenad, belong to a profession where skirts, panty-hose, jewelry, and face-paint are forbidden (and if you’re young and thin and always wear a lab-coat, you can avoid even a bra). Men are discouraged from wearing ties, so it’s nice for everyone.
When I moved into the office, I noticed that women just don’t wear skirts anymore. It’s not about being a pseudo-man; after all, they don’t wear ties. It’s about freedom of movement, modesty, and looking taller.
Am I the only woman in the world that doesn’t mind hose? Granted, I only wear them about once a quarter, but I certainly don’t find them uncomfortable or unattractive.
(And don’t be dissin’ the VPs, little sister. Oh yeah, they may wear slacks most of the time, but on laundry-day - okay, if you’re a VP it’s ‘dry-cleaning day’ - when they have to haul out the skirt suit, they put on hose.)
I have mixed feelings about hose. My mother is pretty conservative, so I was raised to wear hosiery even under my slacks, and I still do so sometimes. Less so in the summer. I don’t mind them much, but it does feel good to get out of them when I get home from work.
I don’t like skirts because they’re uncomfortable and don’t allow for much movement. Also, it’s hard to find skirts that look good on me. Pencil skirts look the best on my figure, but that is probably one of the least maneuverable styles. Pants are just better.
Yes but your criterion for this alleged lack of professionalism was that you find women in pantsuits to be insufficiently feminine. Being feminine has nothing to do with professional ability, nor anything else other than attractiveness to people who idealize femininity.
And guess what? Women were not put on earth to be decorative, not for you or anyone else. And if you don’t like women in pantsuits, I’m afraid that’s just your bummer.
As for pantyhose, I can offer this photo from the evening of the recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Left to right, the women in that photo are Katie McCormick Lelyveld, press secretary for the First Lady of the United States of America, Desiree Rogers, White House Social Secretary, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President of the United States of America for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison and Linda Johnson Rice, President & CEO of Johnson Publishing.
I see a whole hell of a lot of power on that sofa. What I don’t see – after a formal event – is a single pair of #(@*!& pantyhose.
I am delighted to hear of the demise of pantyhose. And I probably DID go to the same School of Professional Dress, or at least read the same book, as you did. I’m 51, by the way.
Well, I’m sorry kids but I HATE pantsuits. They just look tacky to me.
Women look so much better in a dress and/or skirt and blouse, or a dress suit.
By the way, I honestly have to ask, why is it that so many girls on this message board hate pantyhose? Yeah, they can be hot in summer, but don’t most people work in air-conditioned offices?
I think if you don’t have tanned legs pantyhose complete and streamline your look.
I despise pantyhose as much as anyone and have considered them a great big scam from day one. My grocery list when I worked went like this - “food, coffee, toilet paper, pantyhose…” Hot and uncomfortable, yeah. But because I don’t wear ankle length skirts, when I do wear skirts, I just can’t get with NOT wearing them. It just means buying some kind of smeary leg makeup now instead of pantyhose and that seems like more trouble than its worth.
Nothing would please me more. But trust me when I say, you DO NOT want to see me in my skivvies.
When I am at home and we don’t have company, my usual outfit is a pair of glasses, a pair of flipflops, and a pair of undies. If I’m cold, then I’ll put on a nightie or a pair of flannel sleep pants. Otherwise, I am mostly nekkid.
I don’t know about any girls, but the women I know may work in offices with A/C but do go outside. They walk for lunch. Many take public transport and have to walk and stand and ride busses with iffy or no A/C. Or they have to walk a distance to and from where they park their cars. They stop and do errands in the evening in the full heat of day. They go places after work.
And honestly, if the office air conditioning is turned to a temperature that the lower half of the body, clad in three layers one of which isn’t particularly breathable and under a desk is comfortable and cool, the upper half of the body is going to be frozen.
I like pantsuits. I plan to buy some and wear them some day, when I get around to it. Until then, I’ll just continue to be happy that my workplace has no dress code.
Tights, stockings and hold-ups are just uncomfortable. They are also bad for you. You squeeze your feet, legs and genitalia into tight nylon for maybe 14 hours a day, then tell me if you like it. By the way, at the same time you also have to wear women’s shoes. Uncomfortable doesn’t start to cover it.
AK84, you’re a misogynist. But then, working at the High Court, I’m not surprised. Those women you see - they are professionals. They don’t need to prove it by giving you an eyeful. The barristers in particular have gone through years to get where they are. How fucking dare you tell them they’re not professional just because you can’t see their knees? It makes you come off like one of those pervy old men from about 1940. (Also, “pantsuits”? Are you just pretending to be British? If so, you’ve blown your cover.)
For the information of American posters who are asking about air conditioning, we don’t have it much here. Most of us regulate our own body temperature and/or open a window, rather than wasting money and power when we don’t need to.
You seem to be being sarcastic, so let me clarify. We don’t need to because it just doesn’t get that hot here, in general. But thanks for the patriotic barking.
I am sure that’s how you meant it, but the original comment was very easy to interpret as implying that Americans are wasteful and self-indulgent–a stereotype we are very aware of and sensitive about.
Your self-consciousness wasn’t at the forefront of my mind when I was writing, sad to say. Which again could perhaps sound snarky, but how people read things is I suppose up to them. I didn’t mention you at all, I was talking about the fact that we over here don’t usually think we need it. Though as it gets increasingly inescapable over there, it’s getting more common over here, despite lack of necessity. This sheep-like behaviour saddens me.
For the record Teacake as an American who hates the ignorant American stereo type with a passion. I had to reread your comments a couple of times to see the potential slur. England has an ocean moderated climate so it makes intuitive sense that you wouldn’t need air conditioning much in the summer.
However I did find the “Most of us regulate our own body temperature” comment rather confusing. Protip: Americans are mammals. As mammals we’re endothermic too.
When I hear the word “pantsuit” the first thing I think of is this (caution…viewing this image may sear your eyeballs and cause permanent vision impairment).
If you survive that and want more punishment, here’s someone’s all-time top ten.
And stop picking on Teacake, (s)he is just ignorant of American summer climate conditions. I would enjoy seeing her “regulate her own body temperature” in Houston between late April and October.
