# Ladies what do you think when you see a woman wearing seamed stockings in public? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 31, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085 "2010-08-31T02:55:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/21 "2010-08-31T12:02:18Z")
Pepper Mill just remarked about this a couple of days ago. I don’t know what she thinks of them, but she did say “I haven’t seen those in ages”. They were being worn by a woman who was with some guys who were clearly orthodox Jewish, so I assume they were, as well, and that this affected their choice of clothes.So her thought would probably be “Orthodox”. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/22 "2010-08-31T12:54:34Z")
I would be envious and call her a dirty whore. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/23 "2010-08-31T14:11:28Z")
I love them, specifically Cuban heeled stockings. They are easily obtained via Amazon. I’m sure there are a multitude of other places. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/24 "2010-08-31T15:06:02Z")
I chose two: “Stylish” and “daring.” Stylish because anyone who would do such a thing is clearly focused on making a style statement, _ipso facto_. And daring because it’s so very far out of the norm at present and one who sticks out so far from the norm will attract attention, for better or worse. Sexy? Well, duh. In the present day sexy is a given, because everything is sexy to somebody or other. “Dated” I took as trivial, since “dated” is a near-subset of “fashionable” in a postmodern age of pastiche where anything retro goes. The only time datedness constitutes a fashion clunker is when something has gone out of date so recently that it can still be found haunting the clearance bins in the K-Marts of Kansas, and is still being worn by the clientèle of said establishments. Once it’s passed out of all currency in the 50 states and associated territories, then after a short interval it can qualify for a fun trip to Yesterdayland. You can find everything from 1911-type hobble skirts to '50s poodle skirts and '60s psychedelic minidresses to '80s pastiche on the streets these days. Not to speak of the Goth crowd going all fantasy-Victorian. I don’t do the seamed stockings myself, I dress rather conservatively (and when “conservative” is contrasted with “retro,” that’s funny), but yes, I feel that the 1940s styles comprise a notable peak of coolness in the timeline of Yesterdayland. By the way, you \*\*\*\*, you forgot the customary last option in the poll, which goes “By the way, you \*\*\*\*, you forgot ———…” ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/25 "2010-08-31T15:18:21Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Pepper Mill just remarked about this a couple of days ago. I don’t know what she thinks of them, but she did say “I haven’t seen those in ages”. They were being worn by a woman who was with some guys who were clearly orthodox Jewish, so I assume they were, as well, and that this affected their choice of clothes.So her thought would probably be “Orthodox”. Is there a reason Orthodox women would wear them? ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/26 "2010-08-31T15:42:33Z")
Seriously, I don’t think a damned thing when I see a woman with seamed hose. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone dress that way outside of the theater or some other kind of performance. I checked “daring,” though, since if I thought about it, that might be the closest. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/27 "2010-08-31T16:01:12Z")
What a timely poll! I have some that I wanted to wear to an event coming up, along with a whole (hidden) set of vintage style lingerie. I have been pretty nervous about wearing them though, because even though the lingerie will be under my dress (obviously) I thought that seeing the seamed stockings would be sort of… I guess slutty is the right word. Seeing this poll makes me feel a lot better. Also, I’m not sure what kind of shoes I should wear, since they are Cuban heeled. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/28 "2010-08-31T16:16:59Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > > [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > > > Stylish. Because you can’t just accidentally get stockings with a seam these days. In fact, in the late '70s I had to draw a line on a pair for a '40s-style outfit (costume). > > > > Drawing the line on fooled everybody, though. Brown eyebrow pencil, in case anybody’s interested in a cheaper version whose seam will be as straight as you can draw and will stay that way. > > Would it not be easier just to draw the line on your leg? > > Then you don’t have to worry about it moving during the day. Or am I the only person who has ‘travelling stockings’? I think it was a WWII trick to just draw the lines on your legs, to make it look like you had on stockings (they were apparently hard to come by). So yeah, that would probably work. ---
**Author:** ![please921](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@please921](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/please921)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/29 "2010-08-31T16:35:02Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > > [@CalMeacham](#): > > > > Pepper Mill just remarked about this a couple of days ago. I don’t know what she thinks of them, but she did say “I haven’t seen those in ages”. They were being worn by a woman who was with some guys who were clearly orthodox Jewish, so I assume they were, as well, and that this affected their choice of clothes.So her thought would probably be “Orthodox”. > > Is there a reason Orthodox women would wear them? Not all Orthodox women wear them. I know that some sects of Chassidic women wear them. Someone mentioned Satmar Chassidim before… The seams date back to the old days when all stockings had seams. The women continue to wear them because the seams serve as a “sign” that a woman’s legs are fully covered so there is no confusion about whether the woman is wearing stockings or not. It’s interesting that in modern-day America, many of us think of seamed stockings as sexy, whereas in these communities they are a symbol of modesty, and for all intents and purposes, are meant to serve as a deterrence from sexual thoughts. As with a lot of laws, the rabbinic opinions on modesty, or tznuit, for Orthodox women vary greatly between sects. For a good overview, you can check out [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzniut). ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/30 "2010-08-31T17:10:07Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I think it was a WWII trick to just draw the lines on your legs, to make it look like you had on stockings (they were apparently hard to come by). They were. All silk came from the Japanese-controlled Far East, and nylon was needed for all kinds of war materiel. I was in Minneapolis at some trendy bistro (not a contradiction in terms), and the gal waiting on me had short-shorts and “seams” _tattooed_ on her. I could hardly eat for gawking. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/31 "2010-08-31T17:11:07Z")
What else is she wearing? And please type slowly. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/32 "2010-08-31T17:16:30Z")
People have seriously voted for “slut”? Amazing. What do you think of women who wear red lipstick? “Brazen hussy”? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/33 "2010-08-31T17:23:07Z")
> [@please921](#): > > It’s interesting that in modern-day America, many of us think of seamed stockings as sexy, whereas in these communities they are a symbol of modesty, and for all intents and purposes, are meant to serve as a deterrence from sexual thoughts. It’s perpetually interesting how a body part which one culture deems modest to cover up looks sexy to another culture when covered up. And vice versa for \*baring \*given body parts. There’s plenty of room for play in such a cross-cultural world as we live in today. And \*how \*the covering and baring are done matters even more than the facts themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/34 "2010-08-31T17:27:20Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > People have seriously voted for “slut”? Amazing. What do you think of women who wear red lipstick? “Brazen hussy”? Yeah. I feel somewhat dirty just for having participated in a thread posted by someone who still uses that term for women. Well, consider it slumming, cultural junk food. Fun once in a while but too much makes you queasy. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/35 "2010-08-31T17:45:05Z")
I didn’t even know what seamed stockings were until this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/36 "2010-08-31T18:08:32Z")
Can’t answer because it depends on the entire look. I really like them, but seldom wear them - at least, I seldom wear them anywhere where anyone other than my husband can see them…and I don’t THINK that means I’m a slut… ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/37 "2010-08-31T18:16:05Z")
I didn’t vote because none of the options really fit. I would think someone looks not _stylish_, but _stylized_. Like she’s going for a very retro, vintage look. Maybe she thinks it looks sexy. IMHO, it looks overdone and a little silly, but I am not the fashion police. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/38 "2010-08-31T19:06:18Z")
I’d think she’s one of those wannabe pinup girls you see all over the place lately-- usually covered in bad tattoos (I like tattoos, so it’s not that I’m anti tattoo- I’m just anti bad tattoo), garish red lipstick, some neon dyed hair in sloppy victory rolls and such. It’s not necessarily slutty or skanky at all, or exhibitionist, it’s just. . . a look I’m not fond of. Actually, when done right, I adore that look- it’s the ever popular cheap bastardization of it lately that I’m not too keen on. I guess on an otherwise modern looking normal lady in an office, I wouldn’t think anything. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/39 "2010-08-31T21:40:18Z")
Don’t leave out the black bangs à la Bettie Page. They’ve been de rigueur for several years now. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085/40 "2010-08-31T22:12:45Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Stylish – well, as long as they didn’t look ridiculous with what she was wearing. But I LOVE seamed stockings. I want a pair! > > > [@elfkin477](#): > > > > I think I’d hopped into the wayback machine and journey back in time a few decades. Do they still make them? > > [Yep](http://www.unique-vintage.com/accessories-tights-stockings-c-321_261.html?osCsid=c264b1e67a63fdaefdf941ff3e612399) Ahem…Oooh, Laa, Laa! It’s good to see that our Doper Gals out there share the same opinion as I do…“Stylish” and “Sexy”. Bless you! Bless you all! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-what-do-you-think-when-you-see-a-woman-wearing-seamed-stockings-in-public/552085.md?page=3)