# Pantyhose - under or over **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 9, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242 "2010-02-09T05:19:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/81 "2010-02-10T15:06:11Z")
My wife wears them under the hose, but I can see the virtues of over. It would increase the VPL factor, which can be quite a turn-on. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/82 "2010-02-11T11:50:04Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > That might be true for some or even most people, but there are plenty of others who find them appealing. Tru dat! ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/83 "2010-02-11T17:23:32Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > My wife wears them under the hose, but I can see the virtues of over. It would increase the VPL factor, which can be quite a turn-on. I can see if that floats your boat (though I admit I found your post squicky, even though, as turnons go that is quite an innocent one), but in the workplace, VPL is unprofessional. And _most_ women, who wear pantyhose\* at all, do so because it is required by their work dress code. \*pantyhose. Not garters, not thigh highs, not fishnets, plain ol’ horrible sweaty stupid looking expensive easily destroyed paintyhose. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/84 "2010-02-11T19:10:56Z")
OK, it’s been _ages_ since I’ve worn pantyhose as a fashion. . .they really do seem to have fallen out of fashion! (Of course, in the winter, if you’re wearing a skirt or dress, bare legs may be fashionably acceptable, but are still damned cold!) Anyway, panties _under_. For those of you who say pantyhose are the anti-sexy, you’ll have to tell my hubby that. When I have worn them in recent years, it’s been in the bedroom, with a pair of scissors close at hand! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/85 "2010-02-11T19:29:10Z")
The only good thing about pantyhose, and my wife would agree, is tearing them off the lady in a passionate burst of lust. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/86 "2010-02-11T22:54:20Z")
Put me down as another “the very idea of wearing underwear OVER pantyhose squicks me out.” The only time I ever remember wearing panties (god, I hate that word) \*over \*hose or tights was this Halloween, and (a) that’s because they were part of my costume, and (b) I had \*another \*pair on \*under \*the hose. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/87 "2010-02-12T02:13:44Z")
When I wore pantyhose (young girl, didn’t know there was anything else) I wore them over panties or no panties. As an adult, I do thigh highs. I have skinny legs for a woman my weight and that’s the only way to wear them. ---
**Author:** ![tygre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@tygre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygre)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/88 "2010-02-12T02:25:19Z")
Former sales rep for Hanes Hosiery/DKNY/Donna Karan Hosiery here – Our party line was always “underwear under the product”. I think some of the confusion around panties and hosiery might stem from a product called Underalls, [Underalls - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underalls) which were marketed as a garment to replaces panties + hosiery. I recommended cotton panties rather than nylon/silk under hosiery for breathability. Nylon can help if the hosiery is very snug or a shaper product, though, but if at all possible, go up a size – fit length/height first, then weight. Borderline weight, go up to the larger size. Nylon = sheerness, lycra/spandex = durability. I don’t recommend 100% nylon = it’s sheer but it will bag and sag very quickly. I could ramble about hosiery for a while but will spare y’all. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/89 "2010-02-12T02:29:27Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Put me down as another “the very idea of wearing underwear OVER pantyhose squicks me out.” The only time I ever remember wearing panties (god, I hate that word) \*over \*hose or tights was this Halloween, and (a) that’s because they were part of my costume, and (b) I had \*another \*pair on \*under \*the hose. _ponders what sort of costume requires two layers of underwear_ ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/90 "2010-02-12T02:42:43Z")
> [@tygre](#): > > Our party line was always “underwear under the product”. I think some of the confusion around panties and hosiery might stem from a product called Underalls, [Underalls - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underalls) which were marketed as a garment to replaces panties + hosiery. Oh man, [check out this commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jVzjC7ZFv8&feature=related). Pantyhose while camping? Are they insane? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/91 "2010-02-12T03:14:37Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Oh man, [check out this commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jVzjC7ZFv8&feature=related). > > Pantyhose while camping? Are they insane? C’mon, who _hasn’t_ worn pantyhose while hang gliding in a full-body jumpsuit!? … ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/92 "2010-02-12T10:43:53Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > C’mon, who _hasn’t_ worn pantyhose while hang gliding in a full-body jumpsuit!? > … Or at least worried about spoiling the view for anyone else 4000 feet in the air. (Spoiling the view? Seriously?) ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/93 "2010-02-19T20:44:43Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > _ponders what sort of costume requires two layers of underwear_ [Annie Brackett.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11735960&postcount=15) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/94 "2010-02-19T21:43:14Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > I can’t imagine a scenario in which I would wear pantyhose \*with \*that, at all. > > Pantyhose are a purely practical item. You wear them to the office and to funerals. They don’t belong in any context that includes sex, that’s what thigh highs are for. Precisely. Pantyhose are strictly utilitarian (and I hate them). Also, although it’s been some time since I’ve been to a funeral and my memory may be faulty, I don’t think I’ve ever owned a pair of pantyhose that my panties could control to the point of keeping them up where they’re supposed to be. It would be a David vs. Goliath thing. I wear no panties with panty hose - panties + PH are just too much damn underwear for me. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/95 "2010-02-19T22:26:09Z")
I wear stockings and garters now, but I have worn pantyhose in the past … and I wore the underwear over them in case I flashed you saw lacy panties instead of cotton crotched pantyhose. it was an aesthetic thang. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/96 "2010-02-19T23:13:00Z")
Dammit, I just voted ‘over’ and I meant ‘under’. I voted based on the title of the post, rather than the wording of the poll. :smack: -1 to Over +1 to Under, please. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/97 "2010-02-20T03:55:45Z")
Interesting conversation. I don’t know why the underwear and laundering habits of other women are so interesting to me, but they are. Here’s what I do: First of all, I never wear nylon pantyhose, just cotton/spandex opaque black tights with a cotton crotch. Nothing under them, but–and I don’t think anyone else has mentioned this–Spanx (okay, fake Spanx) over them! Makes for a nice, smooth line. As for bra washing–I can’t imagine wearing a bra only once and then washing it. My bras would wear out in months if I did that. I wear them several times before washing them–I don’t really count how many times I wear them, but I do laundry on weekends and throw in whatever bras I think of; I have lots and lots of them. I shower and wear deodorant every day, so my boobs and my back aren’t dirty–how can a bra get that dirty after a few hours? Here’s an interesting article about this very thing, by the way: [British Women Wash Bras 6 Times a Year - The Lingerie Post](http://www.the-lingerie-post.com/2009/05/british-women-wash-bras-6-times-a-year/) ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/98 "2010-02-20T05:33:40Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Oh man, [check out this commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jVzjC7ZFv8&feature=related). > > Pantyhose while camping? Are they insane? The 80’s were a weird time for society. I’ve worn pantyhose all of once in my life (and certainly not while camping; it was my Bat Mitzvah). I wore underpants under them - it didn’t occur to me to do anything else. Since I no longer am subject to parental and/or religious decree about what to wear, I have no use for them. These days the closest I get are my athletic tights for winter outdoor workouts, which also get underpants beneath them (and something over, too, either shorts or thin pants depending on the weather). ---
**Author:** ![JRG1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JRG1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRG1976)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/99 "2010-07-28T21:04:52Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > The flaw in your theory is that pantyhose do not look sexy. At all. Ever. There a MANY men around that would beg to differ! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242/100 "2010-07-30T02:22:40Z")
Under, definitely under!!! I’ve never even HEARD of wearing them over! It sounds like an infection waiting to happen! (Considering there’s no breathable cotton crotch!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pantyhose-under-or-over/528242.md?page=6)