# Stockings- or Pantyhose **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 7, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626 "2008-11-07T13:32:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/1 "2008-11-07T13:32:11Z")
Are these still worn these days? Or are they a relic of a bygone era? ---
**Author:** ![spockerel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@spockerel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spockerel)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/2 "2008-11-07T13:45:42Z")
If you ask many of my acquaintances, these are the _only_ ladylike thing to wear under a dress/skirt. I run in some strange circles, admittedly. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/3 "2008-11-07T13:49:42Z")
Heavens- I should have specified what sex… I am realising that this question is way too loose. I meant as in normal wear to work etc rather than an entertainment industry. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/4 "2008-11-07T13:54:10Z")
Personally, I’d be happy to see them disappear altogether. They never fit right, cost entirely too much money considering they’re just flimsy nylon/lycra tubes, don’t serve any useful purpose, and almost always get ruined within 3-4 wears. Yuck. Unfortunately, though, it’s still not considered appropriate to go bare-legged with a business suit, or if I’m wearing a dress to a cocktail/formal/black tie event… and so, I suffer. ---
**Author:** ![spockerel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@spockerel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spockerel)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/5 "2008-11-07T13:56:32Z")
😛 My strange circles would be mightily offended; they’re ultra-conservative and I was being literal. Made my morning imagining them in the “entertainment industry,” though. I’ll rephrase: I hate stockings/pantyhose and would never dream of wearing them to work (socks, please!), or anywhere else if I can avoid it. But I work on a university campus, where knee-length skirts have come back into vogue, so I may be forced to wear tights at the very least. My friends and family keep giving me tips for ways to stop runs in pantyhose (nail polish, etc.) and caution me not to wear open-toed sandals with stockings. They must be alive and well, at least in their minds. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/6 "2008-11-07T14:10:55Z")
I have a few pairs of stockings, and a few of pantyhose and tights, but I generally don’t wear them unless it’s either really cold or a really formal occasion. However, I don’t have much in the way of formal occasions to attend these days and I don’t live in a cold climate, so they’re just sitting idle in the drawer. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/7 "2008-11-07T14:16:19Z")
I’m told they’re out, or against the rules or whatever, but I haven’t given them up. (I usually wear off-black, though, because it’s the tan or beige colors that really seem to rile the arbiters of fashion). I don’t find them uncomfortable or flimsy either. I get some cheap WalMart brand with spandex in the legs and they last for months. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/8 "2008-11-07T14:17:29Z")
Spockerel, your reply made me laugh and I wasn’t being specific about your circle of friends. It made me realise how daft my original question could be seen as. Plus I have been reminded about suspender belts etc. Maybe I should ask this to be transferred to Cafe Society under The Blue Angel. ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/9 "2008-11-07T14:31:50Z")
I think that they’ve gone out of style for younger women but almost all of my friends over 40 still wear them. It’s still expected in a business setting or dressy occasions for us. And of course most younger women have better legs to show off. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/10 "2008-11-07T14:49:59Z")
Stockings (as in, held up with a garter belt) are still use in…intimate situations. And as much as I hate them, I consider pantihose a must under a suit/skirt in a job interview situation. I wish I could switch to pantsuits but I’m afraid they are still considered not formal enough for an interview. ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/11 "2008-11-07T14:58:04Z")
I would never wear bare legs to work, pantyhose all the way. I do own the whole stockings/garter belt apparatus, but generally keep them for really dressing occasions. I do like tights for under skirts in winter. ETA: I’m 26 and female, so kibosh the thought that us young’uns just haven’t heard of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/12 "2008-11-07T14:58:36Z")
I only wear them if the outfit seems dressy enough to “require” them, which is seldom, and then it’s usually either off-black or navy. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/13 "2008-11-07T17:15:12Z")
I’ve been told, here on the boards, that the wearing of sheer-toe pantyhose with open-toed shoes is verboten. Matter of fact, pantyhose themselves are seen as a fashion dinosaur. However, at the Senate election party I attended the other night, every woman in a dress or skirt was wearing hose; even the ones who had on open-toed shoes. Personally, I wear them for business and formal occasions. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/14 "2008-11-07T17:31:26Z")
I’m in southern California and pantyhose/stockings seem to have all but disappeared except in the most formal work settings. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/15 "2008-11-07T17:37:17Z")
So how do non-stocking-wearers deal with wearing nice dress shoes? Do you let your sticky sweaty foot bottoms rip the insole (or whatever that shoe liner thing is) out of the shoes when you take them off? 'Cause that’s what happens to me if I try to go hoseless. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/16 "2008-11-07T17:41:44Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > So how do non-stocking-wearers deal with wearing nice dress shoes? Do you let your sticky sweaty foot bottoms rip the insole (or whatever that shoe liner thing is) out of the shoes when you take them off? 'Cause that’s what happens to me if I try to go hoseless. The only times I’ve seen this happen, it’s been in poorly-made shoes that I wear socks or stockings in anyway, where the insole is only lightly glued in and paper-thin. My other shoes are all nicely intact still. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/17 "2008-11-07T18:21:18Z")
Michelle Obama is against pantyhose. If the future First Lady is going pantyhoseless, that’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/18 "2008-11-07T18:32:45Z")
> [@Daerlyn](#): > > ETA: I’m 26 and female, so kibosh the thought that us young’uns just haven’t heard of 'em. That’s good to know. Now I won’t feel so outdated when I put them on. I live in California too and once I have a decent tan I only wear them with shorter skirts because they’re so uncomfortable in the heat. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stockings-or-pantyhose/471626/19 "2008-11-07T19:03:36Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Michelle Obama is against pantyhose. If the future First Lady is going pantyhoseless, that’s good enough for me. But her legs aren’t too white.