# Suggest a source for FUNCTIONAL fully fashioned stockings and garter belts? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990 "2010-12-05T02:07:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/21 "2010-12-07T21:49:41Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Suggest a source for FUNCTIONAL fully fashioned stockings and garter belts? Leggs Everyday Thigh Highs. It is about all I ever use. They are cheap, well made, last pretty well, stay up by themselves pretty good, they are by far the most comfortable and convenient hose you can wear. They are much cheaper than pantyhose, esp since if you get a run in one leg, you only lose half and can still use the other one…effectively making them last twice as long as pantyhose. If you are going to do a lot of walking, then you can add a garter belt, but just going to work or whatever a garter belt is not needed. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/22 "2010-12-07T21:53:55Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > My first experiences with “nylons” involved garter belts… and when mini-skirts came in, there was a problem when you sat down and the skirt rode up and there were your garters out in front of God and everyone. Wait, this is a problem how? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/23 "2010-12-07T23:18:33Z")
(Apologies to the women if this is seen as a hijack.) > [@Kyrie\_Eleison](#): > > But while there’s probably not a source of undergarments on the net that doesn’t tickle someone’s fancy, that particular site chose to link two of its most heavily promoted lines to prominent fetish models. Bettie Page and Dita Von Teese were/are models whose images are _fetishized_, by some. But I think it’s inaccurate and unfair, in Bettie’s case at least, to describe them as “fetish models,” as if that was the whole purpose of what they did. (Dita apparently did some deliberate work for the fetish market, but her ordinary burlesque thing is not that, and I suspect her own motivation originates in aesthetics, not a desire to cater to extreme sexualities, per se.) Again, _anything_–even things without any apparent sexual content–_can_ be fetishized, so the mere fact that something is fetishized doesn’t make fetishism its raison d’être. The vast majority of men and women whom Bettie Page’s look and aesthetic appeals to are not fetishizing her. I quite like curvier women in stockings, heels, etc., and I rather like some of the “period” hairstyles and such associated with burlesque, but none of those elements are _ **psychologically necessary for sexual gratification** _ or _ **an object of fixation to the extent that it may interfere with complete sexual expression** _, which is what “fetish” actually means. (I like many other women’s looks, too.) I’m reasonably confident that most of the women in the thread and buying from these sites, and their partners, are not fetishists. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/24 "2010-12-08T02:28:20Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > Wait, this is a problem how? Back then, garter belts weren’t designed to be pretty, I suspect. And if one did want to show off to be sexy, you probably wouldn’t want it as an everyday thing, but more of a “for a special fella” kind of thing. FWIW, back when I regularly wore pantyhose (when it was rare for a woman to even wear a suit with slacks to work; a big 8 accounting firm and the dress code was DEFINITELY skirt suits only), I tried garters / stockings for a while. I was so used to pantyhose that the bare bit of leg, rubbing against the skirt lining, REALLY weirded me out at first. Felt like I’d forgotten my underwear!! ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/25 "2010-12-08T05:38:47Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I’m not Lane Bryant size **(good god, not yet at least)** but I haven’t seen any mainstream mall store offering any garter belts that have more than 4 straps and that are made for anything but taking off.. Phew! Thank GOD you aren’t _that fucking ginormously fat_, that you aren’t … aren’t… _Lane **Bryant** size_! Man, wouldn’t that be a fate worse than death? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/26 "2010-12-08T14:49:07Z")
Look, I’ve been steadily creeping up size by size and am just now getting serious about putting a halt to it, okay? The hill I’m prepared to die on turns out to be not going from 14 to 16 in pants. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/27 "2010-12-08T15:40:52Z")
_fap fap fap_ ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/28 "2010-12-08T16:05:47Z")
> **[Graf Hockey Garter Belt](https://www.hockeymonkey.com/graf-hockey-garter-belt.html)** > > Graf Hockey Garter Belt Pure functionality. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/29 "2010-12-08T16:20:32Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > [Graf Hockey Garter Belt](http://www.hockeymonkey.com/graf-hockey-garter-belt.html) > > Pure functionality. 😃 My wife has some of those. Works great for holding her hockey sox up. Sexy? Not. Unless you’re turned on by being chased by a crazed woman waving a big stick. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/30 "2010-12-08T16:24:04Z")
On the contrary, I’m quite certain that plenty of men are. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/31 "2010-12-08T17:19:40Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Look, I’ve been steadily creeping up size by size and am just now getting serious about putting a halt to it, okay? The hill I’m prepared to die on turns out to be not going from 14 to 16 in pants. Luckily for you, they sell size 12 and 14 in Lane Bryant. So, you’re already there. Congrats, etc. etc. Really, I think what **zweisamkeit** was irked with wasn’t so much your personal desire to be a particular size- that’s entirely up to you- but that your post made it sound like there is something utterly reprehensible about shopping at Lane Bryant. Maybe for you it personally is, but your post read as more of a general statement. Well, to me at least. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/32 "2010-12-08T17:30:06Z")
Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to be - it’s just a sore personal subject right now with me, especially with the whole “bringing out last year’s warm clothes… oh shit I need all new pants” thing. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/33 "2010-12-08T17:42:01Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Bettie Page and Dita Von Teese were/are models whose images are _fetishized_, by some. But I think it’s inaccurate and unfair, in Bettie’s case at least, to describe them as “fetish models,” as if that was the whole purpose of what they did. (Dita apparently did some deliberate work for the fetish market, but her ordinary burlesque thing is not that, and I suspect her own motivation originates in aesthetics, not a desire to cater to extreme sexualities, per se.) I’m pretty sure that many of the most famous images of Bettie Page come from her work specifically as a fetish model. They were taken while she worked for a man named Irving Klaw, doing shots of bondage, spanking, D/s role play, that sort of thing. Men could even request photos or films including their specific turn-ons. If that’s not being a fetish model, such a job does not exist. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/34 "2010-12-09T04:18:20Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > I’m pretty sure that many of the most famous images of Bettie Page come from her work specifically as a fetish model. They were taken while she worked for a man named Irving Klaw, doing shots of bondage, spanking, D/s role play, that sort of thing. Men could even request photos or films including their specific turn-ons. If that’s not being a fetish model, such a job does not exist. Most of those images were destroyed by Klaw as he tried to avoid prosecution. Some remain. But you are right, those are the images that made Bettie famous. She was gorgeous in plain old cheesecake photos, but fetish gave her a career as a model. All of it was staged though. It was just art. Dirty filthy art. The best type. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/35 "2010-12-09T04:38:46Z")
Although I have a few that use garters, I prefer the ones with elastic tops that don’t need garters. I also do bare legs or tights depending on the dress/skirt. I’ve had good luck with HUE products. [Thigh highs](http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=521682&CategoryID=40546#fn=BRAND%3DHue%26sp%3D1%26spc%3D17). And when it’s cold I love their [sweater tights](http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3104709?origin=keywordsearch&resultback=882). They have lots of colors and patterns to choose from. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/36 "2010-12-09T07:42:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My wife has some of those. Works great for holding her hockey sox up. Sexy? Not. Unless you’re turned on by being chased by a crazed woman waving a big stick. What kind of stick? This thread is making me all kinds of uncomfortable. The best kind of uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/37 "2010-12-09T20:53:08Z")
I actually ordered something from Secrets in Lace - I can’t wait to tell you guys how it is. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/38 "2010-12-09T22:36:16Z")
Oh, and I was kind of drunk and got overenthusiastic about costume authenticity and ordered a girdle. I have no idea what came over me. (If it looks good, though, hell, I give in.) ---
**Author:** ![wipetheclock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@wipetheclock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wipetheclock)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/39 "2010-12-09T23:58:17Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Although I have a few that use garters, I prefer the ones with elastic tops that don’t need garters. > > I’ve had good luck with HUE products. [Thigh highs](http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=521682&CategoryID=40546#fn=BRAND%3DHue%26sp%3D1%26spc%3D17). So these stay up consistently? I tried a few different brands of thigh highs about 10 years ago and found that they all slowly migrated down over time. After a couple hours of wear, I found myself regularly tugging at them to keep them up. Definitely not cool. Perhaps it’s just something about the shape or contour of my legs though. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990/40 "2010-12-10T02:54:20Z")
Holy crap, y’all - I ordered on the sixth and they got here today! On the other hand, though, their hosiery sizing chart sucks balls. I seem to have purchased the Saggy Baggy Elephant’s stockings. If said elephant were particularly long of leg. On the other other hand, very nice stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-source-for-functional-fully-fashioned-stockings-and-garter-belts/562990.md?page=3)