Tights article in The Daily Mail

[Inertia]

<laughing> Now there's a question: would men find stockings and garter comfortable to wear themselves? Not necessarily frilly stockings and garters, but some kind of plain garter-like rig that would hold up a pair of long leg-coverings, the way men used to wear garters on the lower parts of their legs in the early 20th century, to hold up their socks. Might those guys who don't find pantyhose comfortable be able to benefit from such a thing? Or is that just Taking Things Too Far?

Inertia

[Peter v]

<laughing> Now there's a question: would men find stockings and garter comfortable to wear themselves? Not necessarily frilly stockings and garters, but some kind of plain garter-like rig that would hold up a pair of long leg-coverings, the way men used to wear garters on the lower parts of their legs in the early 20th century, to hold up their socks. Might those guys who don't find pantyhose comfortable be able to benefit from such a thing? Or is that just Taking Things Too Far?

Inertia

Well, I seriously do think that our little extra bit down there may couse some problems, as garter belts do generally not allow for body parts up front. and women not having to have underpants of any size underneath them. As I believe that is thee right way to wear them.

Depends on the design of course. in principle it should work nicely, so who's game?

When functional, things as garter belts are used without question, as indeed were / are belts to keep socks up, somewhere up on the calves. Probably not available since socks were elasticated.

Hey ... there is a new fetish thing, sock garters....

[Inertia]

Well, I seriously do think that our little extra bit down there may couse some problems, as garter belts do generally not allow for body parts up front. and women not having to have underpants of any size underneath them. As I believe that is thee right way to wear them.

Well, actually, it depends on the design of the garter. Strictly speaking you could wear them with or without underpants, and mostly they don't come down far enough to be a hindrance to one's bits. Of course, at this point, the commercially available ones are all designed for the female body, and with feminine-style trimmings (as far as I know). I think if a man were going to try this, he'd likely have to design his own, or modify an existing one to suit his purposes. But there are certainly shapes available to accommodate various different types of anatomy.

Heck, you could probably have a garter belt made out of industrial canvas, or seat-belt webbing, or something, to suit the most macho of tastes. But it'd have to be home-built...

Sock-garter fetish. I love it! (laughing)

Cheers,

Inertia

[Pythos]

I have to say I have never really found the stockings and garter belt look appealing. It looks frightfully uncomfortable, and I find for myself thigh highs to be no so great feeling. I don't like how the tightness stops like that. Also, (this is most likely through social conditioning) the look is quite the look of a "woman of the night". But that is my opinion. I wouldn't stop my girlfriend or wife from wearing such, I would just hope she would not stop me from wearing my hose, tights, or leggings.

As far as wearing garters without unders, that to me is more unhygienic than tights without underwear. I would think wearing garters sans panties would be equivalent to what Paris Hilton has been accused of doing. I know that there was a time when women wore nothing under their dresses, and underskirts, but that was also a time the streets were quite disgusting.

I don't know, I guess it really is a matter of taste.

[Inertia]

I have to say I have never really found the stockings and garter belt look appealing. It looks frightfully uncomfortable, and I find for myself thigh highs to be no so great feeling. I don't like how the tightness stops like that. Also, (this is most likely through social conditioning) the look is quite the look of a "woman of the night". But that is my opinion. I wouldn't stop my girlfriend or wife from wearing such, I would just hope she would not stop me from wearing my hose, tights, or leggings.

As far as wearing garters without unders, that to me is more unhygienic than tights without underwear. I would think wearing garters sans panties would be equivalent to what Paris Hilton has been accused of doing. I know that there was a time when women wore nothing under their dresses, and underskirts, but that was also a time the streets were quite disgusting.

I don't know, I guess it really is a matter of taste.

Oh, that's certainly social conditioning, I'm afraid. Pantyhose were invented in the 60s, if I recall correctly, in order to go with miniskirts. Before that, *all* Western women wore stockings and garters, including one's mother and grandmother. Definitely not a prostitute thing! And though they may look odd, trust me, they're comfortable. (I don't find thigh highs comfortable, they are too tight, and then, as you say, the tightness cuts off; but stockings aren't tight around the tops like that.) I think women adopted pantyhose because they were New, and they take slightly less time to put on. But, as you say, it's a matter of taste.

As for the debate of Underwear vs. No Underwear... I suspect that's a different thread altogether!

Cheers,

Inertia

[crfriend]

[...]Also, (this is most likely through social conditioning) the look is quite the look of a "woman of the night".[...]

Oh, that's certainly social conditioning, I'm afraid. Pantyhose were invented in the 60s, if I recall correctly, in order to go with miniskirts.

Actually, I believe the first modern pantyhose/tights were developed in the late 1950s before miniskirts were introduced. Miniskirts just made the garment extremely popular because the shorter ones were short enough to show off the "suspension hardware" which, for the most part, was considered gauche. Pantyhose gave a single clean line for the entire length of the leg.

Before that, *all* Western women wore stockings and garters, including one's mother and grandmother. Definitely not a prostitute thing!

At least that's the case for those of us in our late-40s and beyond. Folks younger than that have likely only encountered the "unified garment" in places other than the boudoir.

And though they may look odd, trust me, they're comfortable.

I've heard that the extra hardware is a bit of a nuisance, and that may be another reason why tights took off the way they did. However, the older garment still makes some sense for everyday use so long as one isn't showing it off in public and one doesn't care about fiddling with the hardware.

[Sasquatch]

Tights have been around for centuries, not as undergarments at first, but later on that use evolved along with the evolution of knicker type trousers. As for hygiene, one can but imagine the condition of tights and the legs they girded centuries ago. Native Americans reportedly found the first English colonists disgusting for their odors and reluctance to bathe!

Sasq

[kilthose]

<laughing> Now there's a question: would men find stockings and garter comfortable to wear themselves? Not necessarily frilly stockings and garters, but some kind of plain garter-like rig that would hold up a pair of long leg-coverings, the way men used to wear garters on the lower parts of their legs in the early 20th century, to hold up their socks. Might those guys who don't find pantyhose comfortable be able to benefit from such a thing? Or is that just Taking Things Too Far?

Comfilon sell stockings designed for men, complete with a male suspender brief (down the page).

http://www.comfilon.com/catalogstocking ... FA191829F0

I'd say many men with larger waists would find stockings/holdups more comfortable than tights/pantyhose, purely as pantyhose tends to roll down the waist to the hips on overweight men. Overweight men tend to be wider at the waist than hips, where women are wider at the hips than waist, thus making pantyhose a potential problem for overweight men.

KH

[Kilted_John]

The article sounds completely dense. You know, though, reading through the various postings on tights confirms to me what I've always thought: tights and pantyhose weren't designed for the female figure. Men find them comfortable! To me (and most other women I know) they feel like a kind of torture-device. No wonder! They're actually made for *male* proportions!

As a female, I find stockings and garter much more comfortable. One is spared that feeling of being stuffed into a sausage-casing, or an iron maiden...

Cheers,

Inertia

Nor do I see there being a problem with you liking stockings, instead of PH/tights. I tried tights/ph a few times, and have found that knee socks (or nylon knee-high stockings) work best for me. Find them to be the most comfortable, year-round, no matter what I'm wearing.

-J

[ChrisM]

Actually, I wear stocking and garter belts often. I find them much preferable to pantyhose, for the obvious reason.

There are men's garterbelts on offer, albeit intended for hockey players. (viz: http://www.middletonfitness.com/browse.cfm/4,5889.html )

I also have several pair of footless stockings. I prefer to have my toes unencumbered, just as I would prefer not to wear mittens on my hands. So I have a couple of pair of footless stockings which I wear in order to provide just a modicum of warmth or windbreak in cooler conditions. (Recall that I live outdoors, either on my yacht or in my motorhome, and thus likely spend more time in the weather than does a house-dweller equipped with motorcar.)

I do also have several pair of pantyhose, as they are so much simpler than going through all the rigmarole of clipping on the garter snaps. And in this line, having sacrificed the freedom, I go all the way to the control top style because it is figure flattering. I am 51 but have held my weight to 175# (6'- 2" tall) and think that for an American male of my age I look pretty good.

Chris

[SkirtDude]

Deleted.

[Inertia]

Gosh, I had no idea hockey players wore garters! Just goes to show you... something or other.

Inertia