Sunday, June 08, 2008

Ho Ho Hosiery

An article in Thursday's WSJ called "Bare Legged Ladies: Hosiery Reveals Office Divide" absolutely nailed my thoughts on those horrifying things called pantyhose. It focuses on the question of whether bare legs are proper in the work place, and the seemingly-generational divide regarding the answer to that question.

Y'all. Pantyhose were invented by Satan himself. They are the reason pantsuits were invented. They are the reason high calf/knee boots were invented. They are to be worn only when absolutely necessary (black for a formal event) and never, never darlings with open-toed shoes, no matter that it says "sandalfoot" on that egg-shaped carton.

The article also discusses the fact that many boomer-age women in the workplace now feel frumpy when they attend events and are the only woman in the room wearing nylons. As the article said, "Young women don't even think about pantyhose," whereas older women struggle to feel professional without them. It also very competently discusses the issue of workplace dress codes, and how those have evolved over time to allow in most cases for a hose-free environment. My rule? If a guy doesn't have to wear a tie, I don't have to wear hose. End of story.

Obviously, pantyhose are necessary in certain professional arenas simply out of tradition. While I worked hard to avoid wearing them in my former work life, there were times I knew I had to, such as a client pitch meeting or at a conservative client site. But any other time, I was all about my pantsuits and my knee-high boots. And if I did wear skirts, I just made sure they were AT the knee, rather than above, lest anyone mistake 'No Pantyhose' with 'Panties of a Ho' when looking at me.

2 comments:

Utah Savage said...

This is a great piece. Took me back to my years working in the fashion industry. There came a time in the nineties when even for fashion shows hose were a thing of the past, but they were also the time of the tyranny of the thong. They giveth and they taketh away.

Stella by Starlight said...

Just read this: it brought a smile to my face. I found a solution: if you're a working Boomer, buy knee highs and stick with suits that have nice, long, flowing skirts.

If that's too much, it's time to work in computers, a field where you're out of style if you don't wear casual clothes and jeans.

I think IT has the best dress code: that is, none.