A few days ago I posted Hosiery Hatred. I got some of the best comments ever! I got to thinking about the history of hosiery - especially since Historiauntie asked, 'were they invented by a man?'. Why yes, yes they were.

My first stop on my hosiery history hunting was of course Wikipedia. Read up! What really shocked me when I read this were the health risks and concerns. As if I needed ammunition to go bare legged!

After getting over the fact that pantyhose were patented by men and may lead to a urinary tract infection I realized that the blame can be placed squarely on the shoulders of Twiggy. Had she not donned a mini skirt in the 1960s she never would have needed a replacement for her stalkings which weren't long enough!

After my fact hunt I felt a little better - they are on the decline on in the United States! Wikipedia says, "From 1995 a steady decline began, leveling off in 2006 with American sales less than half of what they had once been. This decline has been attributed to bare legs in fashion, changes in workplace dress code, and the increased popularity of trousers."

After thinking about this for a bit I wondered how these bare legged women made it back and forth to work in the winter with bare legs. I might consider ditching the hose in the summer however; a walk from the house to the car (or house to train) in the winter would be distinctly uncomfortable if bare legged.

I also have to admit...call me old fashioned but, the hosiery does add a bit of polish to an outfit.

If Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama can learn to love them then so can I!

A few links:

I got a total kick out of this slideshow of pantyhose advertisements.

Should invest in this? I found this over at amazon - The History of Panty Hose in America. It looks funny!