Lingerie is a term for women's fashion undergarments. It derives
from the French word 'lin' for linen.[1] While the term in the
French language applies to all undergarments for either sex, in
English it is applied only to those women's undergarments designed
to be visually appealing or erotic, typically incorporating
materials such as Lycra, nylon (nylon tricot), polyester, satin,
lace and/or silk and not applied to functional cotton undergarments.
The concept of lingerie being visually appealing is relatively
recent. Up through the first half of the 20th century women selected
underwear for three major purposes: to alter their shape (first with
corsets and later with girdles or bras), for reasons of hygiene, or
for modesty. Women's underwear was often very large and bulky. As
the 20th century progressed underwear became smaller and more form
fitting. In the 1960s 'controversial' lingerie manufacturers such as
Frederick's of Hollywood begin to glamorize lingerie and the idea of
lingerie having a sexual appeal slowly developed.
The lingerie industry has expanded in the 21st century with designs
that double as outerwear. The French refer to this as 'dessous-dessus'
which basically means innerwear as outerwear. The boutique Faire
Frou Frou, which is an antiquated phrase meaning "show it off",
heralds this philosophy by categorizing lingerie as an accessory
with details such as straps and lace trim that should be layered and
shown as part of one's outerwear.
Pronunciation
The word is often pronounced, in approximation of the French
original (/lɛ̃ʒʀi/), as [ˌlɑn(d)ʒəˈɹi]. Nonetheless, alternatives
like [ˈlæn(d)ʒəˌɹeɪ], are also common. The Oxford English Reference
Dictionary gives only /ˈlɒnʒeɹi/.
Typology
* Babydoll, a short nightgown or negligee intended as nightwear for
women.
* Basque, a tight, form-fitting bodice or coat
* Bedjacket, worn over a nightgown or negligee for warmth and
modesty.
* Blanket sleeper
* Bloomers, underpants with short legs.
* Bodystocking, a unitard.
* Bodysuit, a leotard-like undergarment, usually skintight or
formfitting.
* Bodice, covers the body from the neck to the waist.
* Boy shorts, a style of panties, so named for their resemblance to
male shorts.
* Brassiere
* Bustier
* Camisole, sleeveless and tight fitting, covering the top part of
the body
* Camiknickers, camisole and knickers joined as one garment
* Cami Shorts
* Chemise
* Corset by bone, a bodice worn to mold and shape the torso.
* Corselet = Brassiere + Girdle
* Corsage by elastic, covering the body from the neck to the waist,
similar to a corset.
Women's panties or knickers
Women's panties or knickers
* Drawers a pant-like garment worn during the 19th century for
modesty and warmth. Some drawers were split-leg, in that the crotch
seam was left open.
* French maid, a form of ladies' fantasywear
* G-String/Thong, a narrow piece of cloth passes between the
buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as a
bikini bottom or as underwear by both men and women.
* Garter
* Garter belt, used to keep stockings up
* Girdle, resembles a tight pair of athletic shorts
* Granny panties
* Hosiery
* Jersey nightshirt - A long, loose T-shirt made of cotton,
polyester, nylon or diaphanous chiffon that can be worn like a
Babydoll.
Woman wearing pantyhose.
* Knickers (British for underpants)
* Leotard
* Merry widow
* Naughty & Nice
* Negligee
* Nightgown or Nightie, a loosely hanging item of nightwear, may
vary from hip-length (babydoll) to floor-length (peignoir).
* Nightshirt
* Panties
* Peignoir
* Petticoat
* Pettipants
* Robe
* Slip (Full slip and Half slip / Underskirt)
* Spanky-Pants, "Spankies" (color-coordinated underpants worn by
cheerleaders)
* Stockings
* Stringbody
* Suspender belt (British), aka Garter belt (US)
* Tanga
* Tap Pants
* Teddy
* Undergarment
* Unitard One piece, skin tight garment
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to
the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or
period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of
accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the
time, place, or other circumstances represented or described, or to
a particular style of clothing worn to portray the wearer as a
character or type of character other than their regular persona at a
social event such as a masquerade, a fancy dress party or in an
artistic theatrical performance.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 National costume
* 2 Holidays and festivals
* 3 Children
* 4 Mascots
* 5 Drawings of costumes from the past
* 6 See also
* 7 External links
National costume
National costume or regional costume expresses local (or exiled)
identity and emphasises a culture's unique attributes. It is often a
source of national pride. Examples of such are a Scotsman in a kilt
or a Japanese person in a kimono.
Costumes for the ballroom.
Costumes for the ballroom.
Holidays and festivals
The wearing of costumes has become an important part of such
holidays and festivals as Mardi Gras and Halloween (see Halloween
costume for more information), and (to a lesser extent) people may
also wear costumes in conjunction with other holidays, such as
Christmas and Easter. Mardi Gras costumes usually take the form of
jesters and other fantasy characters, while Halloween costumes
traditionally take the form of supernatural creatures such as
ghosts, vampires, pop culture icons and angels. Christmas and Easter
costumes typically portray mythical characters such as Santa Claus
(by donning a santa suit and beard) or the Easter Bunny by putting
on an animal costume. Costumes may serve to portray various other
characters during secular holidays, such as an Uncle Sam costume
worn on the Independence day for example.
Children
Costumes also serve as an avenue for children to explore and
roleplay. Children can dress up in various forms; for example
characters from history or fiction like pirates, princesses or
cowboys, common jobs like nurses or police officers, or animals such
as those seen in zoos or farms.
Mascots
Another very popular situation where costumes are employed are for
sporting events, where people dressed as their team's representative
mascot help the club or team rally round their team's cause. Animal
costumes which are visually very similar to mascot costumes are also
popular among the members of the furry fandom where they are
referred to as funsuits.
Typology
The term chemise can refer to the classic smock or shift, or else
can refer to certain modern types of women's undergarments and
dresses. In the classical usage it is a simple garment worn next to
the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils, the precursor
to the modern shirts commonly worn in Western nations.
Etymology
Chemise is a French term (which today simply means shirt). This is a
cognate of the Italian word camicia, and the Spanish / Portuguese
word camisa (subsequently borrowed by Hindi / Urdu), all deriving
ultimately from the Latin camisia. The English called the same shirt
a smock and the Irish called it a léine (IPA: /'leɪnjə/).
The history of the chemise
The chemise seems to have been developed from the Roman tunica and
first became popular in the European Middle Ages. Women wore shifts
or chemises underneath their gowns or robes; men wore chemises with
their trousers or braies, and covered the chemises with garments
such as doublets, robes, etc. In those times, it was usually the
only piece of clothing that was washed regularly. In Western
countries, women's shifts did not fall out of fashion until the
early 20th century, when they were generally replaced by brassieres,
panties, girdles, and full slips.
Men's chemises may be said to survive as the common T-shirt, which
served as an undergarment until the mid-20th century. The chemise
also morphed into the smock-frock, a garment worn by English
laborers until the early 20th century. Its loose cut and wide
sleeves were well adapted to heavy labor. The name smock is nowadays
still used for military combat jackets in the UK, whereas in the
Belgian army the term has been corrupted to smoke-vest. '''
Historical construction of the chemise
A chemise, shift, or smock was usually sewn at home, by the women of
a household. It was assembled from rectangles and triangles cut from
one piece of cloth so as to leave no waste. The poor would wear
skimpy chemises pieced from a narrow piece of rough cloth; the rich
might have voluminous chemises pieced from thin, smooth fine linen.
Modern usage of the term
In modern usage the term chemise generally refers to women's
fashions that vaguely resemble the older shifts but are typically
more delicate, and usually provocative. Most commonly the term
refers to a loose-fitting, sleeveless, shirt-like undergarment or
piece of lingerie. It can also refer to a short, sleeveless dress
that hangs straight from the shoulders and fits loosely at the
waist.
There is a similar type of lingerie/sleepwear known as the babydoll.
Both terms describe short, loose-fitting, sleeveless fashions.
Typically, though, babydolls are more loose-fitting at the hips and
are generally designed to more resemble a young girl's nightgown
(although many modern varieties only vaguely follow this definition
adding various sexualizing features which, of course, would only be
appropriate for an adult).
SLCS-Sub-Domain-Link(N(1-4)-M(1-4))
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Pantyhose (also called tights) are sheer, close fitting
coverings of the body from the waist to the feet, most frequently
worn by women. Like stockings they are usually made of nylon. The
one-piece pantyhose garment appeared in the 1960s and provided a
convenient alternative to stockings (nylons).
The term 'pantyhose' originated in the United States, referring to
the combination of 'panties' (an American term for women's
underpants) with sheer nylon hosiery, meaning they are usually worn
without other undergarments. In the United Kingdom, they are called
tights, a term that refers to all such garments regardless of
whether they are sheer lingerie or sturdy outerwear. In the U.S.,
the term tights is used for non-sheer garments typically made of a
stretchy material like spandex, and worn during exercise or athletic
activity, or as utility clothing.
History
In the 1920s the fashionable hemline for women's skirts and dresses
began to rise enough to show a woman's legs and sheer hosiery that
covered the legs was only available as stockings. They were
typically made of silk or artificial silk (now known as rayon), and
after 1939 with nylon.
In 1959, Allen Gant Sr. of Glen Raven Mills introduced pantyhose.
Stocking manufacturers began using circular knitting machines to
reduce manual labor and create seam-free stockings. In 1965, Glen
Raven Mills introduced a seam-free version of pantyhose, which
coincided with the introduction of the miniskirt. The miniskirt made
it unfashionable to show the tops of a woman's stockings, and by the
end of the decade pantyhose had replaced stockings almost entirely.
This also contributed to a marked shift in foundation undergarment
sales: younger women stopped buying girdles around this time. In the
same period hosiery started adding spandex or elastane to give it
stretch superior to crimping nylon. Glen Raven Mills still operates
in North Carolina, U.S. as Glen Raven Inc.
Starting sometime in the 90s, pantyhose went almost completely out
of fashion. Until recently, women, in general no longer wore
pantyhose unless it was mandated by dress code, typically found at
corporate companies and executive level. An exception to this was
the wearing of special pantyhose such as fishnet or various pattern
types, but this was a rather rare occurrence.
However, in the mid 00s of this century pantyhose have been
appearing once again in fashion and public, indicating the
reoccurring cycle of couture once again is bringing the leg covering
back into vogue. With the return to Paris runways and Haute Couture
it should only be a matter of time before pantyhose makes a
mainstream resurgence.
Pantyhose styles
Pantyhose are available in a wide range of popular styles. The
sheerness of the garment, expressed as a numerical 'denier'/'dtex',
ranges from 3 (extremely rare, very thin, barely visible) to 15
(standard sheer) up to 30 (semi opaque) until 70 (opaque).
For people who want a slimmer form, they may opt to get "Control
Top", which has a reinforced panty. The downside to Control Top
Pantyhose are the panty lines that may appear when wearing high cut
skirts or shorts. Sheer to Waist are just that - sheer from the toe
to the waist. The "panty" portion is same thickness and color as the
leg portion. Often, but not always, sheer to waist pantyhose will be
reinforced along and on either side of the seam in the middle of the
panty. Perfect for high slit gowns, mini-skirts and when wearing
with lingerie.
Also for the person who wants a bit more support on the top half,
there are pantyhose that have panel gussets incorporated into them.
These are either single or double types. In the single type, there
are two seams instead of the usual one, with a single one on the
opposite side; with double panel gussets, there are two seams on
either side. The single type can be worn either way. They both help
to expand the top panty area. There are also types of pantyhose
which have a lacy panty area which is normally floral in design.
(citation needed) Many pantyhose brands now produce pantyhose that
do away with seams completely, so that the outline is smooth from
top to bottom.
The composition of pantyhose
Most pantyhose are composed of nylon and a mixture of spandex, which
provides the elasticity and form fitting that is characteristic of
modern pantyhose. Unfortunately, the nylon fabric is somewhat prone
to tearing and it is common for very sheer hose to 'run' soon after
snagging on something rough or sharp.
Pantyhose worn for fashion have a standard construction. The top of
the waist is a strong elastic. The part covering the hips (panty
area) is composed of a thicker material than the legs. The gusset or
crotch is also a stronger material, sometimes made of cotton. The
legs of the pantyhose are made of the thinnest material which has a
consistent construction down to the toes, which may be reinforced to
guard against wear.
Advantages of pantyhose
On mildly or moderately cold days, pantyhose help keep the legs warm
for those wearing skirts or dresses. Above all pantyhose hides
blemishes or scars on the legs, leg hair stubble, and varicose
veins. On cold dry days, pantyhose can help prevent the legs from
becoming too dry. Some companies regard wearing skirts or shorts
without pantyhose as unprofessional and thus require people who wear
skirts or shorts to work to also wear pantyhose or sheer tights.
Dark pantyhose, and black pantyhose in particular, can create the
illusion of slimmer legs. Another flip side depends on the wearer's
skin tone - dark hose shows runs when worn over light skin, whilst
lighter hose show water spots flipped up from the heel after walking
in the rain. Whilst, as detailed below, the material is not
absorbent, it is quick drying (for example after walking in the
rain/being splashed by traffic).
Support hosiery can be worn to support the leg. Regulating blood
circulation in the legs, it helps those who work on their feet with
preventing/helping varicose veins and resolving pain in the back and
legs.
Disadvantages of pantyhose
The nylon fabric of pantyhose is extremely prone to runs (called
laddering in the United Kingdom). A woman can even cause a run in
the hose by catching the toenail of her big toe in the fabric when
she puts the hose on, catching it on a desk, car, and numerous other
'risks'. Some women use clear nail polish to prevent runs from
growing.
Unlike cotton, nylon is not an absorbent material. As a result,
perspiration from the wearer's feet is more likely to remain in
contact with the feet, which may feel unpleasant to the wearer. If
one wears high heels with pantyhose, the increased moisture can
cause the feet to slip forward in the shoe, causing the toes to be
scrunched together. The increased moisture also causes the foot to
move around inside the shoe. This, combined with the fact that
pantyhose are thinner than cotton socks and thus do not provide as
much skin protection, can lead to blisters on the foot, heel, and
ankle.
Men and pantyhose
While traditionally considered a women's garment, pantyhose are
occasionally worn by men for thermal protection and therapeutic
relief. In the late 1990s several small manufacturers introduced
pantyhose styles designed for men to cater to this niche market.
Violent crime applications
Pantyhose are an occasional choice for criminals (such as bank
robbers) who wish to hide their identity. When worn over the head,
pantyhose make the face difficult to identify but still allow the
wearer to see fairly clearly. A satirical experiment about pantyhose
masks as a fashion statement in public was performed by The Chaser's
War on Everything.
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to
the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or
period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of
accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the
time, place, or other circumstances represented or described, or to
a particular style of clothing worn to portray the wearer as a
character or type of character other than their regular persona at a
social event such as a masquerade, a fancy dress party or in an
artistic theatrical performance.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 National costume
* 2 Holidays and festivals
* 3 Children
* 4 Mascots
* 5 Drawings of costumes from the past
* 6 See also
* 7 External links
National costume
National costume or regional costume expresses local (or exiled)
identity and emphasises a culture's unique attributes. It is often a
source of national pride. Examples of such are a Scotsman in a kilt
or a Japanese person in a kimono.
Costumes for the ballroom.
Costumes for the ballroom.
Holidays and festivals
The wearing of costumes has become an important part of such
holidays and festivals as Mardi Gras and Halloween (see Halloween
costume for more information), and (to a lesser extent) people may
also wear costumes in conjunction with other holidays, such as
Christmas and Easter. Mardi Gras costumes usually take the form of
jesters and other fantasy characters, while Halloween costumes
traditionally take the form of supernatural creatures such as
ghosts, vampires, pop culture icons and angels. Christmas and Easter
costumes typically portray mythical characters such as Santa Claus
(by donning a santa suit and beard) or the Easter Bunny by putting
on an animal costume. Costumes may serve to portray various other
characters during secular holidays, such as an Uncle Sam costume
worn on the Independence day for example.
Children
Costumes also serve as an avenue for children to explore and
roleplay. Children can dress up in various forms; for example
characters from history or fiction like pirates, princesses or
cowboys, common jobs like nurses or police officers, or animals such
as those seen in zoos or farms.
Mascots
Another very popular situation where costumes are employed are for
sporting events, where people dressed as their team's representative
mascot help the club or team rally round their team's cause. Animal
costumes which are visually very similar to mascot costumes are also
popular among the members of the furry fandom where they are
referred to as funsuits.
Typology
The word girdle originally meant a belt (or metaphorically speaking,
something which confines or encloses, as in Tolkien's Girdle of
Melian). In modern English the term "girdle" is most commonly used
for a form of women's foundation wear that replaced the corset in
popularity.
History
Historically and in anthropology, the girdle can be a scanty
belt-shaped textile for men and/or women, worn on its own, not
holding a larger garment in place, and less revealing than the
loin-cloth, as was used by Minoan pugilists.
Constructed of elasticized fabric and sometimes fastened with hook
and eye closures, the modern girdle is designed to enhance a woman's
figure. Most open-bottom girdles extend from the waist to the upper
thighs. In the 1960s, these models fell from favor and were to a
great extent replaced by the panty girdle. The panty girdle
resembles a tight pair of athletic shorts. Both models of girdles
usually include suspender clips to hold up stockings.
Girdles were considered essential garments by many women from
approximately 1910 to the late 1960s. They created a rigid,
controlled figure that was seen as eminently respectable and modest.
They were also crucial to the couturier Christian Dior's 1947 New
Look, which featured a voluminous skirts and a narrow, nipped-in
waistline, also known as a wasp waist.
Later in the 1960s, the panty girdle was generally supplanted by
pantyhose. Pantyhose replace girdles for many women who had used the
girdle essentially as a means of holding up sheer nylon stockings.
Those who want more control purchase "control top" pantyhose. Many
women forswear girdles, stockings, and pantyhose entirely.
Girdles and "body shapers" are still sold to women who want to shape
their figure with a garment. Some of these garments incorporate a
brassiere and thus become functionally equivalent to a corset.
However, they do not incorporate boning and hence do not produce the
constricted waistline characteristic of Victorian-era corsets.
The Girdle in literature
In literature, girdles are often portrayed as magical, giving power
and strength if worn by men, and protection if worn by women. Many
scriptures in the Bible point to the use of a girdle as a means of
protection. Ishtar, a Babylonian Goddess, wore a fertility girdle,
which, when removed, rendered the universe infertile. Hercules
wrestled with the Amazon queen for her girdle in his Greek myth.
Aphrodite and Venus also wore girdles associated with lechery in
later poetry.
For men a girdle was often used to hold weapons. It also gave them
freedom to move in a fight, unlike other types of clothing. both of
these are thought to carry the connection of power to the man's
girdle in literature. For example, Odysseus wears a girdle which
allows him to swim for three days straight, and a girdle worn by
Thor doubles his strength.
Later on, for women, the girdle became a sign of virginity, and was
often considered to have magical properties. Monsters and all types
of evil are recorded as being subdued by girdles in literature, a
famous one being the dragon slain by Saint George. Marriage
ceremonies continued this tradition of girdles symbolizing virginity
by having the husband take the wife's girdle, and prostitutes were
forbidden to wear them by law in historic France. Often in
literature, women are portrayed as safe from sexual or other attack
when wearing a girdle, but suddenly vulnerable if it is missing or
stolen.
Non-clothing uses in literature include Tolkien's "Girdle of Melian,"
a magical, protective "wall" surrounding an elven kingdom, and the
metaphorical "girdle of righteousness" mentioned in the Bible,
representing righteousness as a protection as well as something to
be worn constantly.
Sports
In American football, a girdle is a piece of clothing that is worn
under the football pants to keep the hip, thigh, and tailbone pads
in place, making the process of putting on the tight football pants
easier. Older girdles resembled chaps, in that they covered only the
front of the leg with pads, that snapped on. Modern girdles are
essentially a tight pair of compression shorts with pockets for the
pads.
Pantyhose (also called tights) are sheer, close fitting coverings of
the body from the waist to the feet, most frequently worn by women.
Like stockings they are usually made of nylon. The one-piece
pantyhose garment appeared in the 1960s and provided a convenient
alternative to stockings (nylons).
The term 'pantyhose' originated in the United States, referring to
the combination of 'panties' (an American term for women's
underpants) with sheer nylon hosiery, meaning they are usually worn
without other undergarments. In the United Kingdom, they are called
tights, a term that refers to all such garments regardless of
whether they are sheer lingerie or sturdy outerwear. In the U.S.,
the term tights is used for non-sheer garments typically made of a
stretchy material like spandex, and worn during exercise or athletic
activity, or as utility clothing.
History
In the 1920s the fashionable hemline for women's skirts and dresses
began to rise enough to show a woman's legs and sheer hosiery that
covered the legs was only available as stockings. They were
typically made of silk or artificial silk (now known as rayon), and
after 1939 with nylon.
In 1959, Allen Gant Sr. of Glen Raven Mills introduced pantyhose.
Stocking manufacturers began using circular knitting machines to
reduce manual labor and create seam-free stockings. In 1965, Glen
Raven Mills introduced a seam-free version of pantyhose, which
coincided with the introduction of the miniskirt. The miniskirt made
it unfashionable to show the tops of a woman's stockings, and by the
end of the decade pantyhose had replaced stockings almost entirely.
This also contributed to a marked shift in foundation undergarment
sales: younger women stopped buying girdles around this time. In the
same period hosiery started adding spandex or elastane to give it
stretch superior to crimping nylon. Glen Raven Mills still operates
in North Carolina, U.S. as Glen Raven Inc.
Starting sometime in the 90s, pantyhose went almost completely out
of fashion. Until recently, women, in general no longer wore
pantyhose unless it was mandated by dress code, typically found at
corporate companies and executive level. An exception to this was
the wearing of special pantyhose such as fishnet or various pattern
types, but this was a rather rare occurrence.
However, in the mid 00s of this century pantyhose have been
appearing once again in fashion and public, indicating the
reoccurring cycle of couture once again is bringing the leg covering
back into vogue. With the return to Paris runways and Haute Couture
it should only be a matter of time before pantyhose makes a
mainstream resurgence.
Pantyhose styles
Pantyhose are available in a wide range of popular styles. The
sheerness of the garment, expressed as a numerical 'denier'/'dtex',
ranges from 3 (extremely rare, very thin, barely visible) to 15
(standard sheer) up to 30 (semi opaque) until 70 (opaque).
For people who want a slimmer form, they may opt to get "Control
Top", which has a reinforced panty. The downside to Control Top
Pantyhose are the panty lines that may appear when wearing high cut
skirts or shorts. Sheer to Waist are just that - sheer from the toe
to the waist. The "panty" portion is same thickness and color as the
leg portion. Often, but not always, sheer to waist pantyhose will be
reinforced along and on either side of the seam in the middle of the
panty. Perfect for high slit gowns, mini-skirts and when wearing
with lingerie.
Also for the person who wants a bit more support on the top half,
there are pantyhose that have panel gussets incorporated into them.
These are either single or double types. In the single type, there
are two seams instead of the usual one, with a single one on the
opposite side; with double panel gussets, there are two seams on
either side. The single type can be worn either way. They both help
to expand the top panty area. There are also types of pantyhose
which have a lacy panty area which is normally floral in design.
(citation needed) Many pantyhose brands now produce pantyhose that
do away with seams completely, so that the outline is smooth from
top to bottom.
The composition of pantyhose
Most pantyhose are composed of nylon and a mixture of spandex, which
provides the elasticity and form fitting that is characteristic of
modern pantyhose. Unfortunately, the nylon fabric is somewhat prone
to tearing and it is common for very sheer hose to 'run' soon after
snagging on something rough or sharp.
Pantyhose worn for fashion have a standard construction. The top of
the waist is a strong elastic. The part covering the hips (panty
area) is composed of a thicker material than the legs. The gusset or
crotch is also a stronger material, sometimes made of cotton. The
legs of the pantyhose are made of the thinnest material which has a
consistent construction down to the toes, which may be reinforced to
guard against wear.
Advantages of pantyhose
On mildly or moderately cold days, pantyhose help keep the legs warm
for those wearing skirts or dresses. Above all pantyhose hides
blemishes or scars on the legs, leg hair stubble, and varicose
veins. On cold dry days, pantyhose can help prevent the legs from
becoming too dry. Some companies regard wearing skirts or shorts
without pantyhose as unprofessional and thus require people who wear
skirts or shorts to work to also wear pantyhose or sheer tights.
Dark pantyhose, and black pantyhose in particular, can create the
illusion of slimmer legs. Another flip side depends on the wearer's
skin tone - dark hose shows runs when worn over light skin, whilst
lighter hose show water spots flipped up from the heel after walking
in the rain. Whilst, as detailed below, the material is not
absorbent, it is quick drying (for example after walking in the
rain/being splashed by traffic).
Support hosiery can be worn to support the leg. Regulating blood
circulation in the legs, it helps those who work on their feet with
preventing/helping varicose veins and resolving pain in the back and
legs.
Disadvantages of pantyhose
The nylon fabric of pantyhose is extremely prone to runs (called
laddering in the United Kingdom). A woman can even cause a run in
the hose by catching the toenail of her big toe in the fabric when
she puts the hose on, catching it on a desk, car, and numerous other
'risks'. Some women use clear nail polish to prevent runs from
growing.
Unlike cotton, nylon is not an absorbent material. As a result,
perspiration from the wearer's feet is more likely to remain in
contact with the feet, which may feel unpleasant to the wearer. If
one wears high heels with pantyhose, the increased moisture can
cause the feet to slip forward in the shoe, causing the toes to be
scrunched together. The increased moisture also causes the foot to
move around inside the shoe. This, combined with the fact that
pantyhose are thinner than cotton socks and thus do not provide as
much skin protection, can lead to blisters on the foot, heel, and
ankle.
Men and pantyhose
While traditionally considered a women's garment, pantyhose are
occasionally worn by men for thermal protection and therapeutic
relief. In the late 1990s several small manufacturers introduced
pantyhose styles designed for men to cater to this niche market.
Violent crime applications
Pantyhose are an occasional choice for criminals (such as bank
robbers) who wish to hide their identity. When worn over the head,
pantyhose make the face difficult to identify but still allow the
wearer to see fairly clearly. A satirical experiment about pantyhose
masks as a fashion statement in public was performed by The Chaser's
War on Everything.
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