RHINESTONE STOCKINGS!! YEA! OR NAY?

October 23, 2020

Every now and then I get an itch that I have to scratch. You know that kind of itch that lingers down deep inside and you feel like it can't be reached. The kind of itch that will just not go away. An itch that keeps you awake at night, leaving you tossing and turning with feelings of pain, angst and delirium. So what is this itch that is keeping me in such a state? Stockings!! Yes, you read correctly. Stockings! I know I can't believe it myself. If I'd said shoes no one would question me because that would be expected. Or maybe even a coat or a little black dress I saw in some store front window or fashion mag page. But this itch that I've gotta scratch is YES, for a pair for stockings. Well maybe several pairs.

First, I have to admit I haven't been into wearing stockings for a very long time. I would venture to say it's been a good number of years since I felt the need to get "stocking" up. My passion for a really good pair of nylons I think died out when bare legs became all the rage. All of a sudden women everywhere felt this freedom to go bare legged and it didn't really even matter the occasion or season. Old man winter?? Not even he could stop us from flashing bare legs with mini dresses underneath our fur coats. (Side note: Sorry animal lovers I'm from Chicago and in Chicago we wear fur. But being an animal lover I've vowed to only wear furs I've inherited. I mean it would be a waste at this point.) Anyway, back to my hosiery issue. I mean black tie for f'in sake! Black tie was the one occasion where no woman would dare show up without donning hosiery. No woman would consider putting on a cocktail dress or gown without a fancy pair of hosiery on the legs. But there you have it. A bare leg revolution was born and most of us never looked back. Of course professionally most of us feel a bit more polished wearing hosiery with a skirt or dress. But for our daily lives we've pretty much given up on the idea of donning a pair of stockings in everyday life. Even when we do wear something on the legs we've traded our pantyhose in for the more reliable and durable pair of tights.

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I admit it! Hands down, in lieu of a bare leg, a good pair of tights have become my comfort zone. They are comfortable, durable and warm in the winter. But lastly the main reason I love a good pair of black tights is a reason maybe only a woman 5' 2" and under can understand. Pairing a black pair of tights with a short black skirt and black heels gives the illusion of a long leg. If it's one thing us height challenged girls know about it's giving leg. We know all the tips and tricks. But sometimes you have a fashion moment or revelation that makes you think about something you used to wear. A style reintroduction of something that was old and forgotten that maybe you should have a rethink about and bring it back again.

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Well, I had a short conversation about stockings recently which made me briefly think about why I stopped wearing hosiery. I used to wear every style of stockings ever made at one time or another. I started out wearing tights with my catholic girl uniform skirts. At some point I think we went renegade and began wearing bare legs, bobby socks with pumps. A style choice not appreciated by the nuns. After I ditched the uniform I started exploring all the different choices of hosiery and since I had such a fondness for the bombshells of the 50's and 60's I first started out with garter belts and nylons. I know, even now to myself it seems a bit advanced for a novice but nevertheless. As we moved from the 80's into the 90's dresses and skirts became much tighter and garters really only worked under a dress or skirt that was flowy. Plus my unwelcomed Marilyn moment while walking down a city street wearing a wrap dress and the wind cleverly unwrapping my dress for garters and all to see - caused me to decide to cover up a bit.

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So from garters and nylons I went onto thigh-highs, stay ups or lace tops. Whatever you want to call them. But then the adhesive began giving me the worse rashes so onto the full on pull me up with a brief pantyhose. I think this is where I lost my way. Now don't get me wrong I found some very very nice pantyhose. I was very particular about the brands, the feel, the sheerness and the fit. If they were transparent they had to be very transparent. No suntan legs look. Transparent had to be skin tone spot on. But I also dabbled in patterns, seamed, lace, striped, checkered and fishnet lace. Very different from fishnet - which I would never wear. On a trip to Paris I shopped for stockings in just about every pattern I could find. Pretty much, if it went on the legs I at one point have worn them. But once I joined the bare legs and tights revolution I never thought I would ever look back and start thinking about revisiting my love of a good pair of nylons. But all it took was this one picture. One photograph and that itch came back to life.

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So the obvious lure would be the sparkle, right? That's a given. Dead give away. Not to mention the 70's throwback. And I'm a sucker for a 70's look. But I can't pass up a good sparkle. But I should have left it at that. Just admired the photo and kept going. But NO! I thought hmmmm....I would not mind having a pair of those. You see, whenever I see something I like and can't forget about, I do an all out web search for the item or something similar. Who would have guessed this search would have me in a tizzy. The inventory of rhinestone adorned hosiery is unending. It's not even limited to just rhinestones. You've got pearls, buttons (no no no but it's an option for someone) studs and just about everything else you can adhere to nylon. But I'm in it for the bling! And with the holiday season coming up, I'm going to need maybe two or three pairs and will not rest until I find the pair with the right amount of bling, not too much. The right transparency, feel and quality. I've got an itch for some blinged out hosiery and I'm going to scratch it. But wait, I'm forgetting something. Oh yeah! It's 2020 and I think the holiday season has been cancelled. Sad face! But hey, that gives me at least another year to search, purchase and store away for next year. Until then I'll keep scratching that itch web shopping for some bling.

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Take Care

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Tracy