The great pantyhose caper…

…would make a terrific Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys title don't you think? Alas, this mystery may have more to do with my complete lack of fashion sense than an actual mystery. But the question is:

When did it become a fashion faux pas to wear pantyhose/nylons/stockings?

With all the brouhaha over Duchess Catherine's leg wear of choice during her recent North American tour, rather than join the pundits and their gasps of incredulity to the Royal's audacity to don sheer leg wear, my reaction was, “Wait a second! I wear pantyhose!” Oops. Is it just because it's shiny? (because I can tell you from first hand experience-- they only sell shiny pantyhose here in the UK) or is it really out of fashion and I'm really, really old??

So that got me wondering—where did pantyhose come from anyway? (aaaaand here comes my nerdiness) A quick troll around the Internet revealed that apparently in the 1920s when hemlines rose, sheer hosiery in the form of “stockings” emerged to allow women to keep some of their propriety in tact. Originally made from silk or rayon, they weren’t the stretchy (and sucking in) variety we know today. Instead, they were either knee- or thigh-high and fastened to a waist belt or held up by garters. It wasn’t until 1938 when nylon was invented that all hell (innovation) broke loose and an industry so blossomed. As for the "panty" part of the "hose?" Apparently it originated in the 40s and 50s when those wily costumers down in Hollywood (and on Broadway) started having the nylon stockings sewn to the panties of actresses and dancers (presumably to keep them-- and other bits-- in place). Who knew? Pantyhose reached its height of popularity in the 70s and 80s but the mid-90s brought a steady decline, apparently due to “bare leg fashion” (hmmm… missed this trend too) and changes in workplace dress code (casual Fridays and-- gasp! trousers!). Plus, let's not forget replacement costs resulting from frequent (and might I add frustrating-- seriously, nylons are a once-wear item for me) runs in the fabric leading to the good old pantyhose's demise. But while traditional pantyhose has come out of fashion, new styles like fishnets, patterned, colored and opaque tights have flourished (I love me a patterned tight) as well as “shape wear” (can we all stand up and do a little dance for Spanx my friends?). Oh—and on the more things that make you go hmmm side of things, apparently pantyhose for men is rising in popularity. Hmmm.

Despite all of this, the royal ladies never got the memo it seems, and they are advised (translation: required) to wear pantyhose when on official business. I don’t know if it’s been a significantly slow news week (I mean, as far as I know we’re only still at war, health care is still in crisis and Rupert Murdoch is going down in a ball of flames), but the press coverage on the Duchess's “tights” (as they say in England) has been absolutely mind-boggling. Check it out here, here, here and here. I wonder if Kate (can I call her Kate?) is wondering, "Justin brought sexy back and all I brought back was pantyhose?" Sorry-- couldn't resist (nerd comment #2).

(Fun fact: a google search of "pantyhose royals" yielded 173,000 results... the top search page all about Kate.)

But what do I know? Does it mean I’m proper enough to be a royal? (I’d choose Princess over Duchess too, Kate.) I guess I’m still stuck in the 80s (where, by the way, the only tights I was wearing was to ballet (white tights) and tap class (shiny nylons—awwww yeah!). In Jazz dance we little 8 year olds got to go bare legged)-- it wasn't all bad!