Happy Anniversary, Nylon Stockings

In truth, I missed the anniversary by a few days, which is a sadly typical behavioral trait of one part of my whole self. I’ll make it up to you next year honey, I promise! In any event, May 15, 1940 marked the day that the late and lamented Gimbels department store introduced, for the first time in human history an affordable, attractive synthetic alternative to traditional silk stockings.

DuPont had debuted nylon fabric to the world at the New York 1939 Worlds Fair, but given that its prior merchandising had been for fishing line and toothbrushes, this was an invention still manifestly in search of the Killer App. Thankfully it was found for Killer Legs.

The sales numbers are to me shocking. This product introduction makes iPad sales volumes look more like the Quick-Chop©. According to reliable sources over 64 million pairs were sold in Year 1 at $1.35 a throw ($19.85 adjusted for inflation).

Nylon stockings represented a democratization of sex appeal that I believe speaks to the very heart of American genius for commerce and innovation. A vast new market was created, and happy swarms of middle and less-than-middle class women had access to advantages of appearance that were before then, the exclusive province of the well-to-do. And O, how their happy partners, admirers and we, their descendants, have benefited from the general beautification of the world wrought from this giant and pretty stride for womankind.

All those tales about WW II G.I.’s wooing European women with nylons now make a little more sense. Gimbels (and Macy’s and etc..) had fortunate proximity to New York Harbor Naval docking facilities. This helped ensure a steady stream of shore-leave opportunists ready to stuff their duffle bags with sexy inducements to foreign hospitality. No doubt, more than a handful of nylons found their way up less shapely legs too.

For me, nylons were a very potent gateway drug, the very first thing that alerted me to the beautiful differences between men and women. My lifelong fascination with and admiration of the opposite sex was sparked in large part by what I saw on legs all around me. This fascination has over the years, resolved itself in my rewarding part time life en femme. What was a fetishy attraction to the object has ripened into something integral, found well beneath my sometimes shimmery surfaces, where former opposites now make a (mostly) happy whole together.

Further reading on hosiery in general can be found by clicking on “Petra’s Pantyhose Parade” on the Tag Cloud in the column to your right. Other ramblings on Stockings specifically can be found here and in a guest post on The Lingerie Addict here.

I would like to thank the wonderful people at Stockingirl, and Cervin whose blog posts alerted me to this landmark 70th anniversary, and whose products I can (from very satisfying personal experience) highly recommend to you, whoever the gift is intended for.

Petra’s Pantyhose Parade – Stockingirl.com Edition

The parade is a day late this week because of a stroke of enormous good fortune. The originally intended post was, at best, a random pile of stretched metaphor and torn imagery, the literary equivalent of a cheap hookers even cheaper fishnets after too long a night. I simply couldn’t get the words right. Then, just as blogger-despair was about to set in, a message in my in-box:

You Won!

More on the particulars of exactly what I won, and from whom down-post, but just for a moment, let me tell you that I never win things. I have good fortune in life in general, but as far as contests, raffles, lotteries, fast moving check-out lines and other such random events go, nada, rien, zilch. Never.

Friends would tell you that I use up my full quota of good random luck up parking. Its uncanny really, great spots just appear upon need. And the luck is not wasted on me either: I have great skills, regardless of footwear. I am fearless about the u-turn parallel park maneuver on busy urban streets. Flush and flat to curb on first and only required attempt, right in front of the restaurant without wheel scraping, arousing a full spectrum of reactions from complete strangers, from jealous rage to manly admiration.

I park, therefore I am.

But win things? Nah. One must try though you know. Last week, my favorite Fashion Blogger, Couture Carrie partnered up with Stockingirl.com to provide a glimmer of hope to their many fans by putting a madly glimmering pair of stockings up for grabs. The cost of entry? O, I had to push myself to somehow to take a stroll through CC’s beautifully curated pictorial display of lust-worthy light-catching metallic finish party dresses, and then drive enough oxygen to my brain to summon up a comment on the post. Poor Petra …

More on CC later, but for now, a better introduction to Stockingirl and my new stockings. Stockingirl has been catering to the requirements of refined hosiery enthusiasts around the world through their online store for close to 10 years now. They go right to the mills with great ideas that are often executed exculsively, and simply will not be found elsewhere. For variety, style, product knowledge, value and all around aesthetics, they are leaders. There is very little that Stockingirl carries that I do not want on my legs at some time or another in the happy future.

Right at the top of my own wish list was the pair in the contest, the Shiny Metallic Seamed Faux Fully Fashioned Nylon Sandalfoot Stockings. Not demure looking are they? The back-seam of course whispers sweet nothings to my readily engaged sense of nostalgia for by-gone times of hosiery glory. OK, fair enough, perhaps the effect is a little louder than a whisper. It’s a molten, liquid golden siren song. A song that will be soon serenading my legs. I'm really thinking about a new wig too. That auburn waterfall is almost too much.

Please visit them. They stock a terrific range of extra long stockings, and I know that I have a good number of tallish visitors here. You know who are you. You can expect a nice welcome from Stockingirl I am quite certain.

As to Couture Carrie, pay her a visit from time to time. She is the smiling one to the right. As a group, we cross dressers are noted too often for tragic fashion choices. It’s an odd thing really, when you consider how central dressing is to our habits. CC’s blog has been an inspiration, and has helped me raise my style game more than a notch or two. O, and she runs contests every now and then. Maybe you will be the next delighted winner. Good luck!

My regular tights review / reverie returns next week with a completely new chapter. I have a backlog of high-waisted, super-shaping sheers that I want to introduce you to. But first, let me take my notes to the garage for a tune up.

And again, thanks to Carrie and the nice ladies at Stockingirl!

Happy dressing, and everything else.

Veronica vs. Betty. Stockings vs. Panty Hose

Still a little warm for full facial magic, curve and shape aids, flowing locks and purse packed for adventures en femme here in the south, but air conditioning is a marvel and there is under-dressing to be done. Before going on my recent prolonged Drabbatical, I did shop a little and left a couple of items in the wrapper untouched and hibernating. A rare display of self control, and a wonderful bonus of delayed gratification.

Repeat visitors and friends will have witnessed some early stirrings of the old girly game, and for Petra of course, the game begins with the gams. Later this week, I promise a new Panty Hose Parade entry on behalf of my presently, very, electrically happy legs. Givenchy is the name, and glamour is the game.

Here today though, I will divert and discourse on an ageless, ceaseless civil war. Pantyhose vs. Stockings. Your cross dressing correspondent is presumed to be a partisan for the all-in-one, up-and-over pantyhose in this fierce fracas, and while my fondness for them is real and enduring, I am nothing if not versatile, and not in the least doctrinaire on the matter.

Recently I received a note from dear friend Christine over at Chrissie’s Place. She described her own feelings of … well … let us agree to decorously say distaste for pantyhose. We agree on so many other matters of taste, temperament and times I felt as though a little thought and perhaps a well fashioned epistle on the topic might be in order.

The act of fastening a well made stocking top to a garter belt is validation from above that you are, at that moment, special. The very nearly perfectly private show of thigh hardware embossed under ones own tight skirt is a joy to behold. Adding the ever present risk of a slipped stocking to the universe of ladder-inducing threats to gossamer hosiery just amplifies your awareness that you are dressed, studiously and decadently dressed.

Yes, I love stockings. I opined about the sad 60’s revolution that seemed to shake and sadly simplified our foundation garment habits here. I mean every word of it. I was born out of time. I wish that we had never abandoned all the clasps, seams, hooks and eyes that held the stockings, garters and girdles of bygone times. Sadly my views on the matter were not solicited and of course would not have mattered. And so stockings elude our easy day-to-day grasps.

Yes, the gentle and constant strap tugs, the heightened requirement for care in taking a chair, the knowledge that a peek of scallop lace may be available to the innocent and not so innocent bystander, these things are meaningful. From my perspective they are feelings of privilege reserved for the refined woman, genetic or otherwise. And privileges not exercised often enough for my own tastes.

My own tastes are compromised by practicality though. First, there is the shape of my leg. Just not enough flesh at thigh top to be clung to. Stay-ups don’t. And when a true stocking is fastened to the suspender belt, yet another slightly more awkward layer is added to my already complex under-layers. Calls of nature go from a manageable ordeal to an epic battle against the forces of foam, elastic, nylon and lycra. One might crack a sweat and do undue damage to the overall appearance.

Arguably, these are struggles that we privileged cross dressers should delight in. Or at least try more often. Nobody ever said that beauty and allure would come easily. Or if they did, they were not reckoning on my desire to feel beautiful.

And so, back to Betty and Veronica. No doubt, no earthly doubt,Veronica has a top drawer stuffed with stockings and belts and other accoutrements ably deployed in her relentless war against the composure of everyone flocking around her. Betty I suspect does not so dote on her finery. Practical and attractive that Betty is. And while practical I am not in most aspects of life, in the matter of hosiery, I suppose that I am. I will reserve my big romantic flourishes for my writing. And so with the Betty's of the world in mind, you can expect more Panty Hose Parade notes here regularly.

Photo credits go to Secrets in Lace. For those of you inclined more to stockings than pantyhose, go visit, feast your eyes, and crack open the purse for a little treat.

Happy dressing, and everything else. … Petra

Petra's Pantyhose Parade

Well friends, for many Crossdressers, this love started with hosiery. They always made legs look better. They were clearly garments that we boys were not supposed to wear. They were around the house in good enough quantities that if you liberated a pair from the laundry hamper, well who will notice, right? And when you pulled them up and on, O... The feel, the give, the look, the electric tingle, that even decades later just never goes away.

We love them as well because they can be worn discreetly in drab. When on, pantyhose remind us that they are there with the forgiving, but always felt, pull in the toes, the caress around the thigh and that smartening of the shape at the waist, hips (and everywhere else important).

For me, they are at the heart of my feminine side and a borderline fetish. And I am ok with that. I hope you are too. Because I propose as a regular feature of Voyages en Rose to review pantyhose and to share my findings with you my friends. I will take a scientific approach to pantyhose scrutiny. I will consider the quality of the the tested product keeping these all important characteristics in mind:

Fit: Are they true to package size chart. Are they comfortably snug all over? Do they sag with wear?
Finish: Do they look like a quality product? Do they flatter the leg?
Durability: Will they last more then a wear or 2? Did they ladder on first wear?
Feel: Just like it says. Is this smooth and luxurious or scratchy and dying to be peeled (or ripped) off?
Style: Are you Red Carpet ready? Are they au-courant? Are they timeless? Are you fabulous?
Obscures Hair Score: This is a big consideration for many of us. Petra in particular. Yes, I don't shave. I have never felt my legs smooth inside a quality sheer legging. I have much to live for.

I will apply a 1-10 score for tested hose, average these scores out, divide the average by the price of the pantyhose and multiple the result by 100. This way, inexpensive hosiery that performs well will have a great chance of grabbing a really high rank. I expect that $50.00 Wolfords will score high, but we may get surprised by some house brand offerings in the well under $10.00 range this way. Kind of like wine I suppose.

I will include anecdotes about shopping for my hose. Was the store CD friendly? Helpful with sizing information or product suggestions? All of that good stuff.

And I promise, I will write my reviews while I am wearing the product. The legs can’t lie girls.

This column needs your input too. Please add your comments. Share your experiences. Name your favorites. And name the lame please. If there is a pair that Petra should test drive, I don’t need much encouragement to hit the shops. And if you are a rep for a nice brand of pantyhose and want to comp me a pair or a container load full, I must warn you that I cannot be corrupted. But your generosity will be noted to my many leggy friends!

So file those toe nails – its time to get started!

Pantyhose Parade – Issue # 1.

Earlier today I asked a panel of experts (a chat thread over at The Cross Dresser Club) for advice about finding a nice glamorous pair of hose that does a nice job of covering my leg hair. The lovely and helpful LisaElizabeth immediately suggested Danskin. This is not the first time I have heard that the Danskin tight does the trick. And I am a lover of their leotards (second skin, lovely stuff). So the Shimmery Opaque tight (Danskin Model # 1331) is under the microscope (and around my nether regions) this evening.…

This afternoon I dropped into Atlanta's Dance Fashion Warehouse to test drive a pair or 2. I had called ahead and the nice woman with the vaguely eastern European accent was able to put my size and color selections on hold. I was not explicit that they were for me but I did not actively dodge the issue. I said hello when I arrived at the shop, but not relaxed enough to completely out myself and get to know the store, the people and the merchandise better. I will confess, my day job was getting in the way again. I promise to do better next time….

In any event, I asked about return and exchange policy in the event that they did not fit me, and she indicated that as long as they were in unopened packages, a full refund or exchange was available to me. So, yes I am out to the DFW (and I will be back).

At suggested retail of $12.50, these are a reasonably priced offering when you consider that Danskin makes gear for dancers who really put their tights through paces. These are clearly made to last and to endure hard wearing. You know when you handle them that they are simply not going to develop runs unless you get snagged fleeing a mob and needing to leap a chain link fence.

This durability and sureness in the fabric lends itself to a good (not great, but good) fit and feel scores. There is a good amount of elastic (9% spandex) and a high denier opaque finish so a good tight fit is to be expected. And fit is key to comfort. After 2 hours of wear, I have not felt the urge (ok I have not felt the need, I have given in to the urge) to hike them up at all.

These are all good things. It goes downhill though. From a style perspective, well there is nothing beyond the most generic look about them. And that is ok. It’s a pair of plain tights after all. It’s the finish that gets me though. Perhaps the “Light Toast” shade is just a little too close to the old fashioned bologna skin pantyhose look that the older Italian widows used to wear in my neighborhood. Perhaps the light bounces off them in a way that reminds me of the tights that girls in elementary school wore before they figured out how to flaunt their abundant assets. I just don’t think they bring the glamour. And that is a shame.

Now don’t get me wrong. The black tights will work terrifically. And I can work the fleshy shade into an outfit with a low boot, stirruped leg warmers, a big long sweater and a shawl over it all, but I don’t think these are tights that can stand a nicely heeled shoe, a pretty skirt and a night out.

So how do these babies score? Well they get 70.4 Petra Pantyhose Points. Today though, we have nothing to compare that to, so who knows how good they are. Stay tuned here for more updates. I swear to God girls, we can know everything there is to know about tights, and then who will dare stand in our way?

Rest in Peace, Ms. Bettie Page

Sad news this morning on the death of Bettie Page. I am not old enough to remember her early Playboy sessions, but I am old enough to have witnessed her first re-popularization in the late 70’s.

It was a fun time. Punk music sensibilities had outed S&M, leather/latex, Dom/Sub and other hitherto sub-rosa kinks to a degree that had not been the case before, and Bettie’s image and imagery was kind of in the air. I had girlfriends who worked hard at getting her pale look and blunt bangs going for them.

For me though, beyond the curious mix of innocence and experience, of liberated and captive, of threatened and threatening, of strength and frailty and of all the other contradictions she balanced so delicately on her impossibly high heels, I was all about her lingerie. Real support. Ballistic bullet bras. Seamed stockings. Boned cinchers. I felt looking at pictures of Ms. Page that I had been born into the wrong era.

I think in hindsight that the she was a part of a renaissance in sexuality and fashion and even liberalism (small "l", no politics here ... please) that all of us today benefit from. And I understand that not too many dividends from our pleasures went her way.

Her biography is one of trouble, and I am sure that many of her days were confusing. But I do want to say that she will be missed, and I hope that when we see her images, we think nice things, and smile. It can’t hurt, and can only help.