e-MANcipate! pantyhose for men article page

Why do men wear pantyhose?

After all, what makes a male put on this 'female' garment? - This sounds the obvious question, and it is asked many times of our readers.

To find the answer we need to read between the lines of everyday life - and men who wear pantyhose should ask the opposite: why isn't it an obvious fashion choice?

Since pantyhose (or tights), as a garment, has about it nothing gender-specific (such as a panty that fits only the female body, or a bra that is 'organ-specific'), there is no reason why people of either sex should think of it as a female-only piece of clothing in everyday life.


Just happens

So the first time wearing - it just happens. Maybe she makes him try it on a cold, wet autumn day; or maybe he tries it himself for skiing or for some other winter sport, or for cycling or running. Or perhaps a doc recommended that he wear compression hose and he wanted to try something thinner.

Remember: if you were not forced to wear pantyhose during long uncomfortable school events at a young age; and if you have no natural aversion to putting on XL size hose, then pantyhose is a practical and comfortable thing. If you choose the right size, then it's not itchy, even you have the hairiest legs :) It is usually a problem for ladies, who think that wearing a larger size hose would say something unflattering about their shape or weight. It's simply about comfort.

A significant proportion of guys like to wear tight clothes, and some of them will somehow try pantyhose in an everyday-life situation, and will like it. That's it. Nowadays that we have high-quality Comfilon (US) and Gerbe (French) pantyhose (amongst others) designed for our male comfort, sewn with special yarns, pantyhose is even more comfortable for men.

Once you have discovered pantyhose - and liked it - you might not want to leave off wearing it anymore. It's fun to experiment with all the colors and yarns and patterns and thickness of pantyhose - it's fun to try out all the styles and to dress our legs in these materials.

And yes, it really makes a difference to wear hose with some compression built in for a whole day - our legs feel better, and we feel less tired at evening.


Easy to dress up

It's relatively easy, too, as a man to dress up with hose - it goes easily with almost every kind of shorts and shoes.

So even guys who are not the typical fashion kings, can do it.

It's just like socks - men are usually able to find a type that fits the best.

We've been experimenting - and still experimenting - with different styles of hose, making our models try them on and 'forcing' the stylist to fit it together, but it's been a great surprise that even hosiery that is thought to be very femmy could go together with an average outfit without making the whole outfit femmy at all.


Illustrating

It is rather like illustrating a man's legs - and finding a new part of the body that could be easily used to carry a fashionable part of the outfit.

So it seems to be the perfect challenge for the fashion industry - to find and refine these outfits; and the perfect challenge for the hosiery industry to support both sport/health/comfort and fashion pantyhose for men.

(2008-09-04)

Do you have a design/outfit in your mind? We are happy to try new designs at our next photo session. Are you an industry professional? We are happy to feed you with information you might need. Se our contact page.

Special thanks to Geraden.