A female tights blog

by Geraden

I was fascinated when my searches of the web recently revealed a hosiery fashion blog written by a woman.

The site is: http://fashionlegwear.blogspot.com/, and the author is Lauren, aka Legwear Girl. The blog is a fascinating mix of information, opinion and very nice pictures.

This is what Lauren says of herself:

This blog is devoted to fashion legwear. I am a legwear enthusiast living in NYC working in the fashion industry. Legwear is back in style and I am excited to report on the current and upcoming trends, to help people learn how to wear it, and where to buy it. I would like to share what kind of legwear girls are wearing around the globe, how designers are incorporating legwear with their fashions on models down the runway, and which legwear is being showcased in high fashion magazines.

Lauren certainly appears to have the 'nylon gene', but she is a businesswoman as well as an enthusiast, being connected with such sites as http://www.stockinggirl.com and http://www.fashionlegwear.com/.

One of her many attractive blog entries to catch my eye was 
Shorts with Tights - Love Them!
A couple of comments had been added to this entry, showing appreciation for the shorts and tights look, which was once a complete fashion 'no-no'. I was browsing this site in my lunch hour at work, and I added a further comment, also supporting the look, but pointing out that it was a fashion option that men could also wear. 

When I got home, I found an e-mail waiting for me. It was from Lauren:

Subject: Your blog
From: Lauren lauren@stockingirl.com
Date: 03/05/2006 16:54
To: geraden@tights-excite.com

Hi Geraden,

Thanks for your comment.  Unfortunatlely, I can't keep any comments that are not strictly related to fashion legwear.  I hope you don't take offense to this.  I am by no means disapproving of men wearing hosiery, I have absolutely no problem with it, that just isn't what this blog is about, it is about women's fashion.

Thanks for you interest.

Sincerely,

Legwear Girl

This surprised me a little. Not since I had a run-in about a year ago with a forum run by a nasty admin (long story) has a comment of mine been deleted. How ever, I sent Lauren a reply as follows:

Subject: Re your blog
From: geraden@tights-excite.com
Date: 05/05/2006 01:20
To: lauren@stockingirl.com

Dear Lauren

First of all can I say what a great site you have. You are clearly a hosiery enthusiast with a good eye for what is attractive. Also to the best of my knowledge you are the first tights-blog by a female author.

Anyway, you have deleted my comment! *Smiling* I am not one to take offence. I see that your blog has a commercial interest, and that you need to protect your means of livelihood.

Nevertheless I am saddened that the hosiery world is such that you cannot acknowledge as customers or potential customers one half of the population.

I am curious about what proportion of your customers are men? Shapings.com once famously reported 80% and I believe that they have later upped that to 90%.

You say you have no problem with men who wear, and I believe you. The fact that you sent me such an e-mail proves that you are that kind of person. What I am trying to say is that I understand how hard from a business point of view it is for people like you to acknowledge your male customers. That is why male hosiery wearing is such big secret in hosiery circles. It is a self-perpetuating one, too. In general men will not come out into the open about their hosiery until it becomes acceptable. And it will not become acceptable while men hide it away as something shameful.

So some acknowledgement on your site of men as customers would be appreciated. A start would be to publish advice for men buying for wives and girlfriends. Other sites have published advice for men and survived!

Finally please read some of my blog. I have linked to yours and will keep the link up whether or not you reciprocate.

Best wishes

Geraden
http://geraden.blog-city.com

"men have legs too"

I am still waiting for a reply (or a link from her blog to mine)!

I do have some sympathy with the likes of Lauren – they are scared that the secret (that so many men wear hosiery) will get out and that women will respond by turning away from hosiery even more.

Lauren specialises in fashion hosiery with lots of colour and texture. Her type of hosiery will probably appeal less to male wearers than the more standard sheers and opaques.  However I would guess that even so, she is probably selling half of her stock to men, and maybe more.

If only male legwear did not have the stigma of fetish associated with it!

But then if it did not, would so many of us men be wearing – long after the sexual thrill has given way to a feeling of well-being from wearing tights?

Lauren, if you read this, please feel free to comment.  Oh, and by the way, I have never deleted a comment (except for spam) and only once have I edited a comment (to remove graphic sexual content). 
 

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