Mike's tights story - III

by Mike

Concluding Mike's story of his life in tights.

The first two blog entries were many years ago – but they were how my ‘nylon gene’ came about. I have worn ever since.

Nowadays everyone knows – well all my friends at least. Anyone coming to the house usually sees me in tights and shorts, my partner has no problem with it neither does the postman who sometimes rings the bell to hand us our post personally – I think in the hope to see me in tights and shorts. He’s a shorts wearer himself and wears them deep into the winter. I think it’s a macho thing with him. One very cold day last winter, I said to him, as he handed me the electricity bill: ‘ you should wear these’, pointing to my legs (I was wearing black opaques), ‘it’ll keep you nice and warm’, he laughed and said ‘it not my scene’, smiled and walked away. Since then he sometimes comes in for a coffee on his rounds. But we never have discussed my wearing – it’s just accepted.

As the saying goes – an Englishman’s home is his castle – and anyone who calls and doesn’t like me wearing is free to go again. I still use the same line, as I did as a young man, in the event someone comes to the house who hasn’t seen me before i.e. a friend with a new friend, the gas meter reader, or whoever: ‘ Oh, I hope you don’t mind me wearing tights – only I always do, I like them.’ If I want a discussion I might add ‘they are very practical’. I cannot recall anyone saying: ‘yes I do object and must leave this house now’ or anything similar. Some may not come again – that’s fine with me. Take me and my tights is what I say.

Whilst I am fairly unreserved and demonstrative about wearing in my own home in front of whomever – I don’t feel that way about wearing outside in public. This year I have only worn about three times outside. Once during the local Gay Pride (shorts and tights were definitely ‘under dressing’), once to the local pub (7 den with knee length denim cut offs) no one noticed. I was standing with a group of friends waiting for a remark but it just didn’t happen. I said to them at one point ‘Oh, I’m wearing tights today’ one or two of the group looked and nodded and continued the conversation about football.

My ‘big’ outing last summer was a whole day in the local Charity Shop where I volunteered. Getting there was no problem at all. The rush hour crowd took no notice of me as I made my way up the local high street and working in the shop all day – moving around the shop floor – getting items out of the window for customers – made no difference. I did have one comment from the assistant manager who didn’t know about my tight wearing whilst we were on a coffee break – ‘Your wearing tights!’ she exclaimed as she noticed for the first time. ‘Yes’, I replied I always do – though not usually with shorts, I like them’. ‘Oh’, was the reply and that was the end of that. The conversation continued about what we were talking about before.

I do not feel like a campaigner for fashion freedom or that I should wear openly just to show others what is possible. I do it because I want to.

The dilemmas I face are:

1. should I ‘campaign’ more?
2. I’m I being selfish in not being sensitive to the taste of others that might be more ‘conventional’? 
3. Am I being ‘cowardly’ by not wearing out more often (I find myself wishing I was wearing openly when in outside situations sometimes). And
4. is having the ‘nylon gene’ normal? You views on these and other matters I have mentioned in these articles would be most welcome.

I end this series of articles as I started:

Wearing tights is not a ‘right’ or a ‘privilege’ but a personal choice. As with all personal choices the level of commitment is an individual matter. Each of us set our own limits within which we feel comfortable. 

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