A few days ago I wrote a short account of my most recent public outings in tights, in which I faced up to my concerns about being 'hemmed in' in an enclosed place surrounded by people (a shop, basically) while wearing tights, and also being seen in public in bright sunlight, which can make tights more obvious.
Well, the next step I had to take was to graduate to a darker colour. I put my trusty M&S Nude sheer 7 denier tights to one side and, after much deliberation, bought some Boots 10 denier Natural Tan tights.
I compared the two side by side this morning and was horrified at how dark the Natural Tan tights looked. Natural Tan?? They looked like Mahogany!! With the tights on, my legs were certainly darker than the rest of my skin. Anyway, I resolved not to back down, and, with a gulp, headed for the car.
I headed again for the busy market town not far from me, which I knew would be heaving on a Saturday, and so it proved. I parked in the Pay & Display and had a man standing behind me at the ticket machine. It was an interesting moment, but hey - guess what - nothing happened.
Not far out of the car park I turned a corner and was confronted with a group of teenagers. One girl scanned me from top to bottom like a document and what I thought was a mocking smile broke out on her face. I strode past confidently and awaited the reaction, but hey - guess what - nothing happened. I was almost disappointed. In retrospect I have concluded that maybe she just liked what she saw. After a day in these tights I think my legs look a lot healthier than they did in my 'nude' tights!
Into the crowded market again, and onward into the town centre. The sheer number of people coming toward me was almost overwhelming but nobody else scanned me, or even looked at me twice.
I walked around for about an hour, checked out a few shops, and generally enjoyed the cool breeze assailing my legs.
I glanced down at my legs a few times, and the weird thing is that the more time went by, the lighter my legs looked to me. In fact, by the time I got back to the car I was thinking that I really needed a darker shade!
Well, that's basically it. Yet another complete non-event, and I can finally say that my apprencticeship is over. There are still things I'd have to think about before doing, but for everyday getting on with my life, fairly dark tights in public holds no concerns for me now.
If an old worry-wort like me can do this there is NO excuse for those of you still confining yourself to barracks. Get out there!