Warm or cold?

I remember I once had a discussion, no, a talk,no... a colleague once told me on a cold November day that tights had got contrary effects worn under trousers or a skirt : under trousers they give you warmth but under a skirt you feel cold.

I think she's right ;-) Paule

My wife tells me that wearing a calf-length skirt, petticoat and opaque tights is much warmer than wearing trousers during the colder months. I suppose the combined skirt and petticoat traps the body's warmth.

During colder months I find that M&S BodySensor tights make my legs colder rather than warmer. As you know, the idea behind BodySensor tights is that they keep you warm when it's colder and cooler when it's warm. I believe that when wearing trousers such tights somehow react to your legs getting warmer, and then ironically, make your legs feel cooler - not what you want on a cold winter's day!

Notwithstanding, wearing tights makes a significant difference to me in warding-off the cold. I wear increasing deniers as the temperatures decrease. I start with 20D sheers, then 40D and 60D opaques. On really, really cold days, I'll wear sheer tights under 100D cotton tights. At any rate, I'd much rather wear tights than Longjohns!

The remaining problem I have is in keeping my feet warm. One of the associated symptoms of the peripheral neuropathy that I've suffered from is really cold feet (sometimes really painful). Up until recently, it wouldn't matter if I wore two pairs of tights with thicker socks. My feet would still remain uncomfortably cold. Our house is fully-carpeted and I wear comfortable slippers.

Recently, however, I came across a remarkable pair of slippers on Lands' End. These 'ThermaCheck Slip-ons' on first visual inspection look like a complete waste of time and money (£29) - but I can report that they are the best investment I've made for a long time. I bought them in September, and my feet were too hot wearing these new slippers with ordinary socks. It's November, and I find they keep my feet nice and toasted when wearing just sheer tights (they're far too hot wearing tights and socks). The results is that I haven't been aware of any problems with cold feet since I purchased them. My wife is fully aware of the problems I previously encountered, and appears more than happy when I wear tights instead of socks with my ThermaChecks.

Further information on these wonderful slippers can be found here http://www.landsend.co.uk/icat/pc175377&bklist=ica t,7,shop,landsend,l2_men,l3_3011,l4_4058,l5_5000

Your wife said tights don't keep you warm, but then went on moments later to complain that, under trousers, they were hot & sticky? Contradiction! As for me, I find hose quite cool. I remember I wore hose under my jeans when I was shovelling snow during a blizzard (not here, in Boston!) and, when I got the chance for a change of t-shirt and jeans, I also took the hose off, I thought they were making my legs feel colder. And, working in the snow without the hose on did make a difference in terms of warmth. I very much believe in the health benefits of wearing tights, but I doubt the claim that they're warmer under trousers. I just haven't experienced that. Everytime I wear under my jeans, I feel as if my legs have a ventilation system!

What were you expecting? Consistency from the female of the species?

The truth of the matter is that we are dealing with fixed opinions here. There is consistency, but it is at a basic ideological level. The ideological position is that 'tights are bad' – Now let us see what arguments we can marshal in support of that position. I have mentioned some in my unreasons article. No matter if some of them are contradictory with others, they are all grist to the mill.

But before we men feel all self righteous, let us ask ourselves whether we have ever marshalled arguments to justify our wearing of tights, when the real reason is simply that we like it!

On the hot/cold issue, my view is that wearing tights above 30 denier a man or woman will always be warmer with than without. When we get down to sheers, it is not necessarily so. On the one hand there is the insulating property of nylon (but this is less than that of most other fabrics). On the other, tights can cause the body to lose natural warmth. Hair (or more precisely the air that is trapped between the hairs) is a good insulator. If hair is removed or flattened down, more heat will be lost. Limbs are warmed by blood vessels – if the blood flow is reduced even slightly by wearing tights with lycra that compress the legs, the limbs will feel colder.

Geraden

Yeah, expecting consistency and/or coherency from women is akin to expecting snow on Bondi Beach - at Christmas. LOL. I count myself as extremely lucky to have a wife that never minds when I wear tights and is actually encouraging - even during her "time of the month!"

That was a great list about the pros and "cons" of tights - I'm just convinced that because women are allowed, and even forced, to wear tights from an early age, they think about them they way we think about dress socks or ties - it's what we sometimes or often HAVE to wear, nothing special about it. So women make up excuses to NOT have to wear them, because they feel that tights are somewhat discriminatory, seeing as how their schools and workplaces demanded they wear them. You, I and other males did not have this experience, so we are really the only ones who can see pantyhose for the wonderful garments they really are. Honestly, I could be in tights 24 hours a day, only taking them off for a bath.