Well, I got myself a free pair of leggings and I am wearing them for the second day already, enjoying the look of those hot gold zippers at the back. These are pretty small fitting, I actually felt that size L looked best on my legs because I am 5’7”. This style also comes in a nice cream white shade for the summer.
Hey, notice the shoes! I thought initially that these got lost during the big move from Calgary because I only found 1 shoe. Turns out that was the result of some other person’s superior packing skills who split up the pair and put each shoe in a different bag. I am very happy to have these back.
This is a photo I took on my vacation to Boston as I was sitting down to relax at one of the shopping malls I visited. I got these pantyhose as a gift from a girl who recently went to see her family in Taiwan. People know how much I like pantyhose, so they bring it to me from their trips.
I was so afraid that these Taiwanese pantyhose won’t fit me just because I am taller than an average Asian girl. To my surprise, they fit! I have never thought of myself as a hard-to-dress person, but with these Asian sizes I am frequently off the chart.
What I found surprising about this pair is the effect that you may at first think is the “mock stocking” pattern. These are actually the panty lines, it’s just that the panty itself is made of thinner material than the rest of the leg. While I was walking like that on high heels I already got an offer to go on a date from a random Bostonian gentleman.
Fishnets under ripped jeans? Why not!? So far, I can tell that I have fallen in love with fishnets. Ripped jeans are available in the wardrobe of almost any woman. We wear it with T-shirts, sweaters and sneakers in order to create a grunge style.
Generally, such trendy ripped jeans plus fishnets continue to gather momentum. I love this combination of different materials and texture because it is an affordable trend and looks stylish and sexy.
A usual combination with skirt and dresses is a routine already. That is why decided to wear my ripped jeans with my favorite tights and…voila! I created the balance between precious and vulgar, and I still like it. The small net size and nude color of my fishnets make me feel comfortable and sexy.
Colder days are coming up and these fishnets add a little bit of warmth, still allowing me to flaunt my cool denim. If you also would like to get a pair of such fishnet tights, check out Greta style by Fiore.
Recently I have read a post about successful celebrities. The author was insisting that for success just talent isn’t enough. One shall have a proper background, implying that his or her parents were able to invest in the child’s development. Otherwise, doesn’t matter how talented the child is, he or she will be a failure.
While watching this fashion show, I was thinking to myself: “Yes, in this case the post author was 100% right, creating such stylish outfits would be impossible if Slava had poor parents… Taste and this fine feeling of beauty and elegance do not come from nowhere.” The diversity of his outfits, most of which could serve as an icon of style and elegance, inspired me to read little bit more about the designer, Slava Zaitsev.
I was amazed and to some extent shocked: his mother was a usual housewife, and she has never had any beautiful clothes. Actually, that is why Slava creates such looks, rich and elegant, to somehow compensate for that mum`s feeling of, probably pain and hope that once at least her child will be able to have what she couldn’t afford. Inspired by richness and brightness of Russian national colours, Slava creates masterpieces (yes, and I am not afraid of using this word!) that can be worn in everyday live and for women of all sizes. Each of his creations is well-balanced, elegant and distinctive at the same time.
I am not a fan of red colour, I practically never wear it because my shyness dampens the joy, even if this of high quality and of truly elegant style. My mum always taught me never to wear everything of the same colour.
Perhaps I am too old school? If I would be a celebrity, like a famous TV host let’s say, I’d probably easily flaunt something like this in front of the paparazzi, with an expensive car to match. That would be a real gutsy statement!
A row of models dressed in white parade down the catwalk in crisp white tights and nostalgic hats. I would say, elegance is a key word to all looks created by this designer.
Any shade of pink is quite a controversial colour. These outfits, however, show this shade in a different light, rather not connected with all the Barbie glamour, but with the elegance of a mature lady that isn’t afraid of experiments. Confident and yet charming.
This skirt would look equally nice on a slim woman and on a fuller figured woman or a woman coming from a cultural background that requires full body coverage (ex. Chechen republic). Slava Zaitsev is famous for also creating clothes for women who are “just bigger than average”. His work is very versatile, he even designed athlete’s uniforms for 1980s Moscow Olympic games.
Here is a one more casual style for the ladies with fuller figures, it accentuates the feminine lines. It would, in my opinion, be more interesting to see an actual plus size model wear something like this to show women of all sizes that it is not difficult to select good styles for their shape.
Wait a second here, what a daring design, but didn’t my mum teach me not to wear more than three colours at once? I would like to get a better look at the dress underneath the jacket because this orange/black combination with stripes on the side seems pretty cool.
Slava’s designs show a lot of cultural roots to them. He uses very unusual combination of accessories, scarves, and so on to create his looks.
Here is a luxury mix of royal blue and gold. Hosiery matches the rest of the outfit and adds a special elegant touch as if it is a business lady heading to some artistic exhibition.
Here is another example of a dress that would be appropriate for a woman with a fuller figure. The head piece is pretty avant-garde in my opinion, but it nicely finishes this whole Mongolian-like concept.
What a classic colour combination – red and black, with mesh for elegance. Romantic and mysterious, but so different from the rest of the collection.
In my opinion Slava Zaitsev has his own unique signature, just like the iconic Dior and Chanel who were his inspirations. His designs are so well composed that they don’t require any cheap shock factors in order be remembered.
I am pleased to present this interview with Anatoly Borodin, a photographer and an entrepreneur from Moscow. He runs a popular pantyhose fetish-oriented website pro-kolgotki. It has been 10 years since he started photographing women in pantyhose and he is currently working on publishing a high quality printed photo book of his best work. This is a crowdfunding campaign to spread a word about the beauty of women in pantyhose. Anatoly proved to be the most interesting person to interview so far. Some of his answers took me by surprise, some made me disagree, some made me wonder whether he is the next Pierre Molinier, and some made me realize that my degree of pantyhose obsession is no match to his. To sum it up, Anatoly left me with even more questions than answers. Enjoy the read!
How do you select your models? Is it a requirement for them to love pantyhose? I remember helping to dress models at a Vancouver fashion show and many had no idea about basic concepts like “backseam is supposed to be at the back” type of thing.
I look for amateur girls who want to have good photos of themselves in order to publish them on their own blog and to improve their self-esteem. These are ordinary girls from Moscow, Kiev and other Russian and Ukrainian cities.
There’s no requirement to love pantyhose. If it was in place – I wouldn’t find any models. LOL.
I simply publish a job post in fashion & modelling communities with explanation that ‘we shoot underwear and pantyhose’. Then I make a selection of the best girls who have replied to my job post. Usually it is 50% of all the replies. Then I contact them and ask if they’re OK to pose in underwear. At this point another 50% of girls leave. The reason for double-checking is that models are usually young absent-minded girls with ‘a wind between their ears’, honestly. So they reply to all castings and all job posts without even looking at the details. Calling a potential model and double-confirming the type of shooting is essential – it saves a lot of time and energy.
I do not tell that the session is of certain fetish type. Because it’s not! Surprised?
Yes, my sessions are NOT related to pantyhose fetish. Don’t want to go deep into details, just check the vocabulary’s definition of ‘fetish’ and you’ll get the clue. My sessions are about women and their true tender beauty. Pantyhose are just a garment that emphasises the femininity of certain girl in a certain session.
Yes, women DO NOT KNOW A THING ABOUT PANTYHOSE. For more than 15 years I’ve been researching this alluring riddle, testing hundreds of pairs of pantyhose, learning the hosiery industry on all continents. Completed hundreds of interviews with women of different cultures and ages learning their attitude and wishes towards nylons.
My conclusion is that women do not really care about hosiery. They purchase random tights at random places without looking at either the brand name or the visual quality.
I don’t judge. I understand them completely. The woman’s world contains so many more important things like health, relations, and daily tasks, looking after kids and so on. The list is endless. A pair pantyhose is at the very end on that list, if there at all.
I adore seeing women wearing pantyhose in everyday life, there aren’t so many of them around. That’s why I came up with my project’s idea – to create more real women wearing pantyhose. It’s all right that they wear pantyhose only at my sessions. But the pantyhose wearing index it’s already above zero. Do you get my point?
This is our reality, and there’s nothing good or bad about that.
Is there a type of pantyhose that is the most difficult to photograph? There are a lot of little details to watch for during any photoshoot, especially the lighting.
Surprisingly, seamless sheer pantyhose is the most difficult to shoot, like Wolford Fatal 15. I love the idea of seamless pantyhose, but it is almost impossible to show them in a beautiful way without going to too explicit images.
The thing is that seamless pantyhose are unthinkable to be worn with any underwear. The seamless concept is so super-sexy and so super-feminine that I can’t allow my model to have anything under them. Any kind of panties look weird and odd under a pair of seamless pantyhose.
Another disadvantage of seamless pantyhose is that they’re too matt and too thin to be clearly visible on the photographs. So it usually takes a lot of efforts to place the right lighting and take a shot under the right angle to make a good photo.
That’s why I don’t shoot seamless pantyhose in my sessions anymore. Too much of hassle of balancing the image between being feminine, tender and pure and the explicitness.
Do you retouch your photographs? I’d like to know where you stand on this, some fashion photographers pride themselves on never releasing an image without first spending a few hours on it in Photoshop.
Yes I always retouch every photograph. One photo takes from 10 to 30 minutes of retouching. One issue of my magazine contains up to 400 photographs. So one issue release takes from 66 to 200 hours of my daily work.
I love what I do, so I’m working without weekends, and at night. But don’t get delusional, a good photograph that people would want to pay money for is always based on hard work and years of experience. Throw away the stories of ‘get rich in one month in two clicks’.
AND! Do not ever listen to any ‘fashion photographers’ who say that. Everybody retouches photos. Without retouching any photo look ‘too ordinary’ . It’s a general trap that many starting photographers get into… sometimes for life.
The whole point of artistic depictions that people would like looking at is in ‘creating a vivid unusual image that one can’t find in everyday life’. It has a lot to do with the increased contrast, vividness, color balance and many other things.
It is a known fact that amateur photos get way more attention on social media than studio photos. Why do you think this is the case?
In my opinion amateur photos are quite popular because of higher level of intimacy on them. A photo of yourself taken in your private kitchen or your bedroom is much more intimate and ‘true’ than any studio photo. But popular doesn’t mean profitable. People want to watch amateur photos for free, and don’t want to pay.
Do you have any entertaining photoshoot stories? One time I was at a fashion show in Toronto where the model was in such a rush to put on that jacket, she walked out with the hanger still on her back.
Can’t recall any specific funny story. Mainly because of my sessions are completely directed and pre-arranged. So I’m the conductor of the set and can do whatever I think is reasonable.
There was one plus size girl who brought her red evening dress but didn’t bring any heels. I asked her about what she was thinking about when she packed an evening dress and her sneakers… So we had to shoot her in that dress and with bare feet. The result was still nice.
Oh! Let me tell you the biggest fun: girls do not have a clue of what does them and what doesn’t fit them.
Women do not have a clue of matching pantyhose and underwear colors. They think ‘it’s OK’ and ‘nobody sees it anyway’.
But men see. If you’re a girl reading this, get this clear: yesterday you wore stockings under your skirt and I guarantee most men you met on that day knew you were wearing stockings. Don’t ask how. We, men, train our skills.
If you’re a man reading this, you’d probably agree with me.
Moreover, when you’re young you never know in whose bed you will end up today. It’s OK. But in order to look holistic, tasty and stylish – please, PLEASE (PLEASE!) think of matching your underwear and pantyhose colors.
There’s nothing more tasteless than a white panties under a black sheer pantyhose. It just degrades you down to a country redneck girl (is that OK to write like that? LOL).
Black pantyhose = black/dark panties.
Nude pantyhose = nude/white/light panties
Colourful pantyhose = up to you, think of and try the complimentary colors.
(Red vs blue, yellow vs violet, pink vs sky-blue, orange vs dark-green… should I continue or you’ve got the point?)
Not saying about all other accessories, belts, bracelets, watches, earrings, and lipstick’s color matching the whole outlook.
And finally:
Some girls come to my sessions having their periods. This is awkward, but to me it is funny! I mean no offense. I’m laughing at myself getting into such an awkward situation. It’s inconvenient for the girl in first place. And when she doesn’t feel secure, the photos would be a complete crap. I can’t even press the shutter button when I see a tense insecure girl in front of me.
When a girl decides to come for an underwear session at her ‘days’, this means she just wants money. I understand and don’t judge. But we won’t get any good result out of that. There’s no easy solution for this, because I can’t ask my potential models about their periods over the phone. It would be too awkward. So all I have is to rely on girls’ discretion, and to laugh at such situations.
Looks like you are an open-minded kind of guy. What is your opinion of men who wear pantyhose for comfort and enjoyment? This is probably one of the most common questions I get.
If that’s making you feel good, then IT IS GOOD.
Yes I wore pantyhose and I found it exciting. The good pantyhose make your legs look and feel so smooth and sleek. I regret I can not wear skirt because when pantyhose are under your pants the legs can’t touch each other. Although I’ve tried it at home. I believe that this sensation of your legs covered by sheer pantyhose touching each other is very important! And very revealing! Like the whole unknown universe opens before you! A universe of women’s feelings, sensations, thoughts, and motivations. This experience has allowed me to feel what women feel, and as a result to better understand them.
And here I’d like to say that I understand WHY women hate pantyhose. I really do! Because after wearing a pair of sheer pantyhose for 10-12 hours they bring a lot of discomfort at the end of the day. I felt that my legs were like in a cage. And especially the sweat that have spread along the legs, making pantyhose feel like something wet and rubbery.
BUT ONLY THE LOW-QUALITY ONES! Hear me out! Only the low quality pantyhose bring that kind of discomfort by the end of the day! The good ones, for instance Wolford Satin Opaque 50, or Neon 40, are so luxurious that you wouldn’t want to take them off. I’ve experimented with many women of different ages and ethnicity. All of them declined to take them off after a 4-hour long session.
Listen to me; it’s a man telling you this stuff. Don’t take this as an advertisement, I simply haven’t found anything better than Wolford during my 15 year extensive research of hosiery.
I’ve even tried wearing laced sexy panties, but that’s too inconvenient for a man simply because of the physiological reasons. It could give you some bad consequences with your health in a long run. I looked at myself in a mirror wearing laced panties and sheer pantyhose, and it was the most miserable view in my life. I felt it was all too fake. It was like a wishful act – trying to be someone you’re not. That moment I decided that I prefer seeing beautiful underwear and luxury pantyhose on real women.
We all have both male and female essence in us. Seeking for another gender’s essence in you is normal and good for finding yourself. Usually, normally, we go through that sex/orientation thing at our middle childhood when trying on another sex’s garments, shoes, clothing. It’s normal and it’s very important in forming your orientation. That’s what I believe in.
I’d like to emphasise this to all men interested in pantyhose, who are insecure about their interest. If something makes you feel good, and it doesn’t affect anyone else, then it’s nothing but the good thing.
This interview was conducted by Jessica, the founder of this website. Please note that views expressed in this interview are Anatoly’s only and they may or may not reflect the views on the same subjects of the Fantasy Stockings team.
Here comes my late night rant about the growing popularity of leggings. Please share your thoughts too!
By Jessica from Calgary, Canada (the founder of Fantasy Stockings)
A few days ago I went to get my dental cleaning and I asked my hygienist, a young Caucasian Canadian-born woman in her early 20’s, if she wears pantyhose. She knows that this is what I sell, so the question didn’t come off as weird. She told me the truth, the way it is – no, she doesn’t wear it since childhood!
She started thinking about it and said that it looks like the whole trend just went away. When she was a child, her mom would dress her up in tights and dresses, but now she prefers to wear leggings instead. I thought about it some more and asked her, what would she wear if she wants to dress up really sexy for a nice date in November? She said that she would still wear leggings under her dress, but together with boots, so that the foot is not visible.
Does anyone still wear pantyhose in her family? Well, her mom used to, but stopped now. Her grandma still does. I made a joke that perhaps her grandmother could be my potential customer and she laughed. This popped into my head a few minutes ago before writing this post because I was browsing some dress code etiquette about shoes and hosiery on Youtube and my search lead me directly to a channel called “women over 50”.
Sadly this is the trend for many Canadian-born women. As I mentioned previously on my blog, another dental assistant from that same Calgary-based office, a 23 year old young woman, told me straight that she has never owned a pair of pantyhose in her life and at a recent wedding she attended the only person in pantyhose was the bride’s mother.
I would like to hear what you think on this subject. It does seem to me like leggings are taking over when it comes to the younger generation of Canadian youth. At any trade show I go to there will be at least a couple of vendors with racks of leggings in all sorts of tasteless circus patterns.
All the lovers of tight pants are just going to love this. Balenciaga, a French designer label, put out some models on the runway wearing tight shoe pants (as the tights are actually attached to the shoes) and spandex.
Some writers refer to these designs as fetishistic because of the tightness of the garments. It does make sense, especially by having the shoes made out of the same shade and fabric as the pants, an illusion of super long legs is created.
I read up a little bit on the founder of this almost a 100 year old label. Cristobal Balenciaga started out nicely, but then had to close his boutiques because of war. Obviously this didn’t stop him from making a come back. Just think about it for a minute, whatever obstacles our modern entrepreneurs are faced with are nothing like what he had. I guess that those who are meant to survive somehow will, no matter what walls keep them out.
I just watched a very nice talk on body proportions and styling by Orly Shay from Tel Aviv. She actually created her own software called Mipso to help people choose proper glasses for their face and proper clothing to optimize their figure.
“Shay, a styling expert, will prove on the TEDxTelAviv stage that fashion and design is not subjective and not art – it’s completely math and exact science.”
One example she gave was about the length of her dress. It was just below the knee with a fitted waistline. She said that choosing a dress that length hides where her legs begin from and lets your mind imagine that she has very long legs. We can also see that she is wearing slimming black sheer tights and a pair of nice high heels.
It’s just our nature, golden ratio is appealing to the eye and we react positively to whatever our eye finds visually appealing. Orly says that choosing the right clothing can help to dress for success. If you want, you can watch her entire video here – Orly Shay, TED Talk, Tel Aviv.
Nobody in the world has the same body combination, let’s embrace our uniqueness, not even twins. Only one is yours! Bring it out and make it count.
I saw this photo online, not sure what year it is from… it’s a Russian young designer competition. The model here is clearly wearing sheer black pantyhose with black knee high socks over it. First of all, it’s already progress to see pantyhose on the runway, so let’s give them some credit.
What do you think though about these knee high socks over pantyhose, is it too much? To me somehow there is not enough contrast. Whenever something is layered like this, I always want to see different colours playing together.
Let me know your opinions! I am curious to hear what you say about this.
