As you can learn from the history of hosiery, it was always regarded as something of higher class because simple peasants in villages could not afford it and only the wealthy would wear it.
In Eastern Europe this still holds true. Here are some references for your interest from a variety of Eastern-European sources where women equate pantyhose with money. Pantyhose as a sign of Financial Prosperity!
___________________________________
Russian Deputy, Nina Ostanina, as a response to accusations of blackmail, makes a statement to show that she has enough money in order not to engage in criminal activities:
“I have enough money to buy myself a skirt and a pair of pantyhose!” – Nina Ostanina, Russian Deputy
Nina Ostanina is a mature lady on the left in a black knee high dress. At this concert the blond host is wearing pantyhose, but Nina isn’t from what it looks. Could it be in fact true that this poor deputy engages in blackmail because she doesn’t have enough money for pantyhose and a skirt?
___________________________________
Svetlana Hodchenkova, a Russian actress, came to a fashion show in a strange outfit, according to a Ukrainian 7 Day Newspaper. Despite the cold weather, she was wearing a fur coat and sandals worn on bare legs and the media was quick to issue a mocking headline to address such nonsense.
Is Svetlana Hodchenkova saving money on pantyhose? Newspaper Headline, mocking her bare leg appearance
But it looks like she changed her mind when it came to getting attention of the opposite sex. Smart move, Svetlana!
___________________________________
Natalya Tolstaya, a Russian psychologist/sexologist/writer, gives as an example of a greedy husband, saying that a woman should not beg her husband for some money to buy pantyhose. She mentions all sorts of pantyhose scenarios in her videos. If requests are received, I’d be glad to retrieve them for you.
According to Natalya Tolstaya, the ultimate example of having a greedy husband is having to beg him for some money to buy pantyhose.
Natalya Tolstaya is the lady in the middle. Do you think that this hosiery clad trio has generous enough husbands who give them money for pantyhose?
Would you like to imagine what people would think if a woman would come with bare legs to a business meeting? I hope you read this article with a sense of humour, but keep in mind that in every joke there is a part of truth.
*Thank you to my Ukrainian and Russian friends who helped me to put together this article – Pantyhose As a Sign of Financial Prosperity.*
Sources (in foreign language):
Deputy Article, Mocking Bare Legs Article, Natalia Tolstaya YT Videos
Yes please! I would love to read those “pantyhose scenarios” you mentioned.
I’ll try to find some more.
From what I know Natalya Tolstaya says that a woman should have a budget set aside for small things that we spend money on – like, pantyhose! So she implies that pantyhose are part of a woman’s regular ongoing pocket expenses.
Natalia Tolstaya also has a story about a woman who had a rich husband and decided not to work anymore and spend her days on the couch with TV. She had all the expensive clothing untouched in her wardrobe. But one time old friends called and asked that couple to go out.
This woman couldn’t find appropriate clothing to go out despite her abundance of money. So she pulled out some old dress, some sandals, and realized last minute that she doesn’t have pantyhose. Why doesn’t she have pantyhose??? Because she spends all days on the couch or out in jeans and t-shirt and feels no need to dress up. But when there is a sudden reason to dress up, she is unprepared. According to Natalya such woman probably expected her husband to buy her pantyhose, but he has his own things on his mind, so he would not think of that.
However, I still don’t get the moral of that story, to tell you the truth.
Russian and Eastern European women seem to take wearing pantyhose very seriously than North American women as they see it as a custom, culture, and tradition of being feminine that must be respected and adhered to. Great article as always.
I agree with Brian
Very good article. Would love to hear more scenarios. It is easy to see that women in many other parts of the world, namely Russia, the Ukraine, and of course Japan, still understand the practicality and benefits of wearing hose.
Great article. Thank you for sharing.
🙂