Where do flight attendants buy their tights?

Satin Touch 20 pantyhose on the airplaneJust recently I returned from my trip to US and I wanted to write about two conversations I had with flight attendants on the way there and back about pantyhose. I was curious to hear whether why they choose not to wear compression hosiery even though it is fully covered by their work benefits and where they buy their regular ones.

On my way to JFK one of the flight attendants was very friendly to me and I asked her, out of professional interest, what hosiery she wears. She said that she actually buys her tights at the dollar store! Somehow whether she buys it for $2 or for $15 from the department store, she still ends up getting snags in them the first time she wears. Thus, she figured, why spend more.

When I asked about compression, she said that she has one pair that she got through the company. It helps her legs and she really should wear it, but it’s too much hassle. Compression hosiery needs to be put on wearing latex gloves and it has to be washed in a specific soap solution.

My suggestion to her was to buy a few more of those compression tights and alternate them, so she can wash them all at once. I also gave her my card and offered to give her some free Fiore hosiery to try out and review. There are moderately priced options out there that don’t have as high of a mark up as the ones at the department store.

On my flight back I asked another flight attendant about her tights and the story was almost the same. She buys her regular hosiery from Aldo shoes. Exactly like the lady before her, she also owns one pair of compression hosiery that she was specifically measured for. However, she lost weight and her compression tights no longer fit her properly.

For all the flights I wore pantyhose myself, it’s doesn’t look credible to ask someone a personal question, claiming you are from the hosiery industry, if you don’t look the part. On my flight to JFK I wore Wolford tights and on the way back out of Boston I wore a pair of thicker Taiwanese ones that were a gift from a friend. Fiore tights make up the majority of my personal collection, but I also like to try on different brands in order to be able to compare and give people good feedback in terms of benchmark brands.

Man Enough for Mantyhose?

by Jackie Noah, staff writer

560-with-shorts-on-stool.jpgCalling all guys who have thought about trying on women’s pantyhose but haven’t gotten the nerve!  (Come on out, fellas, I know you’re in there!)

Many of you are attracted to the look and feel of nylon pantyhose on a woman’s legs, and have wondered what it would feel like on your own legs.

Perhaps your attraction to pantyhose is strong enough to be classified as a fetish…   if that is the case, go ahead and indulge yourself – many male fans of Fantasy Stockings have told me the sensation they get from wearing and walking around in women’s pantyhose is “sheer” ecstasy! Words like, “sensual” “ecstatic” “undulation” “electric” roll off their lips…

Okay, so what is holding you back? Need another reason to open up a pack and give it a try? Health benefits! Traditionally, wearing support hose has been  for “women only”, although the health benefits of slipping into a pair cut across gender lines.

Steve Newman is spokesman for  “ActivSkin Men’s Legwear”, a product line of G. Lieberman & Son’s of Granville Ohio, USA.  Family owned for four generations,  Lieberman & Sons (GLS Hosiery) has been discretely offering its hosiery to men since 1920. Steve was recently interviewed by Gail Hogan on Columbus Ohio’s WNBC-4 TV.

Steve told Gail, “… up to forty five percent of men experience vein insufficiencies in the legs and the medical industry has largely ignored that.”

Okay, so what is the concept? “… A lot of our products are support style hosiery, which compresses the legs, which compresses the veins, and helps the little valves in your veins pump the blood up out of your legs and return it to your heart”, says Steve.

What about the public mindset that legwear is for women only?  “We at ActivSkin have been doing our part to publicize legwear as a men’s or unisex garment and as we do, more and more men are becoming comfortable wearing them, at least under long pants. I am probably the poster boy for men’s legwear, so I try to advertise it everywhere I go.”  (Steve was wearing a pair of transparent hose under his khaki shorts for the TV interview.)

Steve finished by saying that in addition to helping blood circulation, the hosiery also creates muscle compression which increases stamina and reduces fatigue. ActivSkin products are designed for men’s body proportions, and they have a fly opening in the front.

ActiveSkin products aren’t available in retail outlets, but you can view the extensive catalog online at  glieberman.com, and make purchases… they have a PayPal account.

590-592-inset.jpgA frequently asked question by potential buyers who are still sensitive about receiving what is essentially a pair of pantyhose in the mail: “HOW IS IT PACKAGED???”

This fun answer, from the website:

We know that if we packaged our legwear in pink envelopes with big bright red letters that said, “Here’s the pantyhose you ordered, Mister!” that wouldn’t get us a lot of happy customers or repeat business. So, we send our orders in plain envelopes that don’t advertise anything about the contents. Even though we’re proud of our products, we recognize that some people might be sensitive about others knowing what they wear, so we try to be as discreet as we can.  For orders outside the USA we are required to declare the contents on a customs form, and it is usually identified simply as “clothing”.

So there you are, boys! Whatever your reasons for being reluctant to take the plunge and slip into a pair of pantyhose, there are ample reasons to put aside your hesitation and try what could become an important part of your evolving unisex wardrobe!

 

Steve Newman’s blog:  http://www.nylongene.com/   ActivSkin store: http://www.glieberman.com/

 

*Friends, the only funding for this blog is from the shop section.  Please indulge your pantyhose obsession and show some support for my work!  Your purchases make this blog possible.*