Here are some photos that I took while wearing Miriam sheer 20 den hosiery by Fiore. It is just like any backseam pantyhose, but with an additional twist towards the ankle. They are sheer to waist and the toe doesn’t have any visible reinforcement.
I tried these nice micromesh tights today, Spot by Fiore. They seem to be pretty durable because of the weave. I only brought these in nude shade because it looks so much more summery than black.
It is still pretty cold in Toronto, but stores already have swimwear greeting you as you walk in. I tried today to combine a little bit of spring-like hosiery into my outfit and put in a pair of fishnets over sheer pantyhose. Here is a photo of me trying on shoes at a local store while wearing that. You can spot the control top, somehow my shorts turned out to be not long enough to hide it. In case you are wondering, both styles are by Conte. I promised to review a few items by this brand from Belarus for their official distributor.
Please check these out these on eBay, they are running some specials on them.
Conte fishnet tights (seamless panty portion with a cotton gusset, no reinforcement on the toe)
Conte sheer Nuance 15 (reinforced toe and panty, no gusset, plus size available)
I just arrived back from Boston two weeks ago and I brought back a souvenir – a pair of Wolford Fatal Seamless 50 den tights that I bought at one of the two Wolford boutiques there.
Both locations offered a luxury experience. My first visit was to the Wolford boutique at the Copley Place where I was warmly greeted by Linda. She welcomed me and started off by telling me about the brand and all the cool specials in store that day on dresses and swimwear.
I chatted with Linda about a few things that interested me. Turns out that Wolford now has special uniform for their staff. If they wear pants, they don’t have to wear hosiery, but with skirts they should. I also was offered a bottle of water, it was a very nice gesture considering how hot it was outside.
Then I headed to the next location and I was greeted by Mindy, the manager. She was wearing a skirt and tights and looked very professional. Again, customer service was simply excellent. I told her that I’d buy something, but I already bought a pair of Wolford that day. Usually if I get good service, I make a purchase just so that I am writing a review as an actual customer.
I would like to thank both of those Wolford locations for welcoming me so warmly and representing this high end brand in the best way possible.
Here is a photo of my legs in glossy Raula tights by Fiore. I took this photo today on my deck, wearing high heel shoes and denim shorts. Later I changed into flats and went to do some grocery shopping still wearing these, catching some looks of course. This style is sheer to waist with a cotton gusset.
Just 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.
Today is July 28, exactly 5 years since one of the greatest contributors to the hosiery community has passed away from cancer – Sharri Ratcliff, otherwise known as Sweet n Pantyhose. She’s been cremated and part of her ashes were spread in some of her favourite spots and the rest are kept by her husband.
Let’s spend a minute of silence together, remembering her.
I asked her husband, Robert Ratcliff, a.k.a. Outlaw, if there is anything he would like to mention. Here is what he said:
“…(July) 28th 3:40pm EST she passed over peacefully with me and all 5 of our children around her. She regularly contacts me in dreams and through psychics. She starts off mentioning that she will be the first one I see when I pass over.” Robert Ratcliff
I also wanted to share a few beautiful comments I got on social media when I informed my audience that this day is coming up. Here is what they had to say:
“I remember her work. It was so sad and is still so sad to think about. She fought hard, but cancer is a horrible miserable bitch. I still have her review page saved on my eBay account. Thanks for making this post. I hope her widower is doing okay. They seemed like a very happy couple.” Matthew Wilson, via Facebook
“I had several conversations with her, she was truly a sweet lady who had the pantyhose gene.” Dom Oregon, via Facebook
“She was such a wonderful and genuine person.” Nylons99, via Twitter, who met her in Las Vegas in person
“She was a beautiful woman with great legs in pantyhose. She is always missed and I enjoyed her work very much.” Joel Barber, via Twitter
“Her name said it all. She always managed to have mischievous fun in her hose and was a tireless promoter of women’s embrace of them.” David, via Twitter
“She was the first pantyhose girl I found who embraced it. I sure was sad for her husband. They had a really good thing going.” Shawn, via Twitter
“Oh no, where have I been. I didn’t even know. She was a very lovely lass who had a great passion for tights.” Linda, via Twitter
A few months ago Alan from Canada wrote to me the greatest compliment of all. I was pretty moved by it because for me to be seen somewhere near the level that Sweet reached is a big accomplishment.
“Do you remember the lady who went by Sweet N‘ Pantyhose? I always viewed you as her successor after she sadly passed away from cancer. Like Sweet, you fill the role of non xxx rated pantyhose appreciation that both women and men can enjoy.” Alan, Canada
by Auria Storm, Calgary-based alternative pin up model and gamer
The first time I saw Harley Quinn trapped in an alley and smile that roguish smile while screaming for her babies, I fell in love. Here was a character that was intelligent, independent and yet still madly in love. My first anti-hero, first villainess crush and from that moment on and there was never any looking back. Batman, was a hero, but my real hero was Dr. Harleen Quinzel aka Harley Quinn.
It’s been years since that moment (no speculating on how many!) and I now own a sizeable collection of Harley Quinn memorabilia. This includes starting a Harley Quinn themed leg sleeve. I currently only have the re-vamped Suicide Squad, Harley, but it will soon include a classic Harley Quinn on my lower calf.
What prompted me to get a themed tattoo? My Harley Quinn piece is an inspiration to me. A reminder that you can have it all, lose everything and still start over and find love. Harley Quinn might be insane, but there are a few lessons that she shares with us all. Love can be found in the unlikeliest of place, you don’t choose who you love and most of all, always be yourself. Now, I’m not saying Harley and The Joker have a healthy relationship, but I think the authors have addressed that with the new B52 release. Harley is finally moving on and taking care of herself, something that probably should have happened long ago.
It’s funny the people I have met because of my tattoo and my occasional cosplay. Others who understand that Harley Quinn, a character meant to be a one off, is something more than just a joke. For me, Harley Quinn is an inspiration and I’ll dedicate a whole leg to her in true crazy fandom style.
Auria Storm
Do you want to see more of Auria Storm? Please follow her on social media and check her website. She is also open to doing paid themed photoshoots.
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Auria_Storm
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/auria52/
Website – https://www.auriastorm.com/
In these photos Auria Storm is wearing white shiny pantyhose by Fiore called Idalia. They come in many shades and white is one of them. 20 den, durable, sheer to waist. If you like it, buy it HERE.
Disclaimer: I love all the festivities of the Calgary Stampede, with exception of the horse races and rodeo. My Stampede experience did not include cheering over cruelty.
I wanted until the last day of the Calgary Stampede to post whatever photos I got from there. It was a lot of fun this year and I enjoyed all the crafts shows, art shows, and farm animal exhibits. I even got to watch some beautiful Clandestine horses all dressed up.
I went there 3 times and I got to see only 5 women in pantyhose. As you see, 3 of them I managed to photograph and the shot without shoes beside saddles is of my own legs in ultra sheer pantyhose.
I saw this girl actually outside of the Stampede grounds, she was at a shopping mall and she said that she was dressed up for the event. I ran into some salon after her, complimenting her on how nice she looks in her denim outfit. She was very happy to pose for a photo.
Here is a photo of a young woman wearing all black despite the heat. She had a particular clothing style that she didn’t part with regardless of all the gingham shirt and ripped denim shorts hype around her.
This shot was taken of the sales girls at the Stampede, they had some art booth and both of them were happy to show off their cool legwear. As you see, one was wearing cool bi-denier tights (with a small run in them unfortunately) and the other one put on mix & match knee socks. A lot of these sales staff were not even from Calgary, I spoke to several who flew in from Toronto just for the event.
My own legs, of course! If you look closely, I even did a Calgary Stampede pedicure with the CS letters. There are better close up shots of that in an earlier post. I wore 5 den pantyhose and flats just because I knew I’ll be doing a lot of walking and I wanted to be comfortable.
On my last day of the Stampede I saw a mature woman in some really nice shiny tights and I immediately thought to be Wolford Neon 40. My curiosity had no boundaries and I willingly ran into a “miracle” beauty cream sales booth after that lady and had to hang out there a little bit until I could find a moment to ask her, while an awfully rude and pushy Israeli sales person was circling me like a shark.
Finally I couldn’t wait anymore, and since any kind of rudeness seemed to be quite common at that booth, I interrupted another one of those sales sharks who was putting on some cream on that lady in order to ask my important question – “I am so sorry, are those pantyhose you are wearing happen to be Wolford Neon 40? They look expensive.”
That lady confirmed that those are in fact expensive, but those are not Wolford. She pays $30/pair for compression hosiery. I was really surprised actually that compression pantyhose could look so good because somehow I wouldn’t think that something medicinal could be also glamorous.
I had to leave and I couldn’t talk to that nice woman any longer, but I do wish with all my heart that she didn’t in fact proceed and buy anything at that booth. While I was waiting they smeared something under my eye to show “how the miracle cream engaged the muscles and the hyaluronic acid in it smoothes out the skin”, but in fact it was something like glue that started tightening on my skin and I had to wash my face later to get rid of that peeling layer. This is a cut throat industry and the sales staff make no money unless they get you somehow to buy something, regardless of the method used.
Yesterday I went to a Stampede Breakfast in my community with my neighbour. There was a realtor there at her booth and I got to see her legs, the part showing under the hem of her dress and the start of her cowboy boots. I said that she has hairy legs to my neighour and he had a look and said that her legs are just simply blue. I went to have another look and both of us were right – black unshaved hair and varicose veins together! Why go like this to an event where you are trying to market yourself? She’d look perfectly fine in jeans like the rest of the crowd.
In conclusion here I’d like to say that the whole point of the Stampede wear is to embrace the cowboy lifestyle and dress up like a farm girl. It’s unfair to even expect anyone to think about city clothing like pantyhose and heels when this is the spirit of the event, hence here is the reason for such a few sightings. There is a place and time for everything.
These legs belong to my friend, Tamara. She agreed to take a few photos for me of the leggings imitation tights called Morena by Fiore. Here are the photos of what they actually look like on the legs. It looks like it’s a mix of 20 and 40 den. There is white embroidery on the ankle.
Do you think candid photos like that are easy to get out of friends? No way, I waited for over a year for these to be finally done. Still, I would prefer to have photos outdoors in daylight just in order to see what it looks like in reality.
If somehow I give a pair of pantyhose or leggings to a woman and tell her that in exchange for it I want photos, she just forgets completely disregards the fact that she still owes something for it. Let’s just say that without a formal agreement to such a barter arrangement I am no longer doing that.
Just recently there was an article published here about taking your dog to work. Initially I really wanted to have a male pantyhose wearer do some photos with the dog, just as something different. If workplaces are accepting to dogs, why wouldn’t they be to males wearing hosiery? Well, that didn’t go so well, many people promised but none submitted. Eventually I gave up on trying to persuade men to pose with their dog and asked Helene to do it. She did a really nice article and sent me several photos to choose from.
Alright, finally back on topic from my little rant there. If you want to try out these leggings imitation tights, here they are – Morena by Fiore.