Pantyhose, a type of women`s garment, tightly encases the body from waist downward to the feet. These sheer nylon leg encasings shape the body and legs and comes in various styles and sizes. These are also called `tights` as they closely contour the legs.
By the 1960s they provided a convenient substitute to stockings as they were considered to be highly fashionable and prevented skin irritation between foot and footwear. They also provided warmth to the legs and feet while at the same time hid skin blemishes like varicose veins, bruises or scars.
In western countries pantyhose is essential for women when formal dresses are worn. Even in schools, training institutes, and companies that have short skirts or shorts as uniform have panty hose as a compulsory part of their uniform. This terminology has its origin in the U.S. while in the U.K. the sheer nylon hosiery was referred to as `tights`. In the U.S. tights were considered to be thicker, non sheer utility clothing worn by either gender during athletic practices.
With the rise in women dress hem lines in the late 1920s, the concept of pantyhose previously called `stockings`, evolved. By 1960, improved manufacturing with better quality cheaper materials, like spandex made pantyhose comfortable and more accessible. With the advent of miniskirts pantyhose became a fashion statement and sales of pantyhose exceeded the sales of stockings. Through 1980s, the popularity of this piece of garment grew phenomenally and led to the development of niche market for fashion designers.
Usually, pantyhose has a waist comprising of strong elastic while thicker material cover the hip and the gusset while the leg portion is made of the finest materials. Most of them use a mixture of nylon and spandex which provides elasticity and is body hugging which is its primary characteristic. Variation exists such as fishnet, cotton or woolen materials. These are all available in diverse colors styles. The sheerness of the garment ranges from 3 up to 30 expressing their transparency.
The control top pantyhose create a slimmer outline for women while the sheer ones are designed for use with high slit gowns and miniskirts. These garments are indispensable in cold weather and under low humidity condition as it prevents the legs from becoming too dry. Such support hosiery products also mitigate pain on the back of the legs and help in regulating blood circulation. However, nylon or synthetic pantyhose made of non absorbent material, which are too tight contributes to unhygienic virus infection.
Though traditionally they are associated with women wear, it is occasionally worn by men for thermal protection and therapeutic relief. Usually race horse jockeys wear them to avoid friction of their skin when riding at rapid pace. Similarly, fishermen surfing for fish in the tropical beaches use them as a precaution against jelly fish. To cater to this niche market, in the 1990s quite a few small entrepreneurs launched various men styles in pantyhose.
The opaque pantyhose are available in various colors which are of lycra and usually depict the dragon print variety. These coordinate well with Asian and Brocade dresses. Even the fishnet varieties are available in different shades and colors which blend well with the tartan dresses. The opaque coverage is also body hugging and are perfect accessory for boots.
Many brands of reputed fashion houses manufacture pantyhose like Calvin Klein. Their exclusive technology offer unique fit which is comfortable and durable. Its matte sheer total shaper offers a subtle coverage and provides shaping and firming control from the waist to mid thigh for a smooth and shapely look.
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