Monday, April 6, 2009

John Tesh: A Growing Number of Men Are Wearing Mantyhose

John Tesh shared this story on the 'Random Intelligence' segment of his radio show: A Growing Number of Men Are Wearing Mantyhose. In it he related how guys all over Europe, and now North America, have been stoking the growing trend of wearing nylon legwear--aka 'mantyhose' in the article. He also made mention of ActivSkin, except that he used Comfilon, which is the overall company name under which the ActivSkin brand resides.

Now, personally I don't really care much for the tag 'mantyhose' that's been attached to the legwear trend, but it's better than some and it seems to have 'gotten legs' with the media so to speak. So, I guess we shouldn't complain too much. Especially when the piece is written from such a favorable viewpoint.

Mr. Tesh goes on to note the health benefits that support hosiery can provide while at the same time energizing the legs. A point that readers will note that I've raised here at The Nylon Gene as well is that it takes a man who's confident in himself to be able to pull it off. While there are a lot of guys who wear legwear that are up to the challenge, it's often their wives or girlfriends who get skittish about it. That's an issue I'd like to take up in the near future. I'm planning to take an in-depth look at the dynamics behing that dichotomy soon, hopefully with the help of Mrs. Nylon Gene as well. ;-)

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5 comments:

  1. Hi. I am Silky 2026 from the LAUF site. some thoughts I had shared there were as to why older gentlemen are embracing hose for men, when younger ones aren't. It is my opinion that older guys remember the real appeal of hose on women's legs. The whole sex appeal. As a man, we liked the feeling of nylons. This was reinforced by commercials/print ads. The younger generation has been weaned off that to all the negative stigmas of pantyhose. Even if a woman liked wearing them now, she would get funny looks if she admitted it around the water cooler.

    My point is this. We depend on the media telling us what we should like. I hate it, but its true. Through advertising, talk shows, etc. Once men wearing pantyhose/tights can be presented in a fashionable, chic, and sexy way, it will take off. Just look at past styles of anything. Looking back, it's hard to believe a lot of those ever made it. But unlike those, hosiery goes with many different styles/fashions.

    The one thing I think Levee brand and the Shapings website are doing right is promoting men in pantyhose as sexy. Really sexy. Look at the ads. Both a man and a woman wearing them. Obviously enjoying each other's company. Food for thought. Any fashion has depended on sex appeal. Why should hose be different. In the first place They are sexy right off the bat. From stockings and garters in the early 1900's with that smooth silky feeling to full pantyhose that allowed a girl to show more leg and wear a mini skirt. There is a long LEGacy!

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  2. You make some good points. I'm not sure I agree 100% with everything you've said, though. I haven't had the time yet to dig into the demographics of our customers too deeply yet. However, superficial impressions don't necessarily indicate that ActivSkin is being purchased mostly by over-50s. It seems to be fairly well balanced among the adult age groups. But, that is one of the things I've got on my 'todo' list--to analyze our demographics a little more carefully.

    I will say that those men who are buying ActivSkin for leg support would tend to be on the older end of the spectrum--but not necessarily over 50. Of course, the older you get, the more likely to have trouble with leg circulation.

    But, using myself as an anecdotal example, I began noticing the beginning signs of venous insufficiency in my late 30s, and that's when I first became acquainted with ActivSkin, too. Back then, men wearing hosiery was WAY off the radar, so there were VERY few guys in my age group that would've been willing to give them a try. However, I had the foresight to not want to see my legs wind up like some I've seen when I was 60.

    Nowadays, much of the social stigma has evaporated about men wearing tights (especially) as well as sheer hosiery. We've been doing our best to get the word out that men wear legwear for many reasons other than crossdressing or fetishism, and it's paid off in a mellowing of public perceptions of men's hosiery. Even if many men may still say, "it's not for me," most would take a live and let live attitude if someone else chooses to wear them.

    I realize this doesn't address the 'sexy' issue you wrote of, so I'll post a 2nd comment to speak to that.

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  3. Regarding the whole 'sexy' image aspect of men's hosiery, I think that's going to be something well off in the background. I don't see to many guys taking up wearing hosiery because of wanting to appear sexy to the opposite sex. At least not in the current social setting. Now, I do think that they make a nice looking addition to what you're wearing, if done correctly. But, most of us guys are looking at things from a functional aspect. Am I right? How many times have we heard our wives/girlfriends scold us about getting into 'problem-solving' mode when they just want to 'be heard'? The reason is because we're built that way. We want to get to the root of the problem, etc.

    So, guys are going to be most likely to wear legwear because it addresses a problem or need. Poor leg circulation, warmth without bulk, anti-chafing... those are needs that legwear specifically addresses. Now, that's not to say that guys won't find that they like the way legwear feels after they've become accustomed to wearing it. I certainly did after I first started wearing it for leg support. And, after it is no longer looked askance at by the uninitiated, those guys who've taken up wearing legwear will eventually become comfortable with wearing it more openly, and will come to see that "it doesn't look half bad" on them.

    Maybe, a long ways down the road, some of the ladies in these men's lives might start to comment on how good it makes their legs look. But, that will be a secondary aspect (IMHO) and isn't likely to be something that initially encourages men to wear legwear.

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  4. Hi. Silky 2026 here. I wasn't sure if I should post this in the "shorts with pantyhose" category, but we already had an established dialogue here so...

    I am just talking from my own personal view point. This is what is important to me. I believe other guys (not all) feel the same as I do. If I knew my wife and other women in general liked my (men’s) legs in nylons, I would be all about wearing them. It is important to be affirmed like that. We like the full backing of our women. Because no matter how secure I am, I want to appear attractive, or at least ungoofy. I want to feel like women don’t just think “well, to each their own”, but “hey, I like that!”

    In the end, I think pantyhose are sexy. They look sexy on women. They feel sexy on my legs. I know you are not promoting the fetish aspect of hosiery, but I’m sorry, there is a lot of sex associated with it. So I think we might be talking about a dual purpose product here. I think pantyhose for men could have the mainstream “staple” label by becoming a popular look on guys, but also having that sex appeal. So far, the only one’s I can see having a good look are the skin-tone or tan ones worn with shorts. Possibly with a kilt, but that a whole other can of worms. I wish men’s skirts would catch on. They’re just so comfortable! Nice to see Comfilon is selling slips for those. In my life, I've heard maybe 3 gals say how great a guy looked in a skirt. Most girls probably wouldn't admit that, and if men's skirts/kilts caught on, I bet there would be a lot of support from the women.

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  5. I'm just a little concerned that I risk having this discussion thread veer in a direction I'd rather it not go by publishing your post. But, on the other hand, I want this blog to be an open and honest discussion forum, and don't plan on disallowing posts unless they are inflammatory, abusive, or overly sexual in content. Your post doesn't fit any of those, of course. My concern is less over what you've posted, and more that others may want to piggyback on the whole skirt/kilt thing--which is not what we're here to talk about on The Nylon Gene. No offense intended here, though.

    I do appreciate your point on wanting the ladies in our lives to think we look good (and hopefully even attractive, to our wife/girlfriend) when wearing hosiery. Once we get far enough beyond those demons that live in our ladies minds about what others may think of what we're wearing, we may well get to the point where they think/say, "hey, I like that!"

    I really think you may be overstating the sexual aspect of wearing hosiery for most guys, though. The fabric does in fact have a certain sensual aspect to it, just like silk boxers, or similar types of things guys already wear. But as far as day-to-day wearing, I know I pretty much forget I'm wearing them a lot of the time. The more you wear them in varied settings, you tend to become less and less aware that you have them on. But, we're all different though, right?

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