Admittedly, it's more difficult to find images that adequately show men's hosiery paired with business attire. The reason, of course, is that long pants mostly cover the hosiery in question unless the wearer is seated such that a trouser leg rides up to reveal sheer legwear underneath--and if he does not make any moves to conceal it. More on that aspect below.
Those photos can be found, but they are a little more difficult to come up with. I have a few of myself--taken over the past several years--which I've posted here for the benefit of The Nylon Gene readers. In addition, I've included a few random photos found on the web of men in the business world who appear to be wearing sheer legwear with business attire. These could be sheer dress socks or full-length support hose; it's impossible to tell, but it's sheer legwear nonetheless.
Men who wear ActivSkin full-length legwear soon discover that it can take the place of socks and underwear, making both them redundant. This is a beneficial feature when wearing it in an office setting, with a suit and tie. The complaints we typically hear from women about pantyhose are that they're too hot. While this doesn't seem to be so much of an issue in an air-conditioned office environment, the addition of socks and underwear certainly constitute an unneeded layer of insulation in the warmer months of the year.
The most likely reason for wearing ActivSkin legwear to the office is a desire to alleviate leg cramping and achiness, or prevent advancement of varicose veins. Many office workers spend untold hours sitting at their desk in front of a computer. Working in such a sedentary environment contributes to leg circulation troubles, and support legwear can ease some of the resultant discomfort. Therefore, if you must wear a suit and tie, it does not follow automatically that your legwear must be too hot. A few minor variables can make a big difference in how they feel under your suit. Sheer legwear is cooler than opaque. In fact, I would submit that sheer legwear is no hotter to wear than the socks and underwear they replace.
As an aside, I'm going to risk provoking the ire of my female readers here, but I have something to say on the issue of pantyhose being 'too hot'. Since I've regularly worn hose to the office and I've worn a suit and tie, I can objectively speak on which of them is the most uncomfortable. I say: the necktie wins hands down. If women were required to wear a necktie on a daily basis, and were then given the opportunity to stop wearing it on the condition they never complain about their pantyhose again, I would wager we would never again hear a word about it. You want to talk about hot? The dress shirt and necktie combo takes the cake. And, that applies whether you're in the typical air conditioned office environment or if you have to go on-site and it's hot out. Admittedly, having hose on beneath dress pants while out in the sun and heat is pretty uncomfortable, but no more so than the necktie. I could go on some more about this issue, but I think I'll save it for a separate post.
The question of men wearing sheer support legwear beneath a business suit--and foregoing socks--brings up the issue of, "what will other people say?" For the most part, no one will know the difference, since long pants conceal what you're wearing on your legs, especially dress pants, which are usually tailored a little longer. However, there will be those inevitable instances where you're seated in a room with others and cross your legs and reveal that you're wearing some sort of sheer legwear. I say, "some sort", because it should be remembered that there are such things as sheer men's socks on the market. These have been worn for many years. They were more popular several decades ago, but have never gone completely out of style. In fact, if one were to notice sheer legwear on your ankle, it would be as likely that they think you're wearing sheer dress socks as full-length support hosiery. For this reason, even those men who are somewhat self-conscious about their peers knowing they are wearing 'mantyhose', are not averse to wearing sheer legwear with business attire.
During the time I've spent working in an office environment, wearing a shirt and tie on a daily basis, I also wore sheer support legwear every day, except in the coldest months. Then, I switched to opaque tights. The sheer and opaque tights took the place of socks for me. While opaque tights are indistinguishable from regular socks, there must have been many instances where co-workers, subordinates or superiors took note of the sheer legwear on my ankles. I made no bones about covering it up, because I've always been very confident in my decision to wear legwear, and would've gladly explained to anyone who asked, why I was wearing sheer hosiery. However, it never came up in conversation, and it wouldn't be the sort of thing I would bring up myself. ("Hey, Jim. Whaddya think of these pantyhose I have on?"... huh uhh...)
So, either my co-workers didn't pay enough attention to notice (unlikely on the days I wore tan legwear, as in this photo, at right), or they thought I was wearing sheer dress socks, or they figured out I was wearing 'mantyhose' but didn't think anything of it and went on about their business. Had there been anything else--such as gossip about, "How come Steve wears pantyhose?"--it would certainly have made the rounds and gotten back to me eventually. But it never did.
I had one or two conversations surrounding my wearing men's hose over the years, and these came about not because anyone made mention of seeing sheer nylon fabric on my ankles, but because the person knew about my association with ActivSkin in some way. Even before my current capacity, I have been a periodic contributer of publicity pieces, or an interview subject for media articles, for G. Lieberman & Sons over the years. So, from these activities a number of people were aware of my legwear advocacy.
The bottom line is that wearing sheer legwear with business attire will not cause men who do so to be ostracized by their co-workers, shut out by their bosses, or disrespected by their subordinates. Men who are confident in themselves will succeed in the working world regardless. If wearing legwear solves a problem for you, but you wish to be as cool as possible while at the office, follow my advice above and wear sheer styles and forego the socks. Instead of fearing, "what will people say?", be more concerned over how much that lack of self-confidence itself could limit your career opportunities.
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