How to Keep Warm While Running/Cycling Without Overheating | eHow.com

Here is an eHOW Article posted by yours truly: "How to Keep Warm While Running/Cycling w/o Overheating" eHow.com

If you like it, share a link with your friends...

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How to Understand Men Who Wear Pantyhose | eHow.com

An article entitled, "How to Understand Men Who Wear Pantyhose" was posted quite awhile ago on eHow, but thought it might be interesting for readers of The Nylon Gene to see, if you haven't run across it before. Of most interest to those who may be considering ActivSkin support hosiery for improved leg health is the fact the author is an M.D. She comments that, "...the [men's] pantyhose provide gentle compression which helps to prevent pooling of blood in the legs." I learned this from my own doctor years ago, but it's good to see it from another source if you are just discovering this new trend in men's legear.

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Pantyhose: First Layer of Clothing for Sub-Zero Hunting/Camping

I found this very interesting video (see below) on eHow.com regarding the use of women's pantyhose as a first layer of clothing while hunting/camping in sub-zero temperatures. Rich McNutt (appearing in video) is the author of “Hunter’s Choices: Choices You Can Make to Improve Your Big Game Hunting Success.” He's also a past president of the Red Rock Bowmen Club and has extensive public speaking experience on hunting and outdoors issues.

Of course, I'm working on getting Rich information on ACTIVSKIN Legwear and it's applications for hunting, fishing and camping in cold weather. You can view Rich's profile and other videos here (click link)


Sub Zero Hunting: First Layer of Clothing -- powered by eHow.com

Sunday Star Times, 26 Jul 2009. Pg 33

This article ran in New Zealand's Sunday Star Times. It described a resurgence in popularity of pantyhose there, and the recent fortunes of the country's last hosiery maker. What is notable about this article from the standpoint of The Nylon Gene is the inclusion of men's pantyhose in one of the six included in The Great Pantyhose Road Test. Check out the middle one, bottom row: ...

Forme Pantyhose, $9.99. Worn under jeans while housepainting.
Social Acceptability: I didn't tell my workmates and tried not to bend over too far in case they showed at the back. Having said that, I'd probably extol the virtues of pantyhose for men in a bloke talk.
Suffocation Factor: None.
Bathroom Easability: Easy
Recommended: Yes. (Reporter's Note: According to international press, men wear hose for warmth, improved circulation and to stop jellyfish stings while fishing. All Black Allan Hewson infamously wore them to keep warm while playing for Wellington.)
Verdict: Snuggy and comfy, even sexy... very practical for wearing under the jeans on cold days. No one has to know, guys. --James

It's always encouraging to see men's legwear treated so favorably and matter-of-factly in print media, especially as part of such a well written article as this one. Keep up the good work Star-Times, and hats off to Ms. Kim Knight, the author.

How Can YOU Make a Difference?

I've had the question raised by men who are already wearing legwear, 'what we can do to help?...' with efforts of those like myself who are at the forefront of publicizing and advocating for men's legwear as it moves inexorably closer to the mainstream. The question has given me pause for thought, so I wanted to share those thoughts with my readers here on The Nylon Gene...

Below, I've listed six major areas where men who are so inclined can help. Women are certainly welcome, too. We need your thoughts and support as well. Try to draw on your collective unconsious and remember the struggles your mothers or older sisters had to overcome before wearing pants was considered to be as much a woman's outfit as a man's...

As part of my role with ACTIVSKIN, I have become, by default, one of the primary voices in support of the idea that support tights or sheer hose ought to be as well suited for men as for women. There are others like myself who are also on the leading edge of things, such as Chan Kraemer of e-MANcipate.net, Steve Katz the founder of our company, and many others of whom you may not recognize the names.

However, for every one of us, there are many others who are wearing their legwear and going about their daily lives--promoting/advocating simply by their presence with others, who can then see this trend is more than just the pet project of a few guys who like wearing nylon legwear. And, for each of them there are probably hundreds more who wear legwear, but aren't comfortable with others knowing of it, and so wear it only beneath trousers and socks. As our publicity work at ACTIVSKIN continues to educate and inform the public through media attention, more of these men are setting aside their fear of teasing or ridicule and letting it be known to friends, family and colleagues that they too wear this new unisex garment. And, as I can personally atest, those responses of friends and colleagues are generally overwhelmingly positive. So, with no more ado I've listed below the things that YOU can do to help us continue towards our goals:

1. Although our sales data tells us there are many of you guys out there wearing our legwear, we would like to let others, especially our media contacts, know there are more of you out there. We have a few of our contacts who have indicated a willingness to be identified in an article or interview as a man who wears legwear, but we can use many more. One of our customers was set to come to Columbus to participate on the 3rd Daytime Columbus appearance, but business travel plans negated that at the last minute.

As I continue to act as the de facto spokesman for men's legwear in the U.S., I would like to have other voices at my disposal as well. When opportunities for interviews for publications or TV interviews arise, it is valuable to have a group of guys who are willing to participate on short notice, to provide quotes, be photographed, etc. If you are willing to do so please contact me through my email (see link near top of right-hand blog column). Send me your contact info and a message indicating your willingness to do ______ (be quoted, be photographed, appear on TV, etc.) Don't worry about the details of having to travel somewhere, etc. All that's really important right now is knowing I have a ready resource for finding guys willing to step forward and be heard or seen. We'll work out whether it is logistically viable on a case-by-case basis. Also, it would be helpful if you included a brief bio on who, where, how long you've worn legwear, for what reasons, etc. (also a photo would be helpful). I'll keep it on file for future use.

2. Keep doing what many of you are already doing. That is, wear legwear visibly and confidently as you go about your daily activities--especially while there are still many days of warm weather before winter. Try to wear shades that will be noticeable, too. It doesn't do much good if you wear it, "and no one even noticed." Of course, that's fine if that's all you want to do--no one's criticizing--but it won't do much to advance the mainstreaming of men's legwear if no one realizes you have it on.

3. While wearing hosiery in noticeable shades, strike up conversation with others when appropriate. It doesn't have to be immediately about your legwear. Don't shy away from people paying attention to what you have on your legs. It's still a fairly new trend, so you would expect people who first notice you're wearing nylon legwear to scrutinize closely--if for no other reason than to confirm they're really seeing what they think they are. Most won't take the next step and approach you to ask why you're wearing legwear. If you happen to be engaged in a conversation with them, it may provide the opportunity to address their curiosity. So, be prepared to share your reason for wearing them--whether it be for leg health, occupational factors, sports/recreation, or you just plain like the comfort they provide.

4. Wear your legwear in settings where you will be interacting with people who already know you well (friends, family, co-workers, teammates, etc.). One of the hardest things for men when they first begin wearing legwear out in the open is to do so around those who know them well, but it's also one of the best ways to share a favorable impression of men's legwear with others. If they already know, like and respect you, they're less likely to leap to unfavorable conclusions about men's legwear or reasons you're wearing it. Keep in mind that, if your status is high in their eyes, that will tend to ELEVATE their perception of men's legwear--rather than the converse, which is that your wearing of legwear will LOWER their perceptions of you. Since I've become Director of Marketing for ACTIVSKIN, my reputation among acquaintences has tended to positively influence the perception of those around me regarding men's legwear. But, it requires a certain willingness to risk.

To be an ambassador for men's legwear, you have to become comfortable with wearing it anywhere and being prepared to give reasoned responses to the question of, "Why?" Of course, workplace dress codes often preclude wearing shorts to the office, but there are functions away from work like golf outings, etc. where you can certainly wear legwear and take advantage of opportunities to share with colleagues why this trend is growing the way it is.

Become comfortable responding to critical comments without becoming nervous or agitated. If a buddy says something like, "Tell me more about it, although it does seem a little gay." (This was an actual comment I received from a friend), don't respond defensively. In this example, I just casually shrugged it off and proceeded to tell him about the various reasons men are wearing hose these days. As I suspected, it was just good-natured ribbing, like guys do to each other. I responded appropriately and he's since helped me on occasion with publicity advice.

5. Comment on articles or blogsites that make reference to men's legwear, 'mantyhose', etc. They're easy to find by setting up Google Alerts or similar tools. Make sure not to sound 'shrill' if/when you need to take them to task for something they've written. Have a sense of humor. Also, make sure to sound reasonable and don't write things that will make you sound like a fringe-dweller when defending/advocating for men's legwear. I've been doing this for quite a few years now, and I can say that a key thing about this is to be willing to provide your actual name. Comments and posts carry much more credibility when the author is willing to be identified by name. (HINT TO COMMENTERS HERE ON THE NYLON GENE...) Therefore, you have to be willing to accept the possibility of your friends and colleagues seeing your name out there somewhere, in support of legwear. But, that shouldn't trouble you, as it may well give you the opportunity to cover Item #4 above.

6. And lastly, the seemingly self-serving suggestion to buy only from companies that cater to the men's legwear market. Yes, I know that pretty well excludes everyone but ACTIVSKIN when referring to U.S. companies, but I would make the same comment if there were several companies in this country selling hosiery exclusively for men. Our sales have grown steadily over the years--especially since the beginning of 2008--and that provides: a) the evidence that the men's legwear trend is a legitimate market force that's continually moving toward social norming, and b) the resources to pursue publicity campaigns we have been working on or wish to launch in the future.

We are aware that a certain segment of the men's legwear market still purchases much of their legwear from women's hosiery companies. This could be because they first started wearing legwear before we came on the scene and they're reluctant to change, it could be price (remember, you get what you pay for), or a dislike of mail order or ordering over the internet (we do take phone orders), or various and sundry other reasons. However, buying from these companies only reinforces delusions that there is not a viable market for men's legwear.

We at ACTIVSKIN will continue to view our role as more than simply a provider of a product. We perceive a responsibility to our clientele to advocate an environment where all men who wear our product can do so with absolutely no qualms whatsoever about how their choice of legwear is perceived by those around them. To accomplish that goal we must remain economically viable in the long run (oops, I should avoid words like that).

Men's legwear has moved much closer to what we would call the mainstream. It's being mentioned more frequently on blogs and in the media, to the point where it's less 'remarkable' than it once was, since many (possibily most) have at least heard that there is such a thing. We welcome and encourage the help of you readers to augment our efforts. Please feel free to contact me directly if you would like to discuss more specific items.

FWIW: Pantyhose - Not Just For Women Anymore

In the For What It's Worth Department, a faux motivational poster is telling us basically what we've been saying on The Nylon Gene all along, albeit with tongue in cheek. One thing is evident though, the idea of legwear for men is out there among the 'marketplace of ideas' and it is attracting attention. The other thing is that we definitely don't take ourselves so seriously here that we can't take a little light-hearted ribbing. While we're at it though, maybe we Nylon Gene readers can slip over to the motivatedphotos.com site and vote up this poster? Each one has a place where you can vote either "Motivator" or "Demotivator". Let's let them know this one's a motivator!

ActivSkin on TV: July 23rd Appearance on NBC

The July 23rd appearance on NBC4's 'Daytime Columbus' went smoothly. [SEE VIDEO AT END OF THIS POST] This was the 3rd in a series of appearances we've been able to arrange with WCMH-TV in Columbus, OH. The other two, which can be seen either on YouTube (June 8, June 22) or on previous posts here on The Nylon Gene, focused on general leg health aspects of support legwear for men, and occupational factors for which men can find relief by wearing ACTIVSKIN legwear.

This latest appearance focused on sports and recreational applications for our legwear. Runners and cyclists wear ACTIVSKIN when the weather begins to turn chilly, to keep the early morning chill off their bare legs when the first go out for their run/ride. As anyone who runs/rides can tell you, it doesn't take long before your body heat builds and you can become overheated if you're wearing sweatpants or thicker running tights. The open knit of sheer legwear facilitates evaporation of perspiration, which has a slight cooling effect on the legs. This same phenomenon is present to a lesser extent with the opaque tights. The decision of whether to wear sheer or opaque ACTIVSKIN depends on how cold the weather is, and individual preference.

An added benefit provided by ACTIVSKIN is the leg support it provides. The moderate degree of leg support can have a beneficial effect on stamina and endurance. Many athletes are already familiar with the benefits of compression shorts, and support tights extend the benefit to the entire lower body.

Other recreational activities where ACTIVSKIN can provide benefits include: soccer, lacrosse, football, basketball (remember the NBA tights from a couple of years ago?), golf, horseback riding, motorcycling, and many others. Each of these draw benefit from both the added warmth-without-bulk, as well as the leg support features. Horseback riders will also appreciate how ACTIVSKIN can eliminate chafing. Many a rider has worn women's pantyhose in the past to avoid a rash from long hours in the saddle. Now, men can wear a garment designed especially for them.

During the interview, I pointed out that we at ActivSkin feel a sense of responsibility to serve in an advocacy position to promote the masculine aspect of legwear to help alleviate the uncertainty some guys may feel when they first begin wearing it. As I said, "We're all about changing hearts and minds--from pantyhose to mantyhose."

If you missed the show, live outside the Columbus viewing area, or would like to see it again, you can watch it here (below). It will be available on the NBC4i website for one week. I've also posted in on YouTube, so you can send links to it, and the previous appearances, to friends. The more things like this get shared and discussed, the faster men's legwear will become firmly planted in the mainstream of mens wear... so make sure and share it with everyone you know. [VIDEO FOLLOWS...]

Times of India: "Latest Fashion Fads For Men"

The Times of India published this article in their Style Section on July 18th. It describes the following clothing fads: Push-Up Pants, Bikini Jeans, Mantyhose, Bamboo Underwear (!?), and Shape Enhancing Undies. An excerpt of the Mantyhose section is included below, and I'll leave it to you to read the article for the other items...

MANTYHOSE : Men have invaded ladies' fashion domain a little further, for after 'man-bras' and 'manscara' the latest must have for men is "Mantyhose." Courtesy e-mancipate.net, a large number of men are wearing hosiery under their clothes, for reasons ranging from comfort to health. While tights have been quite popular throughout Europe for years, but now the trend seems to have touched other parts of the world as well. When Deborrah Ashley, managing director of Luxelegwear.com, launched her site in 2005, she used to sell just one line of hosiery for men, and now she has around 13 lines for male undergarments. Although sales have been rising for a long time, Ashley said that the site received a boost in orders following the Batman craze fuelled by "The Dark Knight" mid-July. "Before the movie it was repeat bulk orders ... it was almost like a secret society, and now it’s brand new customers,"The New York Daily News quoted Ashley, as saying. She revealed that her customers like their mantyhose for warmth, support for athletics, and circulation. The site, e-MANcipate.net is devoted to "accelerating the acceptance of male pantyhose as a regular clothing item," and features a how-to guide for wearing mantyhose properly. The site also assures men: "Wearing pantyhose is pretty easy. Just don’t believe anything you head about it from women."

A few comments: I find it rather silly that anyone is reporting that the men's pantyhose trend is in any way related to the success of last year's blockbuster movie, "The Dark Knight". I loved the movie, and also enjoy wearing legwear--but I can't see any way that it would motivate guys to go out and start buying tights and sheer hosiery. This is a 'factoid' that was originally reported last August (2008) in an Atlanta Journal Constitution article, and has been repeated steadily ever since. The real truth is, that men having been trying and buying sheer and opaque legwear in growing numbers for more than 10 years now and it has nothing to do with super-hero worship.

Men wear legwear for leg support, improved circulation, easing on-the-job discomfort, added warmth-without-bulk, muscle compression for athletic activities, and many particular reasons that tend to be variations on the foregoing themes. I hope our publicity activities continue to bear fruit so we can get the real reasons for the growing legwear trend reported more often.

Now, as for a couple of those other fads mentioned, I'm pretty puzzled about 'bamboo underwear'. I guess there must be something about it that I would just have to see to understand, but I can't help but conjure up some pretty uncomfortable images and connotations when I think of bamboo underwear. Oh well... we'll see.

I also had a tough time understanding just how the bikini jeans work. Another one I'd have to actually see to understand how it works.

Nice thing about 'mantyhose', they're not too hard to understand... you just put 'em on one leg at a time.

How Pantyhose Are Made

Some of you may have seen this before, but it's a very interesting video showing the production process for manufacturing nylon/spandex pantyhose. One thing that differs in the production of ActivSkin men's legwear is the addition of the fly opening. That feature adds several additional steps that are difficult to automate. This video was made at a facility producing women's pantyhose... maybe the next time we're making a visit to ActivSkin production facilities we can make a video showing this operation as well.

Smithsonian Magazine: 50 Years of Pantyhose

The online version of Smithsonian published an interesting article on the 50 year history of pantyhose. Unfortunately, it wasn't complete because it doesn't include the most current trend in nylon/spandex legwear--men's hosiery, which is what we're all about here at The Nylon Gene.

Of course, that is to be expected. We're not yet firmly established to the point where we would expect the Smithsonian to take notice of this still nascent trend. However, I did provide a comment on the article. It appears that the comments are moderated, as mine did not appear yet. I presume it will be published when the website moderator appproves it. In the meantime, you can read it here:

"As Paul Harvey always says, there's "the rest of the story..." and that is, that men are taking up where women have been leaving off--with the wearing of pantyhose. I'd like to call the Smithsonian's attention to the existence of ActivSkin (www.activskin.com), the first company to sell pantyhose made exclusively for men. We have been in business for 10 years now, and the demand has grown consistently during that time. The trend appears to be poised on the verge of a 'tipping point' that will see it move more definitively into the mainstream.

A large number of newspaper and magazine articles have documented this emerging trend, beginning most notably with the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 19, 2002 (Kingsize, Not Queen: More Men Are Taking to Wearing Pantyhose). This trend is fueled by the recognition the men can benefit from the benefits provided by support style hosiery, for poor leg circulation, added warmth without bulk in outdoor pursuits, as well as improved stamina in athletic activities involving running or cycling.

Formerly, men were inhibited from openly wearing nylon hosiery because of its most recent association with women's wear (not originally so, of course, but it's been a couple hundred years since hosiery was initially considered a man's garment). Recent years have seen a small but growing number of men who openly wear nylon hosiery even with shorts, and consider it to be a truly unisex garment.

For more background on this, please visit my blog, called The Nylon Gene at www.nylongene.com"

I hope we'll one day see the Smithsonian covering the vast contributions of ACTIVSKIN to the hosiery industry. Until then, we'll just have to take care of it here...

ActivSkin/TIME Magazine

ACTIVSKIN was mentioned this week in a TIME Magazine article on 'Mancessories'. I had made mention of this possibility in the earlier, "Spanx For Men" post, but we had resigned ourselves that it would not happen at all, since a visit to the link from this article yielded only an error message. But, lo and behold, today when I visited the site again, there it was!(click to follow link)

The text reads, in part:

"Once a garment of choice for kings and other nobles, men's pantyhose has made a comeback in recent years because of the warmth, support and circulation enhancement they provide. And the trend is even cropping up in high fashion..."

Though we would have preferred to have been included in the print edition, if we were to be relegated to the online edition only, it is refreshing to see men's legwear treated in such a positive manner by a national magazine ... and to be listed first in the photo series is also encouraging.

Here is my take on each of the crossover items mentioned in the Photo Essay: Obviously, I'm completely biased in my opinion of men's pantyhose, so I can skip right over that one. If anyone's unsure of where I stand on this one, just read any post on this blog (haha)

The next item was the 'guyliner' as it's called. It basically refers to any sort of facial makeup that men might be wearing these days. The Adam Lambert photo doesn't do anything to advance the idea of this being a masculine trend. But, in reality I believe there are quite a few guys who are making much less noticeable use of this sort of thing to subtley enhance their looks. Theses days, it's not just Hollywood that seems to place an undue emphasis on how you look, whether you're male or female. We've read a number of articles in recent years about guys using moisturizer and other similar products on their faces. If I put lotion on my face in the morning to keep from having dry skin flakes on my forehead, I guess that would put me in this group, too. The most notable examples--aside from Adam Lambert--are the rockers like Green Day, Aerosmith, et al. Of course, when it comes to musicians, nothing at all new here.

'Mandals' are apparently included in this crossover product category, but I don't see it. Men have been wearing sandals pretty consistently for millenia, so I can't see where you can label it a product that we've borrowed from the women. Yes, the ones pictured in the photo look a lot like the kind you might see on women's feet, but then again they're also pretty Roman-looking at the same time. Other types of sandals--for men and women--have been coming on the market for ages. Those Tevia ones that you see people wearing while whitewater rafting come easily to mind. There are many others, too.

Then there's the 'murse', another silly-sounding name created by adding or substituting the ubiquitous 'm' in front of the regular word for something.
The 'man purse' has been trying to emerge on the scene off and on for probably 15 years or more. It has limited success, mostly because it has some strong functional value (as men's legwear does) since we guys always like to have a place for our stuff, and sometimes our pockets just don't cut it. That's also the reason for the great popularity of cargo pants, I might add. Man purses could pretty well run the gamut from those soft-sided briefcases (i.e., messenger bags) that you see everywhere, all the way to some shiny patent leather number you'd more likely see your wife carrying. The photo in the TIME essay appears to be about halfway along that spectrum. I have an Eddie Bauer 'messenger bag' myself, so I guess I also belong to the 'man purse' category. Mostly I carry it like a briefcase, but have been known to use the shoulder strap too, when my hands are full.

The last item is what's called 'manpris'--probably the most silly-sounding name of them all--which are basically capri pants for men. Of the five items in the photo essay, this one--along with our legwear--conveyed the most positive masculine image. Of course, their choice of tennis champ Rafael Nadal in the Nike capris was a good one with which to show them in a very positive light. There's not a big difference between these and the very long shorts that men have been wearing for years now. Fortunately, the ones that are big enough to stow enough food for a 2-week expedition are finally going out of vogue. These look much better than the knee length ultra-mega-baggies we've been enduring until now.

And, yes by the way... in case any readers may have noticed the similarity between the image used for the men's pantyhose and one I use as a profile image for many of my online posts, it is me--your Fearless Blogger. We did some product photography several years ago, and this was among my favs. It was among a number of images we sent them, and the selection was completely the choice of the photo editor.

Some Historical Notes on Men's Legwear

This, from the strangely titled online article in the Jackson Women's Style Examiner: Black Women, Cute Leggings for the Summertime & Leggings History...:

"Leggings in various forms and under various names have been worn for warmth and protection by both men and women throughout the centuries." (emphasis mine)

The quote continues: "The separate hose worn by men in Europe from the 14th to 16th centuries (the Renaissance period) were a form of leggings, as are the trews of the Scottish Highlands. Separate leggings of buckskin leather were worn by some Native Americans. These were adopted by some Long Hunters, French fur trappers, and later by mountain men. They are the leatherstockings of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales."

The foregoing reiterates the concept we are advancing here at The Nylon Gene, and with ACTIVSKIN Legwear for Men. That is, form-fitting legwear on men is really nothing new at all. It only seems foreign to 21st Century men because it has been out of fashion for quite a long time. That--and the fact that in the intervening time women co-opted legwear in the absence of a male presence--is responsible for the obstacles we have had to address and overcome in developing our legwear as a truly unisex garment.

However, those obstacles have shrunk considerably as we see more and more men testing the waters with legwear. We see evidence of this in many quarters, such as the Givenchy 2010 menswear line including tights, the firsthand experience of myself and many other of our acquaintenances while wearing legwear in their daily lives, and in the increased interest of our customers and readers of this blog. Enough so that some of our customers are beginning to feel confident enough in themselves to share their stories with their friends and colleagues in the form of online discussion groups, etc.

Maybe a few of them would like to post a reply and tell us about their experiences, online groups, etc.?

Spanx for Men

This week's TIME Magazine includes an article on Spanx for Men. As the tagline for the article reads, "Who says girdles are for girls? A fancy new undershirt sucks in your beer gut so you don't have to."

The backstory on this is that ACTIVSKIN was initially intended to be included as part of the print version of this article also . We provided product photos for use in the story, and were in contact with the editors working on the story.

However, layout issues arose following the death of Michael Jackson last week--meaning that most of the magazine is taken up by the coverage of his death and funeral. We were sorry to hear of his untimely death, and yes, I'll admit it, we were also disappointed to learn of our relegation to the online version. But, that is the way it goes, so we just roll with it.

At present, the online story on 'Spanx for Men' includes a link at the bottom that reads, "To see some manny hose and other items, go to time.com/manscaping" However, at present the link doesn't seem to be working. Keep checking it though...

As for the main subject of the article, the Equmen bodyshaping undershirt, we've been reading about these for several months now, and they appear to be ready for a U.S. rollout soon (they're currently available in Europe). We at ACTIVSKIN believe the same trends that support a product like Equmen are present for support hosiery such as ACTIVSKIN. Men have traditionally shied away from form-shaping garments until very recently, for fear of being perceived as 'vain'. However, those misgivings are evaporating as men seek to look their best--especially in the ultra-competitive job market in which we're currently living.

As unemployment statistics rise, nobody wants to risk overlooking the 'little things' that might make the difference if the department manager is given the task of choosing 15% of the staff to let go. A similar dynamic feeds the trend towards using support hosiery in occupations that place a strain on leg health, so you're not the one who's seen as not able to keep up with everyone else.

Givenchy Men's 2010 Line Includes Legwear

While we don't style ourselves to be fashionistas here at The Nylon Gene, we do pay attention when we get word that some of the leading names in the Paris fashion world are incorporating legwear into their men's line. I was given a 'heads up' to check the Givenchy Spring/Summer 2010 lineup and sure enough, here it is...

We've seen legwear, sometimes even in the form of sheer 'pantyhose' in past fashion shows for men's lines--such as Jean Paul Gaulthier. But those tend much more toward the bizarre end of the fashion spectrum, and don't always do anything to advance the concept of men's legwear in the direction that we would have it go here at The Nylon Gene.

And, of course, none of the outfits you'll see at the linked site are likely to be showing up on the streets in your hometown anytime soon either. On the other hand, at least these outfits are in the same universe that we live in. So, the interesting item is that at least six out of 36 of these outfits feature some sort of legwear. Photo 9, which appears above, has some sort of semi-opaque tights paired with knee-length shorts. The others (see Nos. 14, 17, 24, 26 and 36 of 36 on the linked site) all have opaque black tights worn with some sort of knee-length pants. The overall trend of the entire line seems to be leaning heavily away from the ultra-baggy look that was in vogue for so many years, and towards a leaner, more form fitting style.

Now, before you start pointing out my utter lack of credentials for commenting on high fashion, just let it be said that I'm only making layman observations here. It seems that the fashion world is a 'leading indicator' of the general style of things many of the rest of us might be wearing in say, five years or so. That being said, it would appear that legwear such as tights and the like may become much more evident even without what we are doing at ACTIVSKIN, and talking about here on The Nylon Gene.

P.S., While visiting the men.style.com site to see the Givenchy pics, it might be of interest also to check out the Duckie Brown line, too. Probably a third of them feature knee length shorts and footless black tights.