Sunday, July 5, 2009

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.?

1 comment:

  1. Think I must have been born in another lifetime during this lifetime of men in silk stockings since I have such an affinity for men in sheer and very thin nylon stockings and knee-length socks! :-) Jack

    ReplyDelete

 
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