Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Polls Closed: It's 'Miller Time!'... (Mantyhose at the Booth)

After 16 hrs. on my feet, it's time to
hoist a pint and celebrate 'democracy
in action'.
Faithful 'Nylon Gene' readers may have been wondering what's become of me since I left employment with ActivSkin. Fear not, I haven't fallen from the face of the earth. Yesterday, I participated fully in the annual ritual of democracy and served as a poll worker in my local precinct. And, after more than 16 hours on my feet, I tipped a nice cold beer at home to cap the day. Notably, as can be seen in the photo, I wore a very comfortable pair of tan ActivSkin A560 semi-sheer support hose, which kept my legs from feeling like the reincarnation of Mount St. Helens.  These hose are fairly dark in color (darker than indicated by the photo), so they're hard to miss. 

Turnout was 'moderate' in Ohio, as they said on the news. For us, that meant about 1,000 voters in our precinct. I served as a machine judge, meaning that I was one of those people who lead you to your electronic voting machine and prepare it to accept votes.

As such, virtually all the voters who came through the precinct had a chance to see the emerging men's legwear trend firsthand. Many hardly even seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary, while many others took a glance or two at my considerably darker tan legwear and proceeded on with their business, or our conversation, with hardly a sign of anything they considered radically out of the norm.

Many friends and acquaintances came through the precinct, too. However, at least half or more of those have become aware of men's legwear through past conversations or news media activities of mine. So, they wouldn't be expected to behave as if there were anything out of the norm anyways.

As regular readers will recall, this is far from the first time I've worked the polls on Election Day, nor is this the most noticeable style of legwear I've worn while working. Last fall (November 2009) saw me wearing black legwear with black shorts--with nearly the same lack of concern over it from the public who were in attendance. (See previoius Nylon Gene posting for details).

My reason for recounting my experience here is to further encourage those guys who have been wearing legwear for some time, but are still trying to work up the nerve to wear it more openly. As evidenced by this experience and others like it, no one is going to chastise you for wearing legwear with your outfit. As long as you stick to well matched clothing that is otherwise masculine in appearance, you'll be more than fine if you decide to give it a try.

Let us know here about your experiences... good? bad? indifferent?...

9 comments:

  1. I have to say I miss you posting as often as you did last year! Congrats on the new job and definately a well deserved beer, thanks for the work. I went to the polls in tan support hose, denim shorts, and a sweatshirt, talked to many people I know, neighbors, and more and not a comment. Hope you're doing well and can start posting reguarly again! Kraig

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  2. Steve, sorry for the slow response. but cool look! I wore hose at the voting booth too, but winter has kicked in down here.I wore under dress slacks.
    Speaking of elections , I hope there was excitement in Ohio with results like we had in N.C.
    One congressman in Ohio has "moved on up" to the top.He is actually a HERO of mine.
    keep up the good work,
    Sergio

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  3. Hi Steve,

    I came across another great blog that shares your interest:

    http://hosieryadvocate.blogspot.com/

    By the way, I wear my pantyhose under my shorts too and my wife loves it.

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  4. hi,steve this is william phillips from rushville,illinois.i read your story about wearing activskin pantyhose.i wanted to let you know that i have been wearing women's pantyhose for my legs like leggs active support and other kinds of pantyhose too. but i have a question to ask you.is it alright to wear women's pantyhose or should i wear unisex pantyhose for me to wear,or could i a pair of comfilion pantyhose that are for men to wear.thanks steve.

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  5. I've been wearing black, tan, or nude host under my suits and khakis to work and no one has noticed, thankfully. I'm new to the company and not yet ready to come out with this fully yet. For some reason, I am still more comfortable with women knowing than men, who knows...maybe I feel they are generally more accepting.

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  6. Hi William, thanks for the comments. You asked about whether you should wear the men's hose, like ActivSkin/Comfilon, as opposed to wearing women's pantyhose. I would say it's up to you. Either way, you get the leg support, etc. but with the men's brands they tend to provide a little more room in the front for the male parts.

    However, I've worn the women's brands from time to time--either for testing purposes for comparison, or just because I had some available and didn't want them to go to waist. To be honest, they still stretch enough in the front so as to not present a big problem with having enough 'room'. So, it comes down to whatever your preference is.

    I will say, that if all the guys who wear panthyose would patronize only the companies who have gone out on the proverbial limb to market such an unorthodox product, it would help propel the men's hosiery trend to the forefront all that much faster.

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  7. Steve
    I just found your informative and enjoyable site.
    I have worn pantyhose for years and I just do not feel dressed without them. I like hose with about 15% spandex, 85% nylon. They give me a smooth look, a great touch and they tend to make me feel good about myself.
    Unlike you, I have not had the courage to wear my hose with shorts but wearing them under my slacks and around the house hs become part of who I am.
    I agree with what you say about the health effects of mild control hose. You should also mention that when wearing slacks that they just make the pants fit and feel better.
    While now I only wear a suit a few days a week, years ago I had to wear a suit daily. I hated the scratchy feel of wool pants on my legs. With pantyhose the pants feel fine...no scratchy wool, no itching and the fabric hangs better and cleaner without bunching and gripping.
    I herald the day when we can comfortably wear our hose in public but for now wearing them 24/7 is at best a goal.
    Thanks for a great blog.
    Pat

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  8. Hey Steve, your blog has deeply inspired me more than I ever thought a simple Yahoo Answers search would.

    Today I decided to go to the huge forest behind my house, and walk around exploring for great shots for my photography.

    I had on a fleece jacket, a normal cotton shirt, opaque black tights, jeans, and nike sneakers. Even though it was cold, I was insanely hot. I never show my legs in tights because I guess it's a self-concious thing. But, I said screw it; I walked around the woods without jeans, just tights, and it felt amazing. The cool breeze flowing through the nylon felt amazingly refreshing. I might actually go out in public with tights and shorts sometime soon.

    Thanks for the confidence, Justin.

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  9. Pat & Justin, I'm glad to hear that my writing and activities have had such a positive influence on you guys, as well as others. That's one of the reasons I've continued this blog, even though I'm no longer the official 'point man' for male pantyhose--that doesn't mean that I'm going to quit doing what I've done before. That is, set the example for those who might otherwise be too reluctant to take that step out into the public sphere while wearing tights or pantyhose. It's always a bit easier when you realize that others have done it before, and it all turned out well.

    Good luck to you, and keep us posted here...

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