Many have been asking about ActivSkin's A866 footed and A876 footless opaque tights with fly opening. ActivSkin has been out of stock in some sizes of both styles since late 2009. No longer! I've just received word, they FINALLY came in yesterday!
The beloved tights were delayed due to supplier issues, first the holidays and then came difficulties acquiring the needed yarns to make them. ActivSkin regrets the long period during which they were out of stock, 
but is glad to begin selling them once again! These are two of the more popular styles and offer a comfortable level of full support that energizes your legs while providing some added warmth. If the weather where you are has been as cold as this winter in Ohio, you'll appreciate that!. You can check them out here: http://www.comfilon.com/catalogoptights.asp
To make up for the non-availability of these great tights for so long, ActivSkin is lowering the price on Styles A866/A876 for one month. Instead of the normal price of $19.99 (still a good value!), ActivSkin is selling both styles for $16.99 during the entire month of March. After that, they'll go back to the normal price of $19.99 a pair. So, hurry and get yours before they sell out again! Don't be be the last on your block-–act now and stock up.
Additionally, ActivSkin customers can save big on the overstock supply of Size Medium A549 Sheer Pantyhose for Men (with fly), now at HALF PRICE.
Go to http://www.comfilon.com/catalogsheerpantyhose.asp, and scroll down to A549. Look for the Overstock Sale block just below the main item and place your order.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
ActivSkin Legwear News
Monday, February 22, 2010
The Origin of the Name "Nylon"
I received the following article from a Nylon Gene reader, in response to discussion and comments on the previous post titled, "History of Hosiery". Apparently, the popular story of it arising from a contraction of the letters 'NY' for New York, and 'LON' from the first three letters in London, is nothing more than a popular legend. Here's a reprint of the article, written by William B. Jensen, a Chemistry professor at the University of Cincinnnati, OH.
The story of the development of nylon and the tragic suicide of its discoverer, Wallace Hume Carothers (1896–1937), are well known. Nylon’s importance as a landmark in the evolution of commercial synthetic polymers is uncontested and its preparation is still used as a demonstration in introductory chemistry courses. Consequently, it comes as a disappointment that its name is totally devoid of both chemical and historical significance and was selected, not by the chemists involved in its synthesis, but by the managers and executives at Du Pont.
As detailed in Stephen Fenichell’s highly entertaining history of modern plastics and polymers, the more than 350 original contenders for the name of the new polymer included such choices as Amidarn, Amido Silk, Linex, Lastrapon, Moursheen, Poya, Rayamide, Syntex, Tensheer, and Wiralene. Among the more imaginative suggestions were Duparooh(short for “Du Pont pulls a rabbit out of the hat”), Dupron (short for “Du Pont pulls a rabbit out of nitrogen, nature, nozzle, or naphtha”), Delawear (Du Pont is headquartered in the state of Delaware), Duponese, and Wacara (short for Wallace Carothers).
Though the final choice of “nylon” has no intrinsic meaning, this has not prevented others from reading unintended interpretations into the name. Thus many of the visitors to the New York World’s Fair of 1939, where its discovery was first publicly announced, came away believing that it was named after the fair’s famous “Trylon” tower, whereas others believed it was a contraction of New York (NY) and London (LON). Reflecting the growing tensions between Japan and the United States shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, the most bizarre interpretation came from a Japanese newspaper, which contended that Du Pont had developed the polymer for the explicit purpose of destroying the Japanese silk industry and that the name was an acronym for an anti-Japanese (Nipponese) slur.
(Chemical Education Today)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
History of Hosiery
I am reprinting information here that was gathered together by Christopher James, a young graphic designer who also happens to share a great interest in men's legwear. Chris has a website, called Graphic Illusions, to showcase his work, and has recently added a "Leg-Gear" page to his site. I included a brief mention of Chris in my recent Examiner article (Male Tights-Wearers Gaining New Sense of Confidence), and I'm hoping to do a profile of Chris a little later on. For now, I just wanted to reprint the great information he's pulled together--mostly from Wikipedia. Although Wiki-info can sometimes be of suspect accuracy, I can attest to many of the facts cited herein, and believe all of it to be sound. Read on ...
How many people know that men were the first to wear pantyhose?
Centuries ago men wore hand knitted stockings made of wool. In 1589, William Lee of Calverton, Notts, invented the first Knitting Frame. Excited about his invention, Richard Parkyns (a member of the Parliament for Nottinghamshire) arranged for William to meet Henry Carey and Lord Hunsdon (members of Queen Elizabeth Privy Council).
With a pair of wool stockings to show what great work William’s new invention has done, they presented it to the Queen for approval. The Queen at first rejected the idea in consideration of what it would do to her poor subjects. It would bring them to ruin by depriving them of employment, thus making them beggars.
The Queen turned to Lord Hunsdon and declared, “Had Mr. Lee made a machine which could give me silk stockings, I would perhaps been justified in granting him a patent”. Then looking at William she said “To enjoy the privilege of making stockings for everyone is too important to grant to any individual.”
Not giving up on the dreams William had for his invention he worked making and selling wool stocking until 10 years later when he had finally perfected his invention to knit silk stockings. Unfortunately the Queen passed away in 1603, a bit too late for William to present his improvements.
William took his invention and moved to France where he met the De Caux brothers, and drew up a very complicated but precise contract in partnership for the manufacture of stockings made from silk and wool.
Tights were made as a close fitting garment for men of nobility such as King Henry VIII of England, the material would be made of silk or wool, rather than the coarser fabrics used by the so called “lower classes”.
The technology remained reasonably the same, until the 1930’s when a new circular knitting machine meant garments could be made in one piece, and no longer needed to be sewn together. A man named Julian Hill discovered that by pulling a heated rod from a mixture of coal, tar, water, and alcohol, he could create a filament that was strong, sheer, and silk-like in appearance. Further research led research led to the first synthetic fiber, which soon came to be known as Polymer. In 1937, Du Pont patented his discovery.
At the World’s Fair in New York in 1939, synthetic fibers were first shown to the public. Taking the “NY” from New York, and adding “Lon” from London (the origins of stockings) came the word “Nylon”. The first Nylon stockings appeared in New York stores on May 15th, 1940. Women of course started wearing the newer, lighter, softer, nylon stockings and well over 72,000 pairs were sold in the first day alone, causing the Japanese silk market to collapse overnight.
In 1942, during World War II , nylon production was switched into tent and parachute manufacturing for the military forces. During this time, women who desired the look of wearing stockings would shave their legs and oftentimes draw a vertical line up the back of their legs to simulate the effect.
In 1953, Allen Grant Sr. of Glen Raven Knitting Mills developed a commercial equivalent named “Panti-Legs”, but didn’t introduce it to the markets until 1959. During this time another North Carolinian, Ernest G. Rice invented his own design (similar to what’s used today) and in 1956 submitted a patent titled "Combination Stockings and Panty".
It wasn’t until the 1960s that a combination of factors made them a veritable fashion necessity: improved manufacturing made them cheaper; spandex (or elastane) made them more comfortable; and the miniskirt made thigh-high stockings obsolete.
After the 1980’s pantyhose sales to women started to fall, as they began to prefer the “bare-legged” fashion. Pantyhose where no longer required in many workplaces as part of the female dress code. While sales remain low today by comparison, alternative styles are seeing growth. Fishnets, patterns and colors, opaque tights, low-rise, footless shape wear, and pantyhose for men.
About 14 years ago, L'eggs introduced an online discussion board on their website. Although intended for women, they soon discovered that the majority of respondents were men discussing the fact that they wore women's pantyhose. More surprising was that the reasons given were practical, legitimate uses such as leg support, added warmth, and so forth. More recently, L'eggs has done research and discovered that nearly as many men enjoy buying, and wearing their product as women. Currently, there are many companies, worldwide, making or selling pantyhose for men, sometimes referred to as 'mantyhose'.
Some of these are:
* ActivSkin
* Aries
* Doyeah
* Ela
* Levee
* Collanto
* Emilio Cavallini
* Gerbe
* Levee WoMan
* Lexwear
* Legwear 4 Men
* Lida
* TIM
* Shapings.com
* Hosiery Museum
* Luxelegwear
* Hosieria
Some examples of men today who wear pantyhose are:
NFL football players (who wear them under their uniforms for warmth); Hunters/Campers often wear them for warmth and to protect against ticks and other insects; Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have worn them under their uniforms for protection against sand fleas; Men with varicose veins or other circulatory problems often wear support pantyhose in lieu of medical hose to improve blood circulation.
There are thousands of men in the U.S.--as well as overseas--wearing pantyhose for hundreds of reasons. Men have been wearing pantyhose since the invention of stockings, and men are still wearing pantyhose today.
Many decades have passed since women have taken over legwear fashion, and men are finally taking back what was originally theirs. Although not really "taking back," since we don't want to be selfish... Women look great in hosiery, too... Men just want to show the world that tights and pantyhose are indeed a unisex article of clothing.
[Thanks, Chris, for assembling a great piece on legwear history. -Steve]
Friday, February 12, 2010
Examiner.com: Male Tights-Wearers Gaining a New Sense of Confidence
Just a quick little heads up for any Nylon Gene readers that may have missed it: I published a new article yesterday on The Examiner. It's titled: "Male Tights-Wearers Gaining a New Sense of Confidence." In it, I spotlighted a few of the men who are beginning to shed the old reluctance guys have often felt in the past about acknowledging to anyone that they wore tights or hosiery. The reluctance arose from a fear of insinuation that they might secretly be a cross dresser, when in reality they wear them for completely practical reasons like leg support or added warmth, etc. Guys like these in the article are who are going to make a difference in changing public perceptions of men's legwear. Read it and send these guys some kudos!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Charnos Launching a Men's Legwear Line?
Yes, you read that right. Unfortunately, it was a misunderstanding, Charnos--the British women's hosiery company--is not actively planning to launch a men's line of nylon hosiery. The notion surfaced late last week as a result of a Twitter conversation between the owner of the SheerGeek blogsite and Charnos Hosiery, which I picked up on with TweetDeck and chimed in with my own $0.02. (Click on the preceding link to see the complete conversation on SheerGeek's website)...
In a nutshell, Charnos posted the following on Twitter: "Tweet us your height, and what size hosiery you usually wear (S,M,L,XL)"
SheerGeek replied with, "When can we expect to see you enter this growing market?"
To which, Charnos replied, "We actually are testing the mantyhose market as we tweet! One of our tights testing team is a male: http://bit.ly/8HZsDP"
Well, you can imagine how many bells and alarms a bit of information like this is likely to set off. Many of the thousands of men currently wearing tights and sheer legwear are wishing to see an established major hosiery company launch a men's line, and thus would probably inundate them with calls and emails.
However, I don't know if this happened. I emailed them to inquire further, with the thought of writing an Examiner article on the topic after obtaining further information. Shortly thereafter, the following was posted to SheerGeek's blog by Ali Maynard of Charnos:
"Great to hear you are a fan of Charnos hosiery, but just to clarify Charnos is not going into the 'Mantyhose' market but we are really pleased to know that there are men out there who also love to wear Charnos hosiery.
Our resident male tights tester, Dan, is simply testing our existing range with a male perspective.
Thanks."
So, there you have it. It would seem, according to Charnos anyway, that they have no current plans to get into the 'mantyhose' market anytime soon. That's probably just as well, since we can't necessarily expect any of the large hosiery makers to cater much to a market that--while growing considerably--is still only a small percentage of the women's hosiery market. I still believe men who wear legwear are best off supporting the companies, like ActivSkin, who have been there from the beginning, working to provide what men are looking for and not trying to drive the market somewhere it doesn't want to go.
Still, this whole episode strikes me as rather strange. A Tweet was posted that DID say, "We are actually testing the mantyhose market as we tweet!" An odd way to phrase it if all they were doing is getting a male perspective on women's pantyhose. It could be there's more than meets the eye, and this was some sort of 'trial balloon'.
It is encouraging that a major hosiery maker acknowledges the fact that men do wear their products--as evidenced by their including one on their testing team. We'll see what happens...
[Follow Steve's Tweets on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/newmansa]
Monday, February 1, 2010
If You Like The Nylon Gene...
I'd like to ask all my loyal Nylon Gene readers for a quick little favor. You may have noticed the little 'Blog Catalog' widget on the righthand side of the page (just below the 'Examiner' button). It's been there for quite awhile, and I should've pointed it out when I added it. Basically, if you like the blog, you can rate it using that pulldown located there. The ratings help boost The Nylon Gene's page rank with Blog Catalog, and others. Sooo... if you'd like to help promote this blog with me, just click on that little button. It'll only take a second. Thanks.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
GoGo Therafirm Legwear
I read a post on "Ruminations of a Twenty-Something Momma" about this graduated compression legwear. The tights, pantyhose, and trouser socks that GoGo Therafirm sells are for women, which would not normally be a topic of conversation here on The Nylon Gene. However, I liked the discussion of benefits provided by compression hosiery. It reads very much like the reasons behind male legwear, or 'mantyhose' that we've been discussing and promoting for some time now.
Longtime Nylon Gene readers are aware of the means by which compression hosiery facilitates improved leg circulation (Leg Troubles Know No Gender Boundaries). The Ruminations posting describes the following activities that are made more comfortable by wearing a pair of GoGo Legwear:
In addition to the foregoing, GoGo Healthy's website includes two additional activities where women with tired, achy legs can benefit from wearing them:
Our Twenty-Something Momma blogger describes women dealing with all sorts of unpleasant discomforts at the end of the day: tired, aching legs, swollen feet, appearance of varicose veins or spider veins over time. She identifies GoGo Therafirm hosiery as a solution. I say, "you bet!"
legs as you go!
The only thing I would add: If women who engage in the foregoing activities suffer from these things and can benefit from compression hosiery, wouldn't the same thing be true for men?
Friday, January 29, 2010
A New Men's Legwear Blogger on the Scene?
My Google Alerts notified me yesterday of a blog post entitled, "Tights For Men the Latest Fashion Trend" on a blog I hadn't noticed before. It's called Men's Tights Fashion/Fashionable Tights for Men and Pantyhose.
Currently, there are three articles posted there: "Men's Tights for Slimming Underwear"
"Mantyhose: The Male Pantyhose"
"Tights for Men, The Latest Fashion Trend"
The articles are fairly well written, incorporating many of the points supporting male legwear we've been discussing here on The Nylon Gene for some time. Some graphics or photos would be a welcome addition, and dates for the articles, but more importantly it would be nice to know who the author of the blog is.
The world is beginning to pay more attention to the men's legwear trend. So it behooves us to capitalize on it and provide as much credibility as possible by letting people see who these guys are, who want to transform men's tights and pantyhose into a regular male garment.
It is encouraging to see many more voices begin to speak up and chime in the chorus to support this emerging trend. It reflects an increase in confidence of the men who are stepping forward to place their name and face alongside the legwear--in effect saying, "I truly believe there's nothing at all wrong with men wearing hosiery for practical, legitimate reasons... and to prove it, I'm putting my reputation on the line to help make the case."
Likewise with the new offerings on the market for men's legwear--most recently from Bulgaria. Those capital ventures reflect a growing recognition that there's a market there to be tapped. These are all encouraging signs that have come about in only the past year. Let's keep 'em coming.
[PS, I plan to write more on the new developments in men's legwear products soon. Keep an eye out for it here, or on my space at The Examiner.com]
Another Manifestation of Philly Mag's 'Mantyhose' Story
Another article, entitled "Mantyhose is 'Great European Fashion Trend'" appeared on the SockShop website Jan. 27th describing how it is expected to, "...take the U.S. by storm, according to a new report." I suppose being "uber chic by next year," as the original Philly Mag (In Defense of Men's Tights) article puts it, is similar to taking the country by storm. In any case, this example shows the value of getting coverage from a larger, established news organization. The more prestigious the original venue of the article, the more spinoff articles there are elsewhere in the ensuing days and weeks.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Mantyhose Story Is Getting 'Legs'
I wrote to tell readers about the Philadelphia Magazine article, "In Defense of Men's Tights" last Friday. Now it seems to have been picked up on by Toronto Life. Karen Liu published an article yesterday called, "The Next Big Thing From Europe: Mantyhose". This story may have the potential to be picked up and reprinted in a number of markets. That's always a good thing for raising the awareness level of men's legwear--even when the legwear in question tends to evoke some strong negative reactions because of the style depicted.
It's a fairly short article that mostly refers to the previous one from last Friday. However, Ms. Liu does note that, "pantyhose for men, or mantyhose, were spotted in Givenchy's Spring/Summer 2010 fashion show", and also that We Love Colors, a company specializing in tights in a wide range of colors, now offers several lines of tights for men.
I did a little searching on the Givency line and found the referenced legwear that showed up subtly in the Spring/Summer 2010 line. Even more notable is how much more pronounced it was in the Fall 2010 lineup. Some of us who follow these things have seen hosiery show up in designer fashion shows in the past, but these were typically from John Paul Gaulthier, et al, and tended toward the more bizarre end of the spectrum.
What's notable about the Givenchy items is how the look is somewhat closer to something you could actually see on a street somewhere, someday. Very little that appears on any fashion runway is something the average guy would be wearing in the foreseeable future, but the appearance of male tights and shorts in this lineup appears to bode well for the eventual entry of men's legwear into the mainstream. That's the trajectory that trends often follow. First, the fringe elements, then the 'hipsters' (as referred to in the article), and eventually the fashionable--where it begins to be truly commercially viable-- and finally the vast mainstream.
I posted a comment on the article's website, following one from Darrell at Legwear4Men taking the writer to task for overlooking the true U.S. roots of the male legwear trend (Ohio's very own ACTIVSKIN Legwear for Men). In it, I commented on the paradox of media coverage focusing on the wilder patterns that only a small fraction of men are wearing, compared to the basic, non-flashy legwear that most men wear today. I've reposted it here below:I have to echo what Legwear4Men said above. Media coverage of men’s legwear is an odd kind of paradox. On the one hand, it is rare to see feature stories on the plain ol’ tights or sheer hosiery the vast majority of guys wearing them actually have on their legs. Yet there’s a high level of coverage of the really splashy-looking tights (ie, the Emilio Cavallini checkered tights shown above) that only a tiny minority of male legwear wearers would wear. Myself, I wear tights/sheer hose for leg support, and wear them with shorts without reservation. Yet, I would never wear the checkered or striped tights in EC’s catalog.
Why the disparity in coverage between what real men are really wearing, and the styles that maybe 1% would be seen in? Maybe partly because plain and ordinary doesn’t sell as news. Maybe because it’s more ‘fun’ to display styles that are much more likely to evoke a good, “ewwwww”, or “ROFLMAO”, etc, etc.
I don’t get too excited over it, though. I’ve been closely involved with publicizing the emerging men’s legwear trend long enough (see my blog, The Nylon Gene, http://www.nylongene.com) that I can see the gradual, and sometimes grudging, increase in overall acceptance of ‘mantyhose’ despite the somewhat negative impact the wild patterns have on public perceptions.
Little by little, people are coming to realize that they aren’t representative of the legwear that makes up the bulk of the market, that there are some very practical reasons for wearing it (as in the Philly Mag article), and guys can wear it without sticking out like a sore thumb.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Philly Magazine - Mantyhose: In Defense of Men in Tights
He goes on to share several suggestions for those 'daring' men who decide to try out tights to fend off winter's chill, or otherwise energize their legs. These include a recommendation and weblink for Emilo Cavallini's new unisex line (which cost $27), or for a cheaper alternative, visit a local drugstore and buy a pair of women's tights.
Two of my own additions: First off, unless they've recently changed this, the Emilio Cavallini tights are not available in the U.S. direct from the maker. You'll need to find a reseller from whom to purchase them.
Secondly, there's definitely a middle alternative that the author must not have been aware of, and that of course is ACTIVSKIN's male tights. These can be had for $14 to $20 a pair, for opaque styles. If looking for a lower insulation factor beneath one's trousers, the sheer styles can be had for $9.99 and up. Visit the website and check out the catalogue.
Related Article:
Here's another one, (Men In Tights, Loving It [Hose]) which quotes and links to the aforementioned Philly Mag article. The predisposition is basically favorable toward men's hosiery, or 'mantyhose'. However, one misconception appears in need of clarification.The author concludes by stating that the 'fingertip rule' should apply to tops men might wear with their tights. The fingertip rule is used for women's tops and skirts, and says that they should be long enough to extend to the tips of your fingers when you extend your arms down your side. Like so many who are newly acquainted with the men's legwear trend, she supposes that we're going to be wearing tights with no other lower body garment (i.e., either shorts or long pants). Those of us in the know understand that this is a non-issue. Very few, if any, men would ever venture out in tights without wearing pants over them.
Otherwise, these are two good articles that should further advance the acceptance of men's legwear by society as a whole.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Save Our Legs. Support Men's Legwear
There's a new 'cause' to support. If you're not already familiar with them, Facebook allows users to start a 'cause' to generate support or donations for something the user strongly believes in. These causes allow other Facebook users to read about it, without requiring them to belong to a Facebook page if they don't want. A loyal Nylon Gene follower, Kevin Wright, has created one called "Save Our Legs. Support Men's Legwear"...
Kevin is an example of the 'second wave' of male legwear proponents that have started to move to the forefront in the effort to promote nylon hosiery as a legitimate male garment with practical applications. For some time now, there have been a select few men who have stepped into the spotlight to proclaim that, "yes, we wear tights, and you can wear them while retaining your masculinity." These included Steve Katz, Chan Kraemer, myself, and a limited number of others as well. Now, a new wave of men are taking up the challenge that was laid down, and are themselves stepping out in front and encouraging others to see for themselves the practical benefits of 'mantyhose.'
That's where the 'Save Our Legs' cause comes in. Kevin is asking men (as well as sympathetically inclined women) to join the cause on Facebook, so it can be a visible sign of how many supporters there actually are out there. When joining, you are asked if you would be willing to commit to share the cause with five others. If everyone who joins is willing to share their information with at least a few of their friends, it will begin to spread 'virally' and take on a momentum of its own.
One of the biggest obstacles limiting the growth of the men's legwear trend is the men's own reluctance to let others in their circle of friends to know that they wear it. Fear of ridicule or rejection plays a big role in this reluctance. However, the new reality is that there are now more than a dozen or so companies selling tights and pantyhose made for men--most notably ACTIVSKIN, of course. Media coverage of the trend has reached the point where the default assumption on the part of most people is that a man wearing nylon legwear must be doing so for leg health reasons, or maybe athletic benefits. The days when unfavorable presumptions of cross-dressing and the like are just about long gone.
I was chatting online with Kevin when he launched the 'Save Our Legs' cause last night. That was less than 12 hours ago, and already it has grown to 12 members, and surpassed the first two growth milestones. That's a pretty strong start! So, if you are a friend of male legwear in the slightest, please help us (I'm an admin for it, too) keep growing. (When you sign on, you can use my name as the recruiter)
Monday, January 11, 2010
It's Been Too Quiet on the Men's Legwear Front...
What with 114 blog posts on The Nylon Gene in 2009, I certainly need to pick up the pace here in January 2010 if I'm going to match or exceed that number this year. There have been a lot of activities that have competed for attention with my blog, but I'll try my best to rectify that. ... and yes, there are still things to right about in the men's legwear arena. Chan Kraemer has revamped his e-MANcipate site, and I'll be writing a review of that forthwith. Likewise, there's certainly something to be said about how all of this deep freeze that much of the U.S. is enduring right now is great weather to add a pair of opaque tights beneath one's trousers before heading out to work. Am I right...?
So anyways, Happy 2010 to all the loyal Nylon Gene readers. I'll make sure to do my best to keep the new decade an interesting one for the guys wearing hose. [Should auld acquaintance be forgot... ]
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Away for a bit...
In case anyone was worried because of the low number of posts for the month of December, "No" I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. As I've mentioned earlier, we are working on making some improvements to the look and message of the ActivSkin website, and that has been taking up much of my focus--leaving little time for writing informative and entertaining Nylon Gene blog posts. After the first of the year, I hope to return to the former level of activity on the web. In the mean time, I will not be here to moderate comments until Dec. 24th, as I am traveling with my two oldest teenagers on a youth mission trip as a chaperone, and will be out in the cold in Kentucky working on some helpful projects for people in need. Don't worry... I'll keep my legs warm with some ActivSkin A866 tights under my jeans. So anyways, don't be concerned if your comments don't show up right away. I'll post them as soon as I return.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Mantyhose in the Orient
China's national newspaper, The Global Times, published an article today on the men's pantyhose trend. Entitled "Sheer Ridiculousness", the headline betrays a certain lack of objectivity, wouldn't you say? The article is not a hatchet job, but it does include statements such as, "Mantyhose is a trend for which we can, predictably, blame Europe. (emphasis mine)...
The article opens with one of Chan Kraemer's latest images from e-MANcipate, which shows a man wearing a pair of the new Emilio Cavallini unisex tights (the ones with skulls on them... not too sure I like this design, but anyways...), and notes that there are as yet only a small number of men wearing pantyhose or tights in China. Yet, the numbers appear to be growing, especially in the larger urban areas like Beijing, Shanghai and Zinjiang. This mirrors observations we've made from ACTIVSKIN web traffic data.
I recently reviewed our data and found that, after the U.S. and Canada, China is responsible for the largest share of web traffic to the activskin.com website. While only averaging about 550 visits per month, this is still significant since most Chinese would be limited by the fact that the website is in English. Overall, Asia is responsible for 13.2% of ACTIVSKIN's web traffic (and 8.7% of traffic here at The Nylon Gene).
The article makes brief reference to Comfilon (aka ACTIVSKIN) as a result of information I provided for the article. In addition to the three cities named above, we have also seen considerable amounts of interest from Guangzhou and Dongguan, and more than 200 other cities across the country. Chinese interest in ACTIVSKIN has risen steadily since June, and we observed a sharp spike in web traffic following several postings on the online answers site, http://zhidao.baidu.com/.
The article also talks about Doyeah, a Chinese hosiery producer that's new to the male pantyhose scene. Their men's hosiery has been selling steadily, as well as those sold by an online Shanghai distributor, Comfimay. There is even a 'brick and mortar' retailer selling men's hosiery in China. Beijing's Chun Shui Tang retail chain store sells a "couple hundred pairs" of black- or beige-colored mantyhose per month.
That certainly sounds like the beginnings of a real trend. Most new things start this way. First, those near the fringe try out the things everyone else is afraid to do. Soon after, other early adopters begin to show up on the street with those same items, and before long they start to enter the 'realm of the cool'. From there, trends that succeed follow a somewhat predictable path to eventually attain commercial viability. The Chinese market looms large if Oriental men continue to brave the potential disapproval of their peers to try men's legwear for themselves.
The article quotes Beijing designer and fashion consultant Wu Jintao as saying that "mantyhose will soon have its time to shine" as interest from the in-crowd continues to grow.
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