This is the first time that I wore hosiery since I stopped. Readers may wonder why I would wait so long, since I had the opportunity to do it near the end of last month. The simple reason is because I wanted to wait for a time when I could make an event of it. I’ll journal about the event in another journal entry.

I must say that the first wearing wasn’t as exciting and euphoric as I thought that it would be, however, I am glad that I could wear it now. I expected it to feel so nice since I haven’t worn it for over 2 months. I did enjoy putting it on, though. Unfortunately, my hands have dry skin, so I’m hesitant to touch my hosiery, lest I snag it. So, I didn’t get the full enjoyment out of the first wearing, but I did enjoy it. :^)

3 cheers for fashion freedom! 7 cheers for hosiery!

I just recalled a hosiery story that might amuse some of you. On the other hand, nobody said anything, so it might bore you to tears.

At the end of September [or maybe October] of 1998, I and friend went mushroom picking in the forests of the interior of BC. These mushrooms get sold to Japan as delicacies.

To keep warm, I wore support hosiery under jogging pants and an outer shell. For this particular day, he wanted to cross a river, hoping that most people couldn’t be bothered to do it, and thus it would increase our harvest.

On the way back, we ended up tipping the canoe. To keep the story short, I was in the river for about 15 minutes and had hypothermia. 1 of the locals tried to get me warmed up. To do so, she made me get out of my wet clothes. She just pulled it all off. Nobody said anything about my hosiery. Her son, probably in elementary school, had to take my clothes and put them in a garbage bag. I’m pretty sure that he saw the hosiery.

Some other people lent me clothes while I tried to warm up. While I was warming up, she was attending to me to make sure that I didn’t slip into unconciousness. It’s interesting, because even though things were pretty serious, I took time out to notice her opaque hosiery, which appeared to be quite nice.

I was taken by ambulance to the hospital because they wanted to make sure that I didn’t suffer any problems. At the hospital, 1 of the paramedics needed to pull some medical information out of my wallet. After getting my permission, she looked through the wet clothes and must have seen the hosiery. She never said anything about it.

Later on, I saw her in a local Zellers [like a Walmart], and greeted her. She was wearing opaque hosiery at that time also. Her son was also and giving me weird looks. Maybe he was still uncomfortable about seeing a guy wear hosiery?

That’s about it.

I’m glad nobody said anything about anybody’s hosiery because it would have probably been inappropriate. I believe that in moments like those, it’s better to focus on the emergency.

My brother and I worked through a lot of problems, and spent a lot of time communicating and trying to be considerate towards each other when we spoke. At the end of the discussion, I had the chance to bring up the topic of hosiery. Now, I’m going to wear hosiery again!!! Yippee!

He wasn’t offended. He isn’t offended. He is still very uncomfortable with it, but I’m going to wear it when I’m not around him, and I told him that. He isn’t too uncomfortable with opaque hosiery and “waist socks”, but still advises me to not wear sheer hosiery. He recommends that I get away from it all together, but I’m not going to. I’m going to continually try to make hosiery go mainstream so that I can get away with it.

So, tomorrow should be the first day of me wearing in such a long time. Maybe I should wait till Nov. 1, so that I can say that I waited a whole 2 months. :^D I like doing things like that. :^)

Please don’t get me wrong. It isn’t about older brothers giving permission or allowing me to do things like this. It’s about me trying to be considerate of others, and going far beyond the call of duty. I value the opinions of others. I want to win people over. I want to let people’s opinions affect my actions. He’s a great guy. It’s worth it. It’s all about people and relationships. That’s why I put this under “Romance and Relationships”.

Some say that life is too short and that we should try to be happy; or something like that. I say that life is too short and that we should try to win over as many people as possible.

I’m also excited about this, because it shows me that I can get what I want and please people too.

My next goal is to get more people wearing hosiery. This blog was intended to be about me wearing hosiery and my experiences with other people. I suspect that I will still journal about it, but not as much until things change.

Thoughts? Comments? Questions?

It’s been over a month since I’ve last worn hosiery. I’m just about going through withdrawls. ;^)

I think that I would like to plan out what I would like to say to my brother and his wife to deal with the issue. I’d like to plan it out because typically people say the wrong thing.

According to “How To Win Friends And Influence People”, the 3 fundemental principles of dealing with people are [in my own words]:
1) don’t criticize, condemn or complain
2) show genuine appreciation
3) create in the person an eager want

In order to get things going, I’m going to write out what I’d say, if I weren’t thinking about whether or not I should say it. This is just for the sake of brainstorming.

—begin brainstorm—
It is interesting that you guys would tell me that wearing hosiery is very close to cross dressing. It is also interesting that you would wonder if I’m gay.
—end brainstorm—

Wow. That was quick. I expected to write a bunch of text. Although the written text doesn’t convey it, I was writing it in an accusatory fashion. I’m kind of upset that I can’t wear what I want.

Maybe this would be easier if I focused on the points that I want to cover, and then compare them to the fundemental principles.

1) I should be able to wear what I want.
2) You wouldn’t know any better about what is right and wrong.
3) I don’t trust you.
4) You should put more thought into what you want to change in my life.
5) You’re wasting my time and energy.

Those 5 things don’t seem very warm and friendly. For the sake of this discussion, they could be classified as the critical things that people might say.

I don’t believe that I could turn everything to a positive. I believe that it is possible to find positives in everything. Perhaps turning them into positives or finding positives may convey a sense of appreciation.

1) I have ideas and tastes. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find a way to make it mainstream 1 day.
2) I have a brother and a sister-in-law who try to shape me according to what they think is right, out of a genuine conern.
3) I trust them because they aren’t forcing me to wear these clothes and hair styles, nor are they forcing me to wear them outside of our social events
4) They have taken a lot of time to find me clothes that are in style and trendy, and have also put some thought into getting me a better hair style. Although they have their own opinions that they are sticking to, they aren’t forcing everybody to agree with them.
5) They are saving me time and energy. I don’t have to go out and research what clothes are trendy and cool in his social circles.

I must say that when I first started writing this blog entry, I was feeling kind of tired and upset. Now that I’ve seen a few positive things, I’m only tired. :^) At least, I’m feeling pleased now.

I guess that I tend to look too much on the negative side.

I wonder how they would feel if I brought up items 2, 3, 4 and 5 at a random moment. I suppose that they would feel quite good.

I think that I’ll memorize them and say it all to them, the next time that I see them.

The funny thing is that when it comes to clothes, they typically don’t seem to wear clothing that isn’t cool. Even if it looks good, it isn’t good enough, unless it’s cool. But maybe that is a strength. I could bounce ideas off of them. I think that that is where item 1 will come in handy. I could ask them typical survey questions that are relevant to trend spreading and then use that information to see if I could make my ideas seem cool to them.

If I could do this easily enough, then I should have a better chance at making hosiery mainstream in the future, without alienating him and his wife, or at the very least, making him feel comfortable enough that he won’t care if I wear hosiery when I’m not around him and his wife.

I’m feeling pretty optimistic about this.

Here is a thread posting of my last day in hosiery. I posted it in the LAUF forum. I thought that I would provide it here, so that there is more information for those who are curious.

—begin quote—
Well, today had to have been the worst and the best of the outings.

I took transit as usual and seemed to get less stares. I didn’t make a big effort to keep track of things while I was walking, so I won’t comment further on the walking and transit portions, other than this small point. When I was waiting at a bus stop, a bus went by in the opposite direction. A young woman on the bus pointed towards me. As the bus passed me, she continued to point. I was kind of uncomfortable, until I realized that she was pointing at the same angle in the same general direction which means that she was pointing beside me. I then suspected that she was pointing at the trees behind me which were trained to grow along the fence. These trees looked very unusual. She could have been looking at me, but she probably wasn’t. This reminds me of the joke about the guy at the baseball game who heard the name George being called out.

The worst part was after I got home. I was dozing off on the couch, when suddenly the door opened. It turned out to be my brother. I was so hoping that he wouldn’t come in further, and would drop his kid off and run, but no, he decided to stay and chat a while. At this time I was wearing Comfilons and shorts. I had a bad feeling about this because I didn’t expect him to really like the idea of men in hosiery. I decided to keep still and quiet. What shocked me was that he never said anything till he got close. That was bizarre. Anyhow, it turns out that he forgot about when I told him before and brought up a couple of the same points as last time. I basically kept it simple. I told him that I like wearing hosiery because of the feel of the fabric and the pressure on the legs. He felt it was almost like crossdressing, but the way that he phrased it showed that he didn’t think that it was crossdressing. He pointed it out to his wife, but she shrugged and basically said, “I don’t know.”. I honestly wanted to avoid the situation because he just wasn’t ready for it. I think that it was hard for him because he strongly wanted me to fit in with his peer group; and in his world, shoes, clothes and hair are *huge*. Well, it looks like I’ll have to hide it for a while to let him forget once more. :^)

Anyhow, there is good news. About a week and a half ago, a young attractive woman did a documentary about views on life. I was 1 of the people that she interviewed. She’s hoping to sell this to the stations. I didn’t wear hosiery, and I’m fine with that. Today, I had to drop off some photos of myself at her house. I was hoping to sit and chat for a while. Fortunately, I got the chance. It was wonderful to sit with a beautiful woman, to talk with her about topics that we enjoy and to wear hosiery with shorts. At the end, as I was leaving, I checked to see if my hosiery made her uncomfortable. She didn’t have any problems with it. She thought that I wore them to keep the sun off of my legs. I find that so humourous because I would have never even brainstormed that up. That part of the outing was so worth it.

That’s my day.
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Well, he came back to pick up the kid. When he was here, he talked to me about it. The bottom line is that his wife thought that I was gay. He didn’t say what he thought about me being straight or gay. He was really uncomfortable during the talk. I guess that when I went out in hosiery and shorts, I didn’t put enough thought into how he’d react. I knew that he wouldn’t like it, but I didn’t expect them to jump to the “gay” conclusion.

He also doesn’t want me wearing them at all, even under pants.

You know what? As much as I love hosiery, I’m going to try to pull it off. I’ll probably crave it for the rest of my life, but I really appreciate him and his wife, and I want them to be happy. I’m being a bit optimistic and assuming that there will a stronger justification for hosiery.

As bad as this looks, don’t look down on my brother. He is very concerned about my well being. We have an extended family where a couple of the cousins might be gay, and we are concerned about them. So, it’s no surprise that they begin to wonder about me. I’m 32, and never had a girl friend, and have never been intimate with them. The farthest that I’ve gone is dancing and kissing under fake mistletoe. The sad thing is that I’ve been unintentionally called feminine, and have always been weak.

I know how many of you feel about this. Unfortunately, you can afford to make comprises and ultimatums, but I can’t.
—end quote—

Sep. 1, 2005 was the last day that I wore hosiery.

Why would I give up something that I love so much? I put so much thought into making it go mainstream and acceptable, and yet I gave it up like that.

The answer to that question is complex.

First, the story. In the evening of Sep. 1, my brother came over unannounced, and literally just walked in without ringing the doorbell or knocking. He saw me wearing hosiery. He was a bit shocked. In fact, he went away after he was done with his visit and talked about it with his wife, and his wife thought that I might be gay [he told me this]. When he came back that night, he had another conversation, and it was almost a heated conversation. Needless to say, I wasn’t pleased with his attitude, and I felt like he was looking down on me. I won’t bother with too many details of the conversation.

He and his wife felt offended and uncomfortable that I would wear something like that. He compared it to how I would feel if he wore panties and/or a bra. The funny thing is that they would still feel offended and uncomfortable, even if I didn’t wear it around them, and/or if I wore pants and socks over top of my hosiery.

The reason that I would give it all up cold turkey, is because I would want to value people more than I would value clothing. Also, it’s easier to give up a battle and take a second shot at it in the future, than it is to fight and argue until we are at each other’s throats. I’m hoping to bring up the issue in the future, or at least find a way for him to change his mind. If he changes his mind, then I would consider it as him giving me permission to wear, whether he says that I can wear or not.

It bothers me that people would be like him and his wife. It bothers me even more that he makes an effort to tell me what to wear, how to wear it, how to cut my hair and how to style it. It bothers me that he is more liberal than me, yet he has less understanding. It bothers me that even though I was wearing hosiery made by men for men, he would still be offended by it. I’ll never want to share anything with him & his wife again. I should point out, that he tells me what to wear and so on, because he’s trying to give me a make-over, and I suppose that he’s trying to do it out of consideration.

My suggestion to all my readers: think twice about how you confront people.

The main differences are that hosiery is more delicate and sheer.

As far as physical comfort goes, hosiery should be a shoe in. I suppose women just have to be sold on the idea.

The reason that I am optimistic about this is because shoes like Hush Puppies went mainstream. Airwalk shoes went mainstream, even though the majority of people don’t even skateboard. A lot of people probably don’t even do yoga, or any other form of exercise, yet they feel cool wearing yoga pants. I suspect that yoga pants became mainstream because a beautiful pair of yoga pants will have many familiar design elements in it: bell bottoms or capri length; the appearance of a wide waist band; no bagginess.

Another benefit of yoga pants is that it enhances most figures by making the calves appear to be bigger, thus making the woman’s overall figure appear to be more properly proportioned. This makes it easier for more women to fit the ideals of society. This is a good thing, because society’s expectations can get pretty high, through no fault of our own, and if this helps us, and is comfortable as well, the that’s great.

Because yoga pants are so popular here, in south western British Columbia, I truly believe that they can pave the way for hosiery in the future. This can help women overcome the misconception that hosiery is uncomfortable. The logic would probably be: yoga pants are comfortable, and since hosiery is just like yoga pants, then hosiery is comfortable.

Oddly, enough, yoga pants can have a positive effect on guys as well. The yoga pant store that I went to the other day, had men’s clothing as well. They weren’t form fitting like the women’s styles. These were more like the normal loose jogging pants that are very common. If guys can get used to wearing nylon and spandex, then it should be easier for them to transition into hosiery. The idea is to get them familiar with wearing nylon and spandex, and then build on that familiarity by making 1 small change at a time. That small change would be wearing hosiery under shorts.

I’m sure some of you knew of the health benefits of hosiery, such as compression and support for better circulation. Perhaps others of you know about the wicking properties of this wonderful garment, thus removing sweat.

Did any of you know that you can wear hosiery to keep cool?

I noticed this when I wore opaque white hosiery in sunny weather. Typically, I would need to be in the shade in order to keep cool. For some reason, a typical summer sun in this region is very scorching hot for me. When I walked along, my legs stayed fine, but my other exposed skin seemed warmer.

Has anybody tried wearing white opaques in summer?

Also, many women enjoy shimmery hosiery. Have any of you tried this and noticed that your legs remained cooler than your faces and heads?

Most fashion articles seem to portray hosiery as outdated and out of style. However, there are a few that recognize the beauty of putting effort into your appearance, and hold in high regard the choice to dress more formally and conservatively.

I support these latter views. I believe that if women wear hosiery, then they are taking an extra step to beautify themselves, that most women opt to avoid. This extra effort shows more appreciation for herself and others. She deserves more respect and better treatment from me. As it is, I make a strong effort to be polite to strangers. However, I will try harder for a woman who wears hosiery.

I look at it this way: a woman who makes an effort to dry and style her hair after coming out of the shower [or at the start of the day], will look better. Since she treats herself and others well, then she deserves more respect. She has earned it. And so it is with hosiery.

We appreciate beautiful fragrances, and disdain smelly odours. Why do we allow ourselves to dress in an uncivilized manner, assuming that *only* the inside counts? We appreciate sweet flavours, and spit out that which is too bitter and too sour. Why do we force others to ignore their first impressions of us? We all enjoy beautiful melodies and intricate sounds. Why do we refuse to be a sight for sore eyes, and opt for being an eye sore? We adore the soft sensation of furry animals and smooth feel of skin. Why don’t we enjoy the feel of hosiery clad legs?

I’m not perfect when it comes to choosing the right style. Period. I’m guilty of choosing a shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair socks/hosiery, all according to whatever is on top of the clean clothes pile. In fact, it’s normal for me.

Yet, I long for time when we can dress sensibly and in style. I long for a style that is consistent and stable, so that those who don’t know any better, and don’t care, can easily adapt and learn positive habits.

I’m not saying that men should wear hosiery. I couldn’t care less if I was the only guy wearing them. My main concern is that the women wear hosiery, and that everybody thinks that I can wear it as well.

I’d love to hear from you.

When I tried it on, it didn’t seem such a bad idea anymore. I remember my brother and I running around the kitchen floor, sliding this way and that.

After that, I never wore hosiery ever again, until I was a teenager, when I tried on my mom’s hosiery.

After that, I never tried hosiery ever again, until I was about 26. In that situation, I decided to just walk in to a department store and ask about them.

My first pair was a 20 denier, day sheer, off-black, pair of Secret hosiery. I bought this in a grocery store where I expected nobody to go to. I was quite nervous. I was so thrilled to have them. I think that I remember the smell when I opened the package. It was so sweet and beautiful.

My next pairs were support hosiery. I felt that they would help me since my legs hurt. I later figured out on my own, that I just needed to exercise more.

I’ve tried various brands. My favourites are Wolford. I’ve tried their men’s waist socks, and used them in place of dress socks. They are very nice.

Since my beginning, I’ve gotten used to just shopping around for hosiery and buying it without being embarrassed. I’ve found a very positive response overall from the women. I’ve never really spoken about it to men, except for online.