It's 95 degrees in the shade. You have an important business meeting that will take you from office to off-site by foot, requiring significant time outside. Do you:
A) Don the stockings or
B) Bag the hose?
The issue appears to be a non-starter among those under 35 and women of any age from southern California (the latter, perhaps, due to the syndrome of chronically tan legs). But in most other parts of the country, the decision to hose the nylons seems to be somewhat controversial. In fact, Jane found several discussion forums online which started with the query, "Are bare legs at work trashy?"
Come on, ladies, it's the 21st century. The dress codes of the 20th century, largely written by men, are passe. Year-round tans are no longer the domain of Californians, thanks to instant tanning lotion. As for containing midsection girth and avoiding pantyline, well, thanks to Spanx and its ilk, women can go pantyhose free and still feel slim and trim.
Now, Jane knows her opinions are going to be somewhat controversial, especially among lawyers and Wall Street types. "Jane," such types may say, "You are a writer, and as such, you have creative license when it comes to legwear. But we don't." Nonsense, Jane says. Anyone can liberate themselves, if they just have the chutzpah.
Mind you, Jane once served as a spokesperson for L'Eggs. But ever since a move to California six years ago, she has not bought a single pair of pantyhose. After all, nylon stockings do look somewhat odd with flip flops, the footwear of choice in Santa Barbara. Parenthetically, whenever Jane wore a dress/business suit and heels in said city, strangers would literally walk up to her on the street and say how lovely she looked. While Jane is a stunner, she did feel the compliments were solely for her shoes and garb.
But Jane digresses. You see, Jane loved the feel of bare legs. So, when she would go to New York on business, regardless of the weather or time of year, she went nude. Yes, she got a few looks of curiosity, but Jane walked on with a confident stride, knowing she was turning those quizzical onlookers into admirers.
The nation's capital is a different story. When Jane moved back to Washington, DC a year ago, she realized that bare legs made her stand out like a sore thumb. Walking around downtown dressed solely in a lovely Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress, heels, a bra, and Spanx, several hunky men came up to her asking if she needed directions, even though Jane knew exactly where she was going. Jane figures that either:
A) Her stocking-less legs had conservative Washingtonians flummoxed or
B) Her thoroughbred legs, uncovered by synthetic material and recently tanned from the California sun, attracted men by the masses.
After some pondering, Jane went with B and continued her bare-legged ways. Which brings us back to the issue of dress codes for women's legs. Why do they exist? Because the men who wrote them knew that a nice pair of bare limbs could drive them to distraction, giving women a leg up when it came to business.
So, if you've got the gams and the guts, go hose-free. But Jane beseeches you to remember to shave and self-tan before baring it all.
