“My issue with no hose is wearing heels with bare feet. My feet blister so easily it’s too painful. I don’t know why I’d pay what I do for my dress shoes and ruin them with sweaty feet.”
Aside from wearing sneakers for workout purposes, it’s rare that I’d wear socks with any shoe - ballet flats, loafers, other casual shoes. I know some people like the Peds (hose cut to hug the foot, invisible in shoes) but not me!
Too funny @BunsenBurner - that UK Tights is a great source, but when you click “sheer” under the “stockings” tab you get an eye full - think it is more the boudoir collection. Crotchless pantyhose - WTH?
The only time I will wear pumps on bare feet is when it’s with jeans and I’m going out in the evening for just a few hours. They would sweat too much and rub blisters if I wore all day. Thankfully office are casual and I can wear nicer sandals in the summer with my skirt. I will check out UK tights also…thanks!
I have only worn mine once, however the shoes I bought for the wedding were so uncomfortable they were kicked off and under the table as soon as the reception started. I walked around and danced for hours in those stockings and they were none the worse.
Also one in the south who has mixed feelings. Way to hot for hose in summer but I hate the way dress/nice shoes feel without hose on. Also don’t love how very pale (and now not so toned) my legs are - nude pantyhose do give a little definition and evenness.
As an aside, those of you who do use self-tanner, do you have any tricks? I’ve tried the gradual build a tan type lotions and by the time it’s dark enough to look even slightly tan, it starts to look splotchy. Is there a trick?
Honestly it’s difficult to imagine entering a business meeting in a lined wool suit and bare feet shoved into pumps as fashionable - I’ll take tacky.
Women lawyers show up to court wearing that all the time. It seems weird to me, too. I always wear hose when I wear a skirt suit to court.
I often wear sheer black hose with my skirt suits, which feels even more out of style than sheer nude hose. I feel more covered up, which is why I wear them.
Another thread about hose!?! :))
If I have to wear hose, this is about the only kind I will wear-I don’t like my lady bits being suffocated by nylons. They make some cool ones that look like a garter and pantyhose without all the ridiculousness of an actual garter.
I do want to be clear that I don’t think people are tacky or out of style for wearing pantyhose; I just think pantyhose are the devil and terribly uncomfortable, unattractive, and unhealthy. But I hang out with a lot of retired ladies who like wearing Crocs and support hose, and you’ll never hear me telling them what to wear, and they don’t tell me what to wear, either :).
If I’m wearing a knee-length pencil skirt with tall boots, I’m wearing some sort of stocking between me and the boot-I can’t stand stinky shoes. But really, I’ll always pick a pantsuit over a skirt and jacket every time because that’s where I feel powerful and confident in a business setting (in the rare instances I have to chip the paint out from under my fingernails and look professional).
If my legs are bare, the shoes are open as well, it just seems like one begets the other.
Agree, a wool suit worn indoors in a formal setting does not look right with bare legs. Just recently I attended a seminar, and one of the presenters wore a (somewhat short) dark wool skirt suit with boots. The almost bluish skin of her legs was so bright… Not where I would want my audience to concentrate their attention. 
I’ve never known what to wear with footwear that is a sandal but “burns” the sole when you wear it for an extended period barefoot. Does wearing some form of stocking help?
I really prefer wearing regular (Thorlo) socks and closed shoes–easier and seems to support foot more, but doesn’t cut it with dresses and skirts! I favor slacks because I can wear comfortable footwear, tho I do like dresses and skirts. Im S creature of comfort.
@MotherofDragons, then why not just go with the thigh highs? I don’t like panty hose either for the same reason. Wolford’s Glam Stay-Ups are expensive but fabulous, and they do stay up. I just can’t stand that binding elastic around my waist nor that smothering feeling that comes with panyhose.
I remember wearing thigh highs when I was pregnant (in the days where I was wearing traditional business dress). Professional maternity clothes were so expensive we all passed outfits back and forth. I was in a department of about 20 people, all women, and I think 12 of us were pregnant in 1992. My immediate boss and I were due 6 days apart from one another!
This is why I get so jealous of men’s wear. So less fraught with style issues. I have taken to wearing black hose or tights with all skirts and dresses from Sept - April. For summer months, I just wear longer skirts and sundresses over bare legs. I’ve got particularly ugly legs - even if they are tanned. But luckily, now that I’m over 50 - no one particularly cares what I’m wearing or if I’m stylish. The “invisible woman” syndrome. I personally think it’s liberating.
And, I too have heard that sheer nude hose are back in style, or at least OK. I think I may be investing in a pair or two this Spring.
@HarvestMoon1 because thigh highs squeeze the hell out of your thighs, and make an indentation on your leg that can be seen through fabric. Plus I’m tall and “thigh highs” on me usually means “barely over the knee”.
I also hate the elastic around my waist (so uncomfortable!); but at least that part of your anatomy tends to have a natural break in it where clothing meets. It’s just a stupid piece of clothing all around. You’d never catch a guy wearing hose. The closest they come to silly clothing are ties, I think. And even those aren’t as uncomfortable…
I find the “invisible woman” thing dispiriting vs liberating! But that’s me - and I grew up with a father in the fashion business so there was a focus on looking good / appropriate. I like not looking like I’m in my 50s!
I’m really out of style. I’ve never liked nude hose…always get suntan color. Winter only…
I was out on the court playing tennis today, and I noticed that none of us have perfect legs-not one, and we are athletic, toned women ranging from 25-65. About 95% of the women were playing in VERY short skirts (it was very warm today), and 100% of didn’t care what each other’s legs looked like. I thought it was interesting that when it was just us women, nobody cares about legs (ok I did, but that was for this thread for data gathering).
We DID care about if we smelled bad, though, lol. “Do I stink?” “No, you’re fine.”
When I wear nude hose (and I mean the sheer kind clarified above!), I don’t do it because my legs look bad, but because the outfit and the climate seem to call for it, but once that thermometer is above 60, my legs are naked regardless of the formality of the occasion. Of course, having naked legs means they have to be well-shaved, and the toenails have to be painted, so there’s a trade-off for me. 
The thing I care about us not having burning soles when walking barefoot with sandals. It’s like a chemical burn or something and uncomfortable. When I know I will have to walk, I wear closed shoes and Thorlos do I don’t have this reaction, but sure would like other options. I’ve never been a fan of any kind if stockings. Our HI humdiity is just way too high and I hate snags!
I often do errands or a stop at the grocery store after the gym/yoga and am really aware of the fact that I just worked out. I carry one of those cylinder bottles of Jean Nate in my gym tote. It is the only “cheap” fragrance that I do not mind the smell of - to me that fragrance still brings back memories of my early teenage years.
I probably go through a bottle every 2 months.