“What is it with you guys and seams? They are hard to keep in place, let alone straight, and my choice is seamless. I really don’t want to draw attention to myself (like some floozie) and I really do not want to announce to all and sundry that I am wearing stockings and not pantyhose – that’s my business (and whomever I might want to let know, but privately please).

“So what’s with the demand for seams? Do any of you other ladies feel the same? Why can’t the men just be happy when we like to wear stockings instead of going that next step and asking us to wear seams too? Is the word ‘seamy’ related to seamed stockings? Am I missing something here? What’s the big deal with seams?

“I certainly do love wearing stockings. I always have, and as the only girl growing up with four brothers I liked to be feminine. My mom even encouraged me to wear stockings as I didn’t like pantyhose. And I happen to think that sheer stockings are quite feminine enough, thank you, especially with pretty underthings. But I draw the line at seams.

“What do you other ladies think? Are men asking too much?”

“The main reason is seamed stockings are very pleasing on the male eye. What man is not aroused by nylon seamed stockings and high heels? When I was in Navy training as a young 17-year-old at HMS Mercury 1985/86 there was a PO WREN who wore these stockings. I used to see her when in the NAAFI shop at break times. She got admiring looks and her legs looked fantastic in them – almost as good as Kelly McGillis in Top Gun! However seamless stockings are just as pleasing as Tara Fitzgerald (Brassed Off) clearly shows.”

“I am perfectly satisfied that there are many ladies I know who have decided to wear stockings instead of pantyhose (tights). The fact that some will wear seamed stockings from time to time is icing on the cake.

“Although I grant that without the proper support, seamed stockings can require attention, the allure has to do with the fact that they tend to make the leg look thinner. The reinforced heel extending up the ankle makes the ankle look thinner as well. The authentic seamed stockings (with the trademark keyhole) are sheer and therefore more flattering to the leg.”

“I would not want you to feel like anything other than a lady, but when beautiful legs are displayed, men can not help but notice that their paths have been crossed by something wonderful. I do not want blatant exposition of undergarments – that is what my imagination is for!”

“Seamed stockings are a sign of femininity. Watching films from the ’40s & ’50s, it is a pleasure to see the actresses wearing high heeled shoes, beautiful dresses and seamed stockings. They do not necessarily give connotations that a woman is ‘up or looking for it’. It means that a woman has taken pride in her appearance and has taken note of the finest details in her outfit. But seams are not 21st Century – they are high maintenance and we women are different today.”

“Seamed stockings are wonderful. When a woman is out and immaculately dressed, nothing is more of a pleasure than for a male to look at the back of her legs to see if she is wearing seams. A male suddenly gets a rush in his pulse and his whole attention is focused on her, owing to the fact that she is wearing seams.

“I wear seamed stockings probably three out of five work days, and to church on Sunday (usually). I also wear seamless. For me it all depends on the outfit; if I am wearing something a little more casual, say an A-line skirt and sweater, I’ll go with the RHTs. If I am wearing a suit, with a straight skirt, then I will more often than not grab the FFs.

“I love the way they feel, and frankly, I never have a problem with them. That’s what a 6 garter girdle is for! I line them up in the morning when I get dressed, and that’s the end of it. I adjust them briefly in the ladies, but that’s five extra seconds per leg. Nothing to get all het up over, I assure you.

“I also agree that they make my legs appear more shapely and slender, and why shouldn’t I take pride in my appearance? I confess that I wear them so often now that I totally forget I am even in seamed stockings. I guess with spring around the corner I’ll be reminded more often.”

– I am interested to know for what reasons you ladies decide to wear seamed stockings.

– It’s a statement to say “I am wearing stockings and I am proud of it”.

– I wear seams because they’re very eye-catching and eye-pulling. Pulling eyes up, up, up in search of something more. And besides, stockings with seams, especially FF stockings, are so much more interesting than the run-of-the-mill completely sheer variety!

-There’s more than one reason. First, I love the way they get admiring looks. If we’re honest what woman doesn’t like to be admired? Second, they make ME feel good, feel classy, and yes, feel sexy. Third, my hubby adores them 🙂

– All the other posts pretty much stole my thunder, but I’ll add my remarks nonetheless.

My legs tend to be rather shapely, and I have been told they are quite nice. I like the visual aspect of a seam up the leg – it elongates, it appears to slim, and if your calves are well defined it can call attention to a shapely ankle.

I wear FFs almost every day, and just recently was stopped by a man astonished at seeing the real thing on the street in 2001! He even went as far as to ask if they were pantyhose or the real thing! (Imagine hand gesture indicating garters… ) I think he was over the moon the rest of the day! LOL

I love to dress nicely, and adding a pair of classic FFs to a pinstripe skirt suit just finishes off perfectly!

– Stole The Thunder And The Lightning! Could not have said it any better! All we say is we agree and we are proud!

Dear ladies, I wish that I had your strength of character. Unfortunately wearing seams on a day to day basis is just not practical for me. They are relegated to infrequent occasions, and I wish that I could wear them more often. Having said that, it is the contrast (seam on the leg) that gives FFs their appeal.

Suggestive stockings are making a serious comeback in time for the Millennium party season and fishnet and seamed are the order of the day. Ita O’Kelly-Browne reports.

SEXY seamed stockings are seriously back in fashion for the party season of the century as women re-discover that the feminine glamour of the ’40s beats ’90s-style glamour hands down. Saucy today means going light on the lipstick and the cleavage in favour of seductive and suggestive legwear because of course a seamed stocking encourages the eye to travel vertically up the back of the leg. If in doubt just think of Marilyn Monroe!

While most women of the previous generation happily left behind their stockings and suspender belts and embraced the convenience of tights like a long lost friend, a whole new generation of younger women have discovered for themselves that old fashioned glamour has never really lost its edge after all. There is a time and a place for black heavy duty opaque tights and at this stage they have seriously out-stayed their welcome. Glamour is back with a bang and the seamy side of life is now where it is all happening.

Manufacturing outlets in the UK who have always made seamed and regular stockings for a small band of die-hards who refused to wear tights, have found themselves scrambling to cope with unprecedented demand for leg glamour from all over the world. Old nylon making machines which have been idle for years at The Silk Mill Hosiery Company in Derbyshire in the UK have had a service and been put back into unexpected production. They have now teamed up with deluxe hosiery firm Wolford to create a pair of tights which look like seamed stockings complete with garter belt but they are designed so that only the wearer knows that they are not quite the real thing!

And Irish women are very much to the forefront of the new fashion for seductive stockings according to Brown Thomas who report brisk demand for sexy stockings for the party season. The top drawer stocking company Wolford who make the Rolls Royce of stockings are walking off the shelves at £22.50 per pair. Most popular are Subjekt fishnet tights from Wolford which are designed to look like stockings with a sheer top and an opaque piece at the top which is supposed to give the impression of bare flesh! BT’s are currently waiting for supplies of old fashioned seamed stockings in the same range which will also retail at £22.50.

Nylons as they were known first made their appearance in Ireland in the late 1940s. This season sees the re-launch of a new range from Pretty Polly called Nylons which are retro-style products to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The biggest sellers in the range according to a company spokesperson are a black seamed stocking which is also available in tights and has a very stylish Cuban heel. The look is designed to coincide with the revival of forties fashion this year where skirts are brushing the knee seductively and sheer and shimmering legs complete the look.

The other big seller this season according to Brown Thomas are seamed 15 denier tights with a difference the seam in this case is made from pearls which go from the heel to the top of the leg also by Wolford and retailing at £22.50. According to Brown Thomas younger women in the twentysomething age groups tend to opt for hold-ups which are ersatz stockings while women in the 30 and upwards age groups tend to go for the real thing for glamorous occasions.

Over at Arnott’s a similar picture emerges according to veteran fashion observer at the Accessories Department Ann Warren who says that there is much more interest in glamorous stockingwear this year than ever before.

”There is no doubt that the more glamorous stockings and tights are more fashionable right now and seamed and sparkly are the favoured option for the Christmas and Millennium party season. I find that the young to middle aged are choosing the fishnets in black for evening wear but only the adventurous are opting for the white or red fishnets in the Elle range.

Pretty Polly seamed stockings and tights are also going well and I also find that the Italian fashion for wearing a pair of regular tights and a pair of fishnets over them is now becoming popular here. It can look well on the younger woman who likes to stand out”, according to Ann who is always at her busiest at this time of year.

A combination of things have contributed to the newfound interest in seamed stockings, patterned tights and fishnets, not the least of which is the fact that today it is once again politically correct for women to not only want to look glamorous but seductive as well. Add to this the re-appearance of fancy hosiery on the catwalk where fashion has become more feminine and the fact that the joint effects of the Christmas and Millennium party season are having on women worldwide and you have a veritable avalanche of sophisticated elegance in the offing which presumably will please a great deal of men not to mention hosiery companies.

Bloodstock manager and social animal Elaine Lawlor is better known to most people by her pet name ‘Legs Lawlor‘ because of her incredibly long legs. Thirty-nine-year-old Elaine who is 6ft1” tall or 5ft13” as she describes herself, was first given the name when at school and it has simply stuck with her ever since.

Elaine modestly maintains that it is just because of their length her inside leg measures 36 inches but most men would probably maintain that her pet name results from both the shape and length of her legs. And it probably has something to do with the fact that she is one of those women who ALWAYS wears stockings because she hates tights.

”I have never liked tights and I also find them most unhygienic. While many people claim that wearing stockings is inconvenient, I would have to say that I do not find them inconvenient at all. Mind you that being said I actually wear jeans most of the time for my work but when I am going out I always wear skirts and stockings simply because I like them and find them sexy”.

While Elaine loves stockings she is not a fan of either fishnets because she believes that being understated is the key to elegance for a woman.

”I believe in keeping it simple so I always wear dark sheer stockings for evening and light sheer in the day. I always choose sheer stockings because I think that they are sexier”.

Marilyn Monroe wore seamed stockings like nobody else could; Jane Russell wore seamed fishnets to great effect; Madonna virtually launched her career on the back of black fishnet stockings teamed with hob nail boots; Sharon Stone is a self-confessed fan of real silk stockings; Jerry Hall has always confessed to being an old fashioned girl at heart and she always wears seamed stockings when dressing up; Tina Turner regularly dresses her trademark long legs in fishnets to excellent effect.