Hosiery is not passé

Q: I know how styles constantly change; and as I am 81 years old, I don’t always understand the new trends. But I want to know, is hosiery passé?

I often see women dressed in beautiful designer dresses and expensive shoes, with bare white legs, and it looks so uncouth to me! And, putting bare feet into dress pumps. I don’t think any woman is well-groomed without hosiery, but then, I don’t understand today’s styles.

Pantyhose aren’t much fun to struggle into, and perhaps that’s why many of us wear dress trousers. But, now and then, a dress is the only appropriate garment. Does it bother you to see women (young and old) wearing lovely dresses and high-heeled pumps with bare legs?

A: No, in my opinion wearing hosiery is not passe or nor should it be passé for any well-dressed, properly-dressed woman.

Yes, it does bother me very much, as it does you, to see women (young and old) get all dressed up and not wear hosiery. I feel it is inappropriate (and yes, uncouth) for a lady wearing a dress to not wear hosiery, no matter how tanned her legs are. Furthermore, putting bare feet into shoes when not wearing hosiery must be not only uncomfortable and possibly painful, but will cause the shoes to quickly smell due to the natural perspiration of the bare feet inside the shoes.

Reader’s comment: Referencing your answer to the April 4 question of how to signal the waiter in a restaurant that you are done with a meal. While there may be regional differences regarding what one does with his or her cutlery, on the East Coast, the forks tines are placed down, in the same 10-4 clock arrangement with the knife. I notice that few people do this in the Midwest, so tines up or down are an improvement over nothing.

It really makes service easier for the waiter who does not have to interrupt your brilliant conversation with the question, “Are you finished?”

Response: Thank you for your comment. To re-clarify: The “finished” position for the European or Continental style of eating dictates placing the tines of the fork down; however, the American style of eating, which is the more prevalent style of eating here in the Midwest and most areas of the United States, dictates placing the tines of the fork up.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Hosiery is not passé."