Vintage for the Lazy?

I have a problem. Or maybe even a couple of problems.

The thing is I love....LOVE full fashioned stockings. From the first time I laid eyes on them as a young 16 year old (worn by 'Maria the Newscaster' in the October 1993 edition of Leg Show magazine) I was in love. Having attended private schools, where uniforms were required, until I finished 12th grade, I can't even tell you when my nylon stocking fetish began. But I can tell you the precise moment said fetish caused me to purchase this magazine from a store that was apparently all too willing to sell it to someone under the requisite age to purchase such material. Having quickly flipped through it in the store, I knew it was chock full of women in nylon. What I didn't realize, until I got it home, was that it would be my first introduction to both full fashioned stockings and foot fetishism. The rest, as they say, is history.

Why unburden my soul? I guess to point out the fact that it wasn't until 14 years later that I tried these stockings for myself. Until I started this blog and really started scouring the internet, I was limited to buying stockings from department stores and Victoria's Secret. I loved the look of models in these stockings, but didn't know where to buy them. Now, of course, I know of many many places.

So what's the problem? I never get a chance to wear them. For one thing, I'm always running late every morning. Anyone who wears stockings knows that it isn't exactly a process that can be rushed. Secondly, I have to concern myself with garter straps showing through my pants. I've gone on many times about how I like to put myself in positions where I might get 'caught', but cluing my co-workers in to the fact that I'm wearing stockings could make for a bad work environment. Thirdly, and probably undeniably, I get lazy. I start most mornings with a run. Group that with showering, getting dressed, eating something, and getting my shit together and getting out the door, I never really seem to want to go through the process of putting on stockings, attaching them to my garter belt, and making sure everything is straight and good to go. Looking at what I just typed that's probably the lamest excuse ever, but I can't deny it.

As a result, I saw these hold ups from Pretty Polly and wondered if I could "cheat" in a way. They have all the elements of a full fashioned stocking (back seam, Cuban heel, reinforced sole and toe) without the garter belt showing through my pants, or the time consuming process. I had to give them a try. Just to be clear, these are modern day hold ups with these things added on just to create the illusion of a vintage stocking. They are only 86% nylon with the remaining 14% made up by elastane. They are 10 denier. They are only $13.75.

So what's the verdict. About what you'd probably expect. These are far from being a worthy replacement for the real vintage stocking. First of all, these are nude stockings with a seam, foot, and toe that are also nude. I didn't realize this when I bought them, I was hoping for a bigger contrast. You probably need to look pretty closely to even make out the back seam of the Cuban heel. What's the point in that? But they are very shiny and even have a sort of stocking top appearance just below the silicone stay up. But again, I bought these, not because I expected them to feel vintage, because I wanted the look in less time. As I probably already knew, you can't rush a vintage look.

At any rate, these aren't a complete miss. They have a nice shiny look and are super good feeling on my legs. They are quite soft and smooth, and wearing stay ups today allowed me to break out an a pair of vintage full cut panties that I hadn't worn in some time. You just need to take them for what they're worth.

So I came up short in my attempt to pay homage to Maria the Newscaster. In fact, if Maria knew I even tried, using these, she'd probably have some humiliating, and possibly painful, punishment lined up for me already. Just thinking about it makes me feel like I'm 16 all over again ;).