Today’s guest post comes from a dear blogging friend of mine…the clever and colorful Petra Bellejambes. Petra is a marketing executive and lingerie enthusiast who thinks often about personal style, beauty and other matters of mutual interest, and blogs about it all from time to time at Voyages En Rose. I’ve not done nearly enough reviews of late, and fortunately Petra has agreed to fill in for me by talking about Stockingirl’s marvelous, metallic backseam stockings.
I have been traumatized by stay ups that did not (stay up). My one epic, disaster of this nature comes horribly to mind when tempted by stockings, and influences my choice at the start of the day. And while I have a healthy and enduring love for vintage leg wear in general, and stockings in specific, that love affair is cooled off a little by a couple of realities.
Lets start with the garter belt. Most of what we find on local shelves are more designed to relieve boredom in the bedroom than provide comfort on the commute. Flimsy lace and plastic fasteners don’t hold up well to hours of wear. As such, for the normal day, I happily reach for a pair of reliable pantyhose.
But today is not a normal day friends, today is a day of luxury and glamour, embodied on my happy legs by a lovely pair of stockings from legwear legend, Stockingirl. Beneath my skirt and under inspection today are the Shiny Metallic Seamed All Nylon Sandalfoots.
Most of us in Generation L (L for Lycra®) are accustomed to tights and such that cling with the help of elastic tenacity to the unique contours of our legs. You must prepare for a different experience in an all nylon stocking. Their construction make the entire experience of dressing and walking through the day different and special. There is precious little “give” in the fabric. The stitch count gradually climbs from the a tapered ankle, up and over the knee, and all the way to thigh top in the effort to provide a perfect fit for the perfect leg. There is a catch here though, dear friends: you and I do not have perfect legs do we?
Oddly enough, this works. Where you have a little more flesh than the stocking has fiber, an all nylon leg provides a determined embrace, a constant reminder that you have something a little special on. Where there is a little more fabric than flesh, where your unique knee bends, where your unique ankles curl, the subtle, alluring folds and gathers of dark sheers catch the eye nicely, and reward everyone nearby for the extra thought and effort you put into getting dressed this day. A sexy side effect.
Sexy implies dressy too, and these certainly hit a dressy, red carpet note. Available with gold or silver metallic back seams, you can be sure that while you are holding the full attention of the person in front of you, you are winking at the world behind. To me, the seams are a little less glimmery than the pictured on the web site, and this came as a relief. They really don’t shout out, they are noticeable yes, but in a graceful, light catching way. And to the hand, they feel just gorgeous.
Dressy, not trampy, and clearly intended to be deployed for a special night out. By special, ladies, I mean a day where you are going to make the time to do at least 3 things right:
- Care for your legs. Please, shave, cream, epilate, deforest, etc in your particular style on the same day. This is a very sheer 15 denier stocking that not only shows flaws, but can catch on stubble. Now, I will pretend politely that we did not have this discussion. Moving on…
- Get the garter belt right. Wear a well fitted foundation garment with metal stocking fasteners. Your belt will need to fight to keep the noticeable dark welt of your stockings more or less above your hemline. At least until it suits you to bare a little thigh.
- Leave time to dress. These are $30.00 stockings and are designed to last years, but nylon sheers are inherently fragile. Buff your nails, north and south, and luxuriate in the ritual of pulling your stockings up your leg and fixing the seam just so. Half of the likelihood of a ladder comes before you leave the house. The other half at least has the promise of some fun.
A bonus tip for you here now on getting the seams drop dead straight. Standard issue kitchen rubber gloves adhere perfectly to nylon and do a better job of distributing the delicate fabric correctly over your unique contours than your bare hands will.
I suspect that these stockings are of the same quality as practically everything on offer from Stockingirl: first rate. This is a great online shopping experience too. There is over 10 years of experience catering to the real hosiery enthusiast and it shows in the assortment, art direction and detail in the behind the product descriptions. For me, the online chat facility helped sort out a size selection dilemma in the space of a well spent minute. Expert operators are standing by.
These stockings have set a new luxury threshold for me, and I always enjoy a little luxury from time to time. If you feel the same way about luxury, and have a special evening somewhere in your future, Stockingirl might be a good way for you to go. They can help you really brighten up a nice outfit you have already paid for, for much less than the price of a new one.
Beautiful boutic http://stockingirl.com
and stockings metallic very nice. But there is authentic 3 thread edwardian seam stockings, reciprocated point heel, toe and foot RHT … SEDUCTION COUTURE LUREX
Thank you
I love Petra… and I learned something here… to use kitchen rubber gloves to smooth the stockings. xoxo
well, congratz on the new site, too bad there's no comments anymore:(
I hope you'll fix that.
This is great! wearing garter belt and stockings at first really is hard and you need time to practice the fit and all! haha
great post Petra!!
I love these stockings and this is such a great post.
@cervin–so happy the stockings have your seal of approval. you are the expert after all.
@leah–I know, right? I never would have thought of using rubber gloves to put on my stockings. Learn something new everyday…
@Evija–Comments should be back now, lovely. If there's something else that isn't working, just shoot me an e-mail.
@Miss Neira–I agree. Stockings and garter belts don't come naturally to anyone…but they're well worth the learning curve.
@daisychain–Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to visit Petra if you haven't already. :-)
Oof! I very much agree on the plastic fasteners thing, sheesh, if I even get up AT HOME to go get something sometimes they just snap, not so fun to try and fix that out and about.
And the rubber gloves! Oh! My life is so much easier now
oh Petra, i would know those long legs anywhere! i'm jealous!
what a lovely post, and what a wonderful collaboration between 2 high-profile blogs – love the camaraderie! cheers to you both. :-)
xoxo alison
Absolutely gorgeous post! Informative and lovely, just like Petra herself!
xoxox,
CC
I love those Stocking!
Guest posting here on The Lingerie Addict has been a real treat Treacle. Thanks so much for the opportunity.
Lovely to see the nice comments from some old friends and a few new ones too.
Anytime you need a little editorial filler, just ping me. It might not surprise you to know that I have lots of lovely stuff still in the package waiting for an audience :).
And I am usually able to find a word or two to describe them.
I hope you had a great vacation. Thanks again.
xxoo – Petra
Great post.=)
Hairy legs and beautiful stockings don't mix??? Who knew? ah ha ha. Would you believe I've never worn a garter belt? And they're so pretty too…
Nothing beats the elegant feel of stockings and garters. I find that I seem to walk a bit differently in them as well, perhaps pay more attention to my posture and fluid movements.
I think we can all take the kitchen gloves trick to the bank as well!
Cheers,
Maggie