Sheer footed stockings were designed years ago to be worn with open toed shoes or dressy sandals. It was sinful or tacky at the very least to wear reinforced toed stockings on such occasions. Many women wouldn’t think of going bare-legged or bare-foot in their shoes and some whom had worn pantyhose under their slacks opted for knee high versions of the sheer footed stockings when they became available. Sometimes I ponder how certain changes come about; not because it is detrimental to world peace, but because I entertain myself that way when I have nothing better to do. (See Girdles and Shapers in the archives.) I think I first started noticing women going stocking-free about ten years or so ago. It was around the same time that women were wearing spaghetti strap dresses and camisoles as blouses, even in the winter. One of the first people I noticed going bare-legged on TV was Diane Sawyer of “Good Morning America”, and she was wearing closed-toe pumps. Now don’t get me wrong, but she is a baby-boomer. Shouldn’t she be trying to cover her spider veins so the rest of us could shamelessly do the same?

It took me awhile to adopt the practice at first since it felt kind of yucky being barefoot in my shoes, and I wasn’t particularly fond of the smelly self-tanners needed to cover my white legs. But as usual, in my willingness to suffer for fashion I got used to the discomfort and surrendered my bare feet to the abuse. The insanity didn’t stop there either. Whenever my attire required an open toe shoe or sandal, my well earned callouses that were needed to walk in the pumps had to be removed in order to sport the perfect pedicure. The money saved by no longer having to buy pantyhose or stockings was offset by the hot wax treatments at the nail salon. Perhaps even a greater sin than wearing stockings in sandals was to have the wrong color polish on my toes.

I suppose this will no longer be an issue when they start putting sleeves on evening dresses again. It is bound to happen because the boomers are the largest demographic now. More than likely they will influence fashion in ways that will allow them to be as modest about their veiny legs and abused looking feet as they are their upper arms and neck. Now that Diane Sawyer is hiding her lovely legs under the desk on the evening news, and hemlines are dropping, will the reinforced toe version of the knee high nylon no longer be a sin?