dumb question about dark skin and pantyhose

[Scarlett67]

OK, so now that I've got my sexy legs back , I've been wearing pantyhose more often. Which led me to ponder, the other day, as I was pulling my "nude" hose over my lily-white legs: Do dark-skinned women have to buy darker colors of hose to match their skin tone? I suspect so, and that "nude" pantyhose is as much a misnomer as "flesh-colored" Band-Aids (cf. Oliver Wendell Jones). I also imagine that "nude" hose over dark skin would look kind of weird.

My pondering probably isn't helped by the fact that I live in a region almost exclusively populated by pink and beige people, and I'm sure the local selection of hosiery reflects that; the only dark color of hose I ever see is black rather than any range of browns darker than beige or "suntan."

Inquiring minds want to know!

[Radical Edward]

I like to wear silver hose when I have to wear hose. But I'm an oddball.

[Panacea]

Yes, hose come in all kinds of delicious colors, to match all the delicious ladies who wear them.



Ed: one time my sister spray-painted her whole face silver. She didn't mean to though.

[hilarity n. suze]

Originally Posted by NinetyWt

....Ed: one time my sister spray-painted her whole face silver. She didn't mean to though.

Please tell me the whole story is online somewhere. Or will be. (Hint, hint.)

I mean, a bit of silver on the face, sure, I get it. But...her whole face?

[ovlov244]

Originally Posted by NinetyWt

Yes, hose come in all kinds of delicious colors, to match all the delicious ladies who wear them.

What color hose is darker: Beige or Suntan?

[Panacea]

Originally Posted by ovlov244

What color hose is darker: Beige or Suntan?

Suntan.

I live in a place where there are women of every human shade of color you can imagine. There is a pantyhose color for a large palette, although probably not matching all of them.

In the Bad Old Days there were like four colors: beige, tan, chocolate, and black.

[Panacea]

Well. She was about 10 to 12 years old, so I would have been 12 to 14 years old. She was trying to paint something - on a bicycle, I think - but the spray paint can was old and had lost its button.

So she had the bright idea to stick a pin in the tube. While looking down at it.

Next thing I knew, she came flying up in the house with this totally Tin Man face (and some of her hair around her face got it too). She was very calm and went into the bathroom to see about getting the paint off.

You know how, in a time like that, you come to a kind of a crossroads ... you can either stay calm or freak out? I freaked out. I ran off to find Mom and just babbled incoherently at her about what happened. I was near hysterical. And my sis in there, just calmly washing her face with mineral oil. Heh.

[Scruff]

Originally Posted by NinetyWt

Well. She was about 10 to 12 years old, so I would have been 12 to 14 years old. She was trying to paint something - on a bicycle, I think - but the spray paint can was old and had lost its button.
.

And here I was thinking that the story would include somewhere the line, "Honest, young sister, look in here for a minute..."

[Panacea]

Originally Posted by Scruff

And here I was thinking that the story would include somewhere the line, "Honest, young sister, look in here for a minute..."

Momma didn't allow that kind of thing.

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by NinetyWt

So she had the bright idea to stick a pin in the tube.

:hijack:

Speaking of science gone wrong: when I was 13 I watched as a friend drove a 10p nail into the bottom of an empty upturned can of spray paint in his dad's workshop. We wanted to know if the rattle was caused by a marble or ball bearing. Results: One [1] workbench and three [3] boys decorated with metallic blue paint, and cause of rattle: unknown.

/:hijack:

[Monstera deliciosa]

It has been years since I wore pantyhose regularly. But as a light-skinned black woman, I found that "tan" or "suntan" was actually a fairly good shade for me, back in the day. And IIRC, most of the hosiery brands above the bargain basement level had at least a couple of darker shades available. And there were brands marketed to women of color that could be found in stores that sold ethnic beauty products. It probably helped that I lived in the NYC metro area.

My go-to shade though, was "off-black" which almost every brand, cheap or not, has. Not as severe as true black, it looked good with almost everything I wore from fall until spring.

[Auntbeast]

Obviously you aren't old enough to remember back when the only colors you could get were orange, white and black. I am very fair skinned and would wear white because it actually looked more natural than the orange/sun tan/nude of the times.

How does this relate to darker folks? I don't really know, but I know the industry is more willing to accommodate my pasty white self, they are probably more willing to accommodate a wider palette overall.

[Panacea]

That reminds me of a story ...

According to my Sainted Father, when he was two years old he painted the neighbor's cat, Marjorie Tootles.

With gold gilt paint.

The cat died.

[severe delays]

Originally Posted by NinetyWt

That reminds me of a story ...

According to my Sainted Father, when he was two years old he painted the neighbor's cat, Marjorie Tootles.

With gold gilt paint.

The cat died.

I wish you'd work harder on your stories. That one wasn't great.

[Panacea]

Originally Posted by severe delays

I wish you'd work harder on your stories.

NO U

[Anacanapuna]

I'm here because I saw "dark skin" and "pantyhose" in the thread title. I don't even want to know what that says about me.

Pardon me while I slink away quietly.

[Pirate]

Is anyone going to talk about garter belts and fish net stockings vs panty hose?
Or should I just go to bed?

[Scarlett67]

Originally Posted by Pirate

Is anyone going to talk about garter belts and fish net stockings vs panty hose?
Or should I just go to bed?

I'm still trying to figure out how we got from pantyhose to spray-painted faces.

In any case, I may as well continue the hijack with a story that happened just this weekend.

My sister and her kids spent Saturday night at my house. Her husband, my brother-in-law (BIL) stayed over too, but he had to get up early Sunday morning, go somewhere, and come back in the afternoon. No one else was going to be up at that ridiculous hour, so we promised to leave the coffeepot set up, told him to help himself to bagels, cereal, the shower, toiletries, etc., and went to bed.

When he returned the next afternoon, he asked me if I wanted to know what he was doing in my bathroom at 6 am that morning. Uh, no? I think you can just keep that info to yourself?

Turned out he was cleaning the lightbulbs and mirror over the sink, after his can of shaving cream exploded. Poor bastard. Trying to rush out of the house, doesn't know where the cleaning supplies are, doesn't want to wake anyone up. He did a good job, though; we didn't even notice until he told us.

And then we pointed and laughed.

[Chacoguy]

Originally Posted by Scarlett67

I'm still trying to figure out how we got from pantyhose to spray-painted faces.

Really? HERE?!?

[version tuesday]

Originally Posted by Pirate

Is anyone going to talk about garter belts and fish net stockings vs panty hose?
Or should I just go to bed?

I have fishnet stockings that get fairly regular use, and almost never wear pantyhose. Does that help?

If I do wear pantyhose, I usually go with the sparkly silver ones. I find the gold ones a little too ugly even for my tastes. I have some white ones that have accent lines around the tops too...

But um. If I needed panty hose that actually matched my skin color... well is there really a "ghostly" one? Because I need that.

Anyway, yeah, I guess it sounds like it's not as hard to find hose that match your skin color as it was when I gave up on matching stuff.

[RedRosesForMe]

Wouldn't the 'nude' pantyhose match the skin tones of some darker-skinned women? I haven't owned or worn pantyhose in years, but I remember the nude shade being about 20 shades darker than my pasty legs. Wouldn't that work for some Latinas or similarly complexioned women?

[RedRosesForMe]

I'm not saying that there shouldn't be a range of shades available, I just remember the 'nude' shade being so dark it looked ridiculous on me.

[teela brown]

Originally Posted by RedRosesForMe

I'm not saying that there shouldn't be a range of shades available, I just remember the 'nude' shade being so dark it looked ridiculous on me.

Yeah, me too. My legs are as white as a blind man's cane, and the lightest shade I can find still look like a 70's suntan product commercial. "Nude", "Barely There", my ass.

[eleanorigby]

Originally Posted by teela brown

Yeah, me too. My legs are as white as a blind man's cane, and the lightest shade I can find still look like a 70's suntan product commercial. "Nude", "Barely There", my ass.

Me, too. Just call me Casper.

[Solfy]

Originally Posted by teela brown

Yeah, me too. My legs are as white as a blind man's cane, and the lightest shade I can find still look like a 70's suntan product commercial. "Nude", "Barely There", my ass.

I'm in the same boat. I recently found a newer variety of hosiery that is supposed to be ultra super mega sheer. It looked really good, but it felt kinda strange; it was almost coarse feeling compared to the "silky" varieties, but not uncomfortably so. The feet were foot-shaped instead of the standard tube shape, presumably because it wasn't as stretchy. I can't remember what brand it was, unfortunately.

[Panacea]

See my edited post, I guess I was brain dead when I read yours. Sorry.

[Tug]

I can't get away with nude and I am dark-skindededed. It looks like I'm wearing hospital-issue compression stockings.

I usually get a dark brown or black and as sheer as possible. I never buy hose with the intent to have it appear as though I'm not wearing any. I think dark brown or black sheer look "sexier" with my skin tone.

[RedRosesForMe]

Originally Posted by Tug

I can't get away with nude and I am dark-skindededed. It looks like I'm wearing hospital-issue compression stockings.

I usually get a dark brown or black and as sheer as possible. I never buy hose with the intent to have it appear as though I'm not wearing any. I think dark brown or black sheer look "sexier" with my skin tone.

I thought you were a man. Whoops.

[Uthrecht]

Originally Posted by RedRosesForMe

I thought you were a man. Whoops.

Watch out. Last time I said that she flashed me.

... At least, I think I said that first.

[Tug]

Originally Posted by RedRosesForMe

I thought you were a man. Whoops.

[contra bass]I am. And I get down like that.[/contra bass]

Just playing. I'm totally a black chick...who likes tug boats...probably the only one.

[Scuba Ben]

After the newbie revived the year-old thread, I'm going to vote for fishnets.