I have always loved wearing dresses and skirts, even during the winter. I remember during the winter of grade 10, I wore skirts and dresses during even the coldest months. The hardest part, in my opinion wasn’t dealing with the gush of cold wind that will come and attack your knees, but rather having to put up with wearing pantyhose every single day.
Wondering how wearing this type of hosiery can be made better, a little history research showed me that most modern pantyhose as we know it today appeared in the1960s to alleviate women from having to deal with a garter belt and stockings. These full length stockings that didn’t require an extra contraption became quickly popular and soon after the old-fashioned garter belt fell out of fashion. What we normally associate with as a product of a bygone era, garter belts and stockings fascinated me as they seemed to be symbols of oppression and liberation. The first one is obvious, especially considering their historical ties with retro culture—it’s hard to think of the era in which the garter belts and stockings proliferated without thinking of the sexist attitude that existed. However, they are also a symbol of liberation for the modern women as they possess with themselves a sort of mystical sexual power. Therefore as a modern 21st collegiate female, I was interested in trying them on and seeing how they still hold-up as almost a relic of fashion from a bygone era.
First things first, I learnt that there are two types of garter belts. Yes, that means that cute Victoria’s Secret garter belt is unfortunately exclusive for use in the bedroom. From the research I conducted, there is no use in trying to put them to everyday use as they will not give you the support you need. For an in-depth guide to help you find the right garter belt for you, I recommend collegiates to check out this wonderfully written guide by The Lingerie Addict.
I purchased my first garter belt from What Kate Did, apparently this particular design is not only popular but also based-off of a vintage design! At approximately $60.00 with shipping, it was a bit of an investment, but I wanted to make sure that I had the best first impression as possible. Another thing to keep in mind while wearing the garter belt and stockings combo is to make sure you have the right type of stockings. That is, explicitly you will need just regular stockings that don’t look like leggings. As well, stay away from the stay-up style of leggings because the rubber part inside is redundant and according to some sites uncomfortable and hard to attach your garter to.
Armed with my first set of garter belt and stockings, I decided to test out the wear and tear, practicality of this vintage alternative to stockings…
After a whole day of walking out and about in this contraption, I was honestly surprised. There are many reasons why I would recommend the garter belt and stockings combo to collegiates. Not only does wearing a garter and stockings make you feel very confident and sexy, it is also quite comfortable. As someone who has beef with pantyhose not only because it is way more annoying to put on. But also because how pantyhose basically resemble very thin pants that you layer on before your skirt or dress. As well, I personally found that my movements were less restricted than wearing pantyhose since, again, it’s not like a pair of pants but rather suspenders holding up the stockings. Oh and remember that rule about no sexy lingerie garter belts? Well, that was probably because during day, one of my garter belts would unclip from movement. But since I had 3 belts on each side, I felt safe and secure enough to do almost anything.
Speaking on a personal comfort level, normally I wouldn’t recommend anything to collegiates that isn’t as amazing as chilling in sweatpants. However, when wondering what and how to pair outfits for that important job interview, big date, or any type of semi-formal event, I would definitely recommend collegiates to go try and see how they like under-dressing like a vintage femme fatale. Also it’s hard for me personally not to love garter belts as they give me more reasons to buy some cute panties to match.
Image Sources
(Cover Photo):https://www.flickr.com/photos/addie-moi-oui/3755005019/in/set-7215762182…