A Running Tale -- Pantyhose Dilemma Snags A Thread Of Frustration

Guess we really snapped your garters when we asked for pantyhose stories, because you have flooded our mailbox, fax and phone with responses.

We stopped counting at about 200 responses, but they continue to arrive. Some wags even mailed us their favorite brand of pantyhose.

One woman's call to our special response line was self deprecating:

"I can't believe I'm calling you. I never respond to these silly things, but I found it irresistible."

Students, grandmothers, realtors, homemakers, secretaries, probation officers, lawyers - women from 13 to 89 who wear pantyhose - and some men checked in with their pantyhose comments.

Clearly we've struck a nerve as indicated by letters from irate women as far north as Alaska; a would-be mermaid, who finds it's so-o-o-o embarrassing when a fin pops out of pantyhose while she's employed in her other life as a waitress, and a couple of men who say women should stop worrying about things like pantyhose and get a life.

Numerous readers sent us the Outlet Catalog from Rural Hall, N.C., which sells L'eggs, Hanes, Bali and Playtex irregulars at savings. Others gave us stern advice about watching for pantyhose sales at local department stores.

Women touted nearly every brand imaginable as their personal "fail safe," ranging from the inexpensive grocery and drug store labels to higher priced designer lines. But they also complained about numerous brands. One gave this advice:

"Lie about your weight on your driver's license if you must, but not at the hosiery counter."

Sketches in Laurie Jenkins' letter illustrated the dilemma she faces at 5' 9" with pantyhose either hitting her at near-bikini level, or coming up under her armpits for a full body stocking effect.

Life after runs

If our beloved readers are to be believed, recycled pantyhose flap from garden poles where they tie up tomato plants, beans and roses; from dryers' exhaust vents to keep the lint from blowing into grumpy neighbors' yards, and can be seen over coffee pots when caffeine-aholics run out of paper filters.

Many wearers were united on one thing: They believe manufacturers practice planned obsolescence.

"If men had to wear pantyhose, the product would be improved overnight. They wouldn't put up with buying something that doesn't fit and self destructs instantly," one reader said.

Some men voiced identical views. One said he hadn't purchased socks for years since leaving the military because Uncle Sam's socks come in only one style - industrial strength - and women must be crazy to put up with the inferior quality of pantyhose.

Suggestions for extending the life expectancy of pantyhose included freezing them for several months, and rinsing them in vinegar, coffee or salt water.

But the National Association of Hosiery Manufacturers says the way to extend the life of stockings is to remove all jewelry and be sure fingernails and toenails do not have rough edges before putting on hose. Some manufacturers recommend women use gloves to put on stockings, and that these garments not be washed in hot water or bleach, and not be placed in a clothes dryer.

Many women confessed that they hide hose with runs or holes under their pantsuits or long skirts, wear knee-high hose or just plain old socks.

Several women reported that tights purchased for aerobics or dance classes cost more but wear like iron compared with regular hosiery. Said one: "Now I buy a pair of black, navy and ivory tights and that's my hosiery wardrobe."

Others were prepared to join a Leschi reader who favors a summer boycott of pantyhose, or wearing those you have on hand even if they have "ladder-like" runs.

Indeed feelings about pantyhose have begun to change. Last year sales of pantyhose fell 7.5 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal. Women are skipping traditional pantyhose in favor of pantsuits and trouser socks, knee highs or thigh highs, or maybe no socks at all.

A number of readers who were around when the first nylons went on sale on May 15, 1940, insisted those early stockings fit well and did not develop snags or run. But a March 31, 1944, Seattle Times article had women complaining about how stockings wrinkled and sagged at the knee and ankle.

A handful of readers who responded to us thought the pantyhose problems of today had been exaggerated.

One caller refused to believe that Lydia Justice Edwards, the Idaho state treasurer, spent more than $500 for a year's supply of pantyhose.

But a local realtor told us she has spent more than $700 a year on hosiery.

Salespeople and manufacturers rose to defend their products, recommending that pantyhose wearers choose the correct size and fabric weight for their lifestyle.

But that's more difficult than it sounds. Not all manufacturers put labels with their names and/or sizes in hosiery, and it may be difficult to remember which brand is which after wearing, unless you've saved the packaging.

Sales clerks often tell women having trouble finding an appropriate size to "go up a size."

Melissa Musser, manager of the hosiery department for the downtown Nordstrom, suggests customers ask a lot of questions about which styles will wear best for them, use a good hosiery wash and not wear the same pair on successive days. Hosiery needs a "rest" to bounce back in shape.

Nordstrom, The Bon Marche, J.C. Penney and others replace stockings when customers aren't satisfied.

Paula Killough, hosiery buyer for The Bon's 35 stores, estimates returns of hosiery at one to two percent, or about the same rate for other products in the Federated Department Stores Inc. chain.

With women's changing attitudes and lifestyles, there's at least one message from pantyhose wearers to manufacturers:

Pantyhose may no longer be the "cash cow" they've been in the past. Shoppers of the '90s apparently feel as comfortable returning hosiery as any other product if it doesn't live up to advertised claims.

Sunday Troubleshooter in Scene: More about hosiery.

Shelby Gilje's Troubleshooter column appears Wednesday and Sunday in the Scene section of The Times. Do you have a consumer problem? Write to Times Troubleshooter, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111. Include copies, not originals, of appropriate documents. Phone, 464-2262, FAX 382-8873.