My pantyhose story starts in the early 1990s when I was a high schooler and my mom, classmates and girlfriends, teachers, attractive adult neighbors - everyone it seemed - wore pantyhose regularly. Stuff like the girls basketball team each wearing different colored sheers when they’d dress up on game days, classmates wearing black sheers under black dress shorts all day...removing them for swimming class in gym in the afternoon...then slipping them back on for the rest of the day their hair still wet. A study hall discussion where one pantyhose clad girl encouraged another with ripped hose to remove her torn black hose right in study hall, a female church pastor and a school principal each wearing a white suit with back slit and white sheers. The college years when “career day” meant nothing but recruiters and female classmates in various sheers. My older cousin getting married and seeing the new cardboard sleeve of white sheers waiting on her bed when I was a young teenage groomsman. It was so wonderful, I had no idea it would ever end...but gradually it did and at least in the US sheer pantyhose and even tights are sadly quite rare.

Back in those 1990s years of constant pantyhose exposure the most reliable wearer of hose was my own 2 years my senior sister. We were both attractive, popular kids but I always felt my sister was one of the most beautiful girls in the world (and still do). And though I did (and do) feel really funny about it, I loved seeing her in her pantyhose. You’re not supposed to think that way about your sister, but I loved pantyhose and it was very hard NOT to look?? Dark hair, blue eyes and a wonderfully soft voice that this ASMR experiencer back before it had a name could listen to for hours, I always looked forward to school days and school dances and Sunday church service, all of which meant black sheers or nude sheers or (my favorite!) WHITE sheers with dresses and skirts. We were, and are, very close, with her friends generally shared friends with mine and vice versa etc. We both were occasionally teased by our friends for our closeness “you two are the perfect couple hee hee!”, but we didn’t really care especially on occasions such as a canoe trip in early April (dumb!) with mutual friends where we ended up in a two person tent together and it was literally FREEZING and my shivering sister whispered “I’m cold” and soon we were full body cuddled together and soon weren’t cold at all the whole night while our friends froze.

Flash forward to the present day and after a failed marriage on her side and never married on my side both of us are still close. And my sister is still incredibly beautiful though a few grays have mixed with her long brown hair. But sadly she doesn’t wear pantyhose anymore. Leggings, sweaters, more leggings. She looks very pretty in these outfits - but never any pantyhose. Black tights on rare occasions like last Easter...with a short velvet skirt...lovely, but not sheer pantyhose.

Until this Christmas...

Christmas Eve morning we were both staying at our parents’ house in the basement while our Aunt stayed in the bedroom upstairs. Eager to leave and spend some time alone together we ran out to the mall to do some last minute shopping. And surprisingly she had on a denim knee length skirt and opaque black tights! They were even somewhat transparent in the light and looked great....but still not sheers. As we walked through a department store there was a mannequin with this wonderfully clingy, short (above knee), red sweater dress with sheer black hosiery. My sis noticed it..”That’s really cute! I love the red.” And they had a size 4 on the rack. But wistfully she said between the holidays and getting her car fixed the dress wasn’t going to happen. Sadly, I moved on. In another department she was helping me look for mittens for our mom when she remembered she needed this makeup she liked from the busy counter. Then I had an idea. It would take her at least 10-15 minutes so while she was gone I very quickly grabbed the red dress as well as an identical dress in black and another in an off white color THEN ran to the hosiery department where I very quickly grabbed 2 pairs each of Hanes sheer pantyhose in jet black, travel buff (light nude color), and pearl (off white) in her size A/B. All without “control top” as I didn’t think her slender frame (we both are avid runners for exercise) needed it. I was nervously excited as all of it was bagged up and checked out and I still had 2 minutes to spare before my sis finally checked out.

She looked curiously at the extra big bag in my hands but said nothing. Once home and back in the basement with our purchases I told her I had an early Christmas present for her, apologizing that I hadn’t wrapped the gifts. I was so nervous that she would think I was weird or something...but she HAD noticed the dress. But I needn’t have worried. “The dress! THREE dresses!? Pantyhose?!!” she held up the cardboard sleeves and laughed. She was delighted and quickly embraced me as her eyes filled with tears “Thank you...you didn’t need to....but I love them all.” You’re welcome...I said, kissing her cheek...maybe you can wear one for Christmas Eve?” She said she’d wear the red first and maybe the white or black dress tomorrow. She was thankful for the pantyhose because she said the tights she had on were all she had left for hosiery, all her sheers at home had developed runs patched with nail polish until she had finally thrown them away. Just discussing pantyhose as a topic was great.

I couldn’t wait until we took our turns showering and getting ready. I got into my dress pants and sweater then it was her turn. I came back downstairs from helping our Mom to find her standing in front of the bathroom mirror finishing her makeup with the red dress clinging to her exactly like the mannequin and falling at least an inch, maybe even two, above her knees but still very classy. And her perfect legs clad in the new perfectly sheer, delicate black Hanes pantyhose. And to make things...um...worse...she proceeded to sit down on the couch (as any pantyhose fan knows, sitting just makes dresses even shorter), crossed her beautiful legs revealing all of the pantyhose and even a very tiny bit of the darker shaded panty part until she quickly pulled her dress down to cover it, ran her hand over her legs and thigh and said “I absolutely LOVE these pantyhose...they feel so soft and nice!”. Sigh...a sheer pantyhose sighting at last even if it was on my own sister. It was a delightful evening which ended with her head on my shoulder snuggled next to me on the cold basement couch watching movies, still in her dress but with a blanket she’d pulled over us for warmth obscuring her pantyhose (but it was nice to know they were there).

And the following Christmas morning she was up before me getting ready and greeted me with a hug while wearing the ivory colored sweater dress and pearl white sheers. I never thought I’d see another woman in white sheers, but there she was. And she immediately did the sit and cross as she carefully put her slippers on over her pantyhose feet and smoothed her hand over her legs and said “I love these too” then getting up actually gently adjusted her pantyhose waistband up slightly by tugging at it through her dress (ugh!) “These hose are so nice, I’m trying very hard to be careful with them.”

I never did see her in the travel buff sheers, but next weekend I’m driving the two hours away to visit her and take her out for her birthday and maybe I will then. I’m also considering buying her another dress and more pantyhose as birthday presents, but don’t want to push my luck but we’ll see...I’m just grateful to have seen someone lovely in sheers again and just hope that she and other lovely ladies keep wearing pantyhose and that they make a huge comeback soon. So for gifts I have settled on some new books from an author she loves and a hat and scarf and mittens and new running shoes etc.