Unexpected Discoveries from a Pair of Tights | January 02 2025, 22:17

The last thing you expect to find in a package of women’s tights is a salad recipe. With mozzarella and avocado, no less.

So, I delved into a new topic for me and uncovered quite a lot.

For instance, it turns out that lycra is not the name of the fabric, as I always thought, but a brand name for the fabric known as spandex, which I would have guessed was the brand name. And by the way, spandex is officially an anagram of the word expands. In Europe, spandex is also known as elastane. There is a brand of elastane called Elaspan belonging to The Lycra Company. All in all, it’s complicated.

By the way, this spandex was invented by Joseph Shivers, just two hours away from me, in Waynesboro, VA.

In the USA, tights are extremely unpopular. Moreover, if they are worn, they tend to be black and nearly opaque. It’s almost impossible to find nude and sheer ones (at least around here). You can buy anything on Amazon, but you’ll never find them in stores. Apparently no one is interested in salad recipes. However, leggings have conquered the market. Especially lululemon. Meanwhile, women’s high-heeled shoes and tight mini-dresses are also extremely unpopular and are only worn about three times a year. For example, by schoolgirls for Prom and Homecoming—but even then, without tights. Both the shoes and dresses are often of very poor quality, but they suffice for two or three times a year, after which new ones are simply bought.

That same day in New Orleans at the antique M.S. Rau I saw a thing, the name (darner) and appearance of which seemed very perplexing to me. I went to Google it, and searches for darner only show dragonflies. Turns out, a stocking darner is a tool for darning stockings. Specifically, this glass darner, looking like a ball on a handle, was being sold at M.S. Rau for $4400. Google shows mostly metal darners, looking like a hoop with brackets. In Soviet times, they were “mushrooms”.

There’s also a linguistic aspect. In English, tights are called both tights and pantyhose. Generally, pantyhose are considered to be thin (8-40), and tights—are thick (40+). In British English, the word “tights” covers the entire spectrum of tights, unlike in American English.

Interestingly, back in 1972, Australian lifeguards came up with the idea of wearing tights to protect against potentially fatal stings from box jellyfish (sea wasps). Funny, but it’s supposed to help.

All in all, at 47, I’m discovering new horizons, and I hope you found this interesting too.