Partying with Pantyhose: Easy Fixes for Common Problems

Do you usually wear nylons on your evenings out? If not, you might consider it. Pantyhose is a great way to tone-down an overly leggy dress, add a thin layer of warmth on a chilly night, and control any unwanted bulges under your favorite little black dress. Unfortunately, nylons are extremely fragile, and an unsightly run in an obvious place could spoil your evening!

Just recently I was riding the bus on my way to a party with a friend. We were fully dressed already, and I was wearing black tights under a short green dress because it was chilly and I wanted to hide my pale winter legs. I had my favorite little patent leather stiletto pumps on at the time, but as I went to cross my legs after sitting down, one heel caught on the opposite leg, tearing a gash in my nylons right on the side of my foot.

As you can probably guess, I was very displeased with myself, but this instance has made me better prepared to arm you with a few tips you can use to remedy the situation if this ever happens to you!

Re-adjust it!
If your nylons are similar in color to your skin tone then this solution will be extremely useful to you. After ripping your stockings, simply find a restroom or other private place and pull your tights so that the run is hidden. In my situation, I simply turned that foot of my nylons over, so that the hole was on the bottom of my foot instead of on the top. If you're wearing knee-high stockings this can be an extremely easy adjustment, but if you are wearing full pantyhose, as I was, it can take a little bit of effort to hide the tell-tale signs that you've twisted part of your hose in an unnatural way. In my situation, anything was better than a bright white patch of skin glaring out from beneath black tights!

Mend it!
If you're going to have a fairly immobile night of sitting at the dinner table, standing with a cocktail glass, or playing some sort of sedentary game, this solution might work well for you. Simply hold the two sides of the tear together and dab some clear nail polish on top. You have to hold it for quite awhile for it to dry, but once it dries your nylons will be stuck together (and stuck to your leg) so that the run won't show. If you're too impatient for this method, a bit of clear packaging tape on the inside of your stocking will hold the tear together too, though it might be a little uncomfortable.

As a brief warning regarding both of these methods, if you're planning to dance or engage in any other vigorous activity, it's extremely possible that the tear in your stockings will pop open again! If you make such a bad tear in your hose that this is the case, I suggest you simply retire to a restroom and discreetly remove your stockings! Honestly, it's better to go without them and be a little chilly or a little lumpy than to be self-conscious about a sloppy-looking run all night.

If you find that you usually have bad luck with pantyhose and are longing for an easier way to get the illusion of perfect legs without all the stretchy, bunchy hassle of hose, I suggest you look in your local drugstore for spray-on pantyhose. It's basically makeup for your legs that it sprayed on from a can like an airbrush tan, and then showered off at the end of the night. Spray-on hose won't get runs or come off on your clothing, so it's an ideal choice if you're fed up with traditional stockings!