Several years ago at an outdoor arts fair, I noticed an older fellow wearing pink/printed pattern tights under his shorts. As soon as I got over the surprise of it, I decided that I admired this man for his spirit, creativity, courage, and individuality. He was somehow modest and zany at the same time. An arts show seemed like a good place for all that.

I have in my costume trunk (or a facsimile of one, at any rate) a number of tights (maybe four) in various colors (black, black, dark green, and canary yellow) and thickness, all opaque. Three are professional dancewear, and one is, I'll admit, from the ladies' department, that I purchased once when I needed something for some get-up I no longer recall.

Except as when worn as leggings in a costume, I would never wear any of them as outerwear, though in the winter, the black ones have been pressed into service as an occasional extra layer when needed on particularly nippy days. Their stretch and body-hugging features make them far more comfortable to wear under trousers and jeans than thermal undies ever were.

I've also worn the heavy tights under my 8-yard wool kilt and wool hose when I'm snowed in and have to spend hours out in the blustery cold trying to shovel my way out. The kilt is so much warmer than jeans and allows total freedom of movement that shoveling snow requires - lunging, bending, twisting - but after an hour or so of swinging that kilt around in sub-freezing weather, the legs do tend to go a bit numb from exposure. Not so with a good pair of tights. I've really found it to be the ideal combination for warmth and mobility for this particular task.

Regards,
Rex.