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| Written by Rachel | ||
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Bare feet
Bare feet are okay for a yoga class (Indian) or a karate class (Japanese),
Pilates (UK/USA) but not a tai chi class (Chinese).
In fact, publicly showing your bare feet for tai chi is culturally
offensive to the Chinese. Men wear socks, and
women wear very thin tights. Tai chi
slippers are usually also worn. But never bare feet!
Looking like Frodo Baggins is not dignified...
See comparison:
https://crumpetkitten.blogspot.com/2020/03/which-look-best-with-or-without-tights.html
Dignity
There is a reason why the female dress code is the way it is. Chinese arts
encourage grace, elegance and poise.
Tai chi is considered to be refined art;
dignified and sophisticated.
Yang Cheng Fu described the poise as being
"majestic".
Bare legs are not considered to be refined. In Asia, not wearing hosiery
is seen as being 'rough'.
People oppose what they are
ignorant about.
(Hadrat Ali)
Arrogance
In Asia, a woman who parades her bare legs is considered to be arrogant
because it assumes that her legs are so beautiful and utterly flawless that they
don't warrant hosiery. How many women can genuinely make such a claim?
Cultural practice
Asian women adopted the practice of wearing thin tights/stockings centuries ago.
How come?
Modesty,
leg health, protection, improved
circulation and aesthetics.
Tights to serve to accentuate your femaleness...
Odour
If you wear shoes with bare feet, your sweat will eventually permeate the
footwear; making the shoes smell.
Eventually, the shoes transfer the odour back onto your feet whenever
you wear the shoes - it is a vicious cycle.
This doesn't happen when you wear hosiery.
Protection
Low denier hosiery protects the skin from the elements.
Women who live in a cool climate usually suffer dry skin.
This is caused by the weather.
Wearing hosiery provides a barrier than maintains moisture levels; akin to
wearing cream on your face?
Insects
Tights are often worn as a safeguard against insects (particularly mosquitoes)
in Asia and other warm countries.
10 denier
Low denier (10 denier are less sweaty) 100% nylon tights are great.
These are usually the cheapest pairs sold at the supermarket.
There are some great sheer-to-waist styles available which are really
comfortable.
No lycra
Lycra hosiery was designed for fat people who want to give the illusion of
having toned/firm legs when quite the opposite is true.
In fact, lycra is an impediment to health.
It compresses the
bones and
muscles and this restricts
movement. It limits circulation.
A good test is toe flexibility... if you can't easily separate the toes, then
the hosiery is either the wrong size for you or it contains lycra.
Military trick
Female students are advised to wear
very thin
tights beneath their
martial arts trousers. Wearing hosiery beneath your uniform is an old military trick
intended to reduce friction.
Hosiery minimises friction, reduce the risk of blisters and keeps you
warmer
(vital when you exercise) whilst allowing the skin to breathe. It's a great tip for women who exercise a lot!
Not socks
Inner thigh abrasion is the main concern when doing exercise.
Socks won't stop abrasion.
Pop socks/sneaker socks won't work - even if they're made of nylon.
Ugly
In Asia, socks are considered aesthetically ugly for
female tai chi exponents. And, thin hosiery make your 'softer parts' far harder to seize during
chin na practice.
Circulation
Women often suffer from circulation issues. Typically: cold
hands, cold
feet. Thin
hosiery improves circulation by creating subtle pressure on the legs.
Leg power
Wearing hosiery encourages you to
feel
your legs more. To be more leg
conscious.
More lower
body conscious - which is essential - since this is where we want to get
much of our
strength.
My experience
I moved to the UK in the late 1990's in order to go to Durham University. My
friends post-2000 persuaded me that wearing hosiery was simply not the 'done
thing' in this country. No longer fashionable/appropriate. I bowed to their
advice and reluctantly shedded my second skin. No more tights! I developed
bruise-like skin dermatitis on both of my shins. My belief was that they were
from wearing leather boots without hosiery - skin abrasion. I bought some new
non-lycra tights. Of course, the dermatitis went away...
1999
If you watch 20th century TV and cinema, most female actresses wore hosiery
right up until 1999. At that point in history, the new TV shows Sex in The
City, Ally McBeal and Desperate Housewives championed the
bare-legged look. This zero hosiery style (and wine drinking) on those shows
influenced a generation of older women who fervently cling to those ideas. Even
to this day. Decades later.
Nowadays, the actresses from those shows now all wear tights once again. How
come?
Pre-1999
I've read interviews with Lynda Carter, Marlene Dietrich et al and they always
say the same thing... Hosiery makes the legs look better. they don't wear
hosiery in order to indulge some fetish. It is a simple, practical, functional
reason. Women often think that wearing tights or showing your legs is demeaning.
This is amusing when you read about the attitudes of the actresses in the 1960's
TV show called Star Trek:
I think the women liked wearing very little. I think it got them a lot of
attention. I remember one actress who had a very very skimpy outfit and we
all went to lunch after the first fitting and she put on a bath robe and we
walked over to the cafeteria at Paramount, she removed her bathrobe and
walked in in her costume which caused quite a stir and then dead silence.
All eyes were on her.
(Majel Barrett, Nurse Chapel/Producer, Star Trek)
Where to buy?
For everyday wear,
I buy the cheapest
multipack non-lycra hosiery from the supermarket. They cost less than £5
and fit great.
•
https://tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/product/tuc141364351
•
https://tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/product/tuc141364393?clickPR=plp:4:24
My favourite nicer tights are Golden Lady seamless.
Expensive tights are probably
worth the money but cost a LOT more.
Can I just wear
socks?
If you have some sort of medical
problem that prevents you from wearing tights or a mental health issue/hang-up about
tights, then wear socks. It isn't the
dress code though.
Trainer socks
Please don't wear trainer socks for tai chi. These are aesthetically
hideous. They are supposed to be invisible but typically they're quite
apparent and ugly.
If you want to learn something about 'aesthetics',
please consider reading Which Aesthetics Do You Mean? Ten Definitions
by Leonard Koren. It may help you to improve your grasp of design,
style, elegance, grace and purpose.
Further reading
•
Dress code
•
Dress code & ego
•
Dress code for women
•
Female feet
•
How to look
good in tights
• Asian women
More...
Page created 26 November 2007
Last updated
19 February 2024