Utrecht. Nice weather. Oroblu Dolce Vita 15.

If you want to know why inhabitants of Utrecht voted for closed shops on Sundays, you have to visit the center of the city twice: on Saturday and on Sunday.

It was Sunday yesterday. (Hm… Yesterday indeed … It’s 2AM at the moment…. 😉 +20, sunny, moderate wind, dark blue sky with white clouds, and almost empty streets. I accompanied my son to his classmate’s birthday on a bicycle. Not because he couldn’t ride there alone, but just for the “gezelligheid” (untranslatable Dutch word meaning simultaneously cosiness, snugness, comfort, companionableness, conviviality etc). I did not want to discredit my son in front of his mates and their parents (if any of them are waiting outside), so I was wearing pretty conservative Oroblu Dolce Vita 15 pantyhose with capri. Dolce Vita tights are pretty invisible (ok, ok, if you don’t stare at the legs, of course) even under the direct sun light but with a slight shimmer.

On the way back home, slowly pedalling along one of the central canals, the Dutch men’s pantyhose forum came to my mind. The subject of the discussion was “Wearing pantyhose in public”. Typical topic for “tights for men” forums and typical fear to be “caught” wearing nylons. But what I don’t understand is who would care what you are wearing, if you like me would ride a bike along beautiful canals, enjoying autumn sunny weather, meeting occasional joggers, tourists or old pairs walking pairs of old miniature dogs? No, lots of such forums visitors do wear pantyhose in public, but I’m talking about those who say: “I would love to, but I will never dare!!!”

I’ve been wearing pantyhose in public for years and (if you do not push the limits of acceptance, like wearing mmm… just pantyhose and nothing else) I absolutely agree with the slogan written on the front page of Geraden’s blog:

• People do not notice
• If they notice, they do not care
• If they care, they are too polite to say anything