First Leotard-Wearing Experience

[LeotardLover]

There have not been many male's modeling woman's clothes. At least not in couture fashion. 

...

Your story is amazing and definitely a fantasy of many.  It sounds like your past experiences with pantyhose and leotards are something you are fond of.  Are you glad you had they opportunity and were introduced to wearing pantyhose during these events?  Did you enjoy the feel of the sheer, silky pantyhose in combination with the leotard?  Did you always wear black pantyhose at the designer shows or did they ever have you wear suntan?  How did they approach you about wearing pantyhose, did they just say we need you to wear these pantyhose with this bodysuit?  Did anyway ever seem curious or confused when they saw you at these shows in your outfits or was it strictly business?  Did you develop an interest wearing pantyhose after you were introduced to them during these shows?

Thanks for your kind comments! 

It took a long time to enjoy it. For a guy, no matter how good you look, it’s socially unacceptable and we all know that. That’s why everyone here hides leotards ‘under’ clothing in public. 

It took a lot of practice to be comfortable, wearing revealing clothes not just in public, but on display. This is a challenge for women also. Not many women feel comfortable wearing a thong high-leg leotard, even with tights or a high-cut leg swimsuit out in public. 

So it took a while before I felt totally comfortable and had fun. Every time I modeled, I was worried someone would recognize me. That fear you have for a while. I modeled a BodyGlove pink and black neoprene tank bodysuit with high-cut legs and a pink neoprene skirt (that did not cover the side leg openings) at a local event and one of my mom’s friends recognized me. I was worried for weeks that she would tell someone but she didn’t. 

I also modeled a Nils stretch ski suit at a huge ski show. It was super shiny dark purple plastic like jacket with thick gloss black stirrup pants. I wore high heels (so the stirrups show), matching mittens, fanny pack and a fur hat. This guy that used to be our neighbor looked at me and said my name, but I put on a female voice and said “sorry, wrong person”… he looked puzzled like he was sure he recognized me but then apologized and said I looked familiar. 

I think it took two years before I felt comfortable in a leotard (in public)… a combo of easing the nerves, learning how to properly wear all the different styles, including unitards and tights and learning all the modern aerobic dances…cause if you’re at an event advertising clothing to a bunch of women in say a yellow spandex unitard and bright pink leotard, all eyes are on you and you have to look the part. You have to fool women into believing your one of them…in a leotard. 

When I wore pantyhose it wasn’t a fetish, I actually dreaded modeling hose because it was see-through and very tight and constricting. It also meant I had to wear a lot of layers. When you model a leotard, swimsuit, tights, unitard, biketard or pantyhose, models are downsized 2-4 sizes so it hugs every contour of the body without creasing. Some of the swimsuits were very uncomfortable. Swimsuit models like Kathy Ireland, Rachel Hunter, Rebecca Romijn, Valeria Mazza, Elle Macpherson, etc. wore a lot of one-piece thong suits that had to be super tight to look perfect and if they were modeling from the front, usually had a popsicle stick under thongs across butt cheeks to keep the thong from digging tight into their ass. 

I did several shows where I normally wore a medium leotard because of my height, but was forced to wear extra small. If your wearing tights, unitard or hose the tight thong was bearable but wearing one by itself was not. 

When I lived in NYC, I wore a ton of pantyhose and bodysuits with short skirts, shiny spandex skinny flare pants (think jazz pants) or stirrup spandex disco jeans as my street fashion, that was the popular look then. I was kind of paid to or as a designers muse sort of thing. If I showed up as a in-house model in pantyhose and that designers bodysuit, it was going to be a good day. Designers love when models wear their clothes on the street. It was good practice for me getting used to pantyhose and bodysuits, but there were many uncomfortable days wearing super tight and thick pantyhose and tight fitting turtleneck long sleeve thong bodysuits in stifling heat and high humid days walking around New York… but I was expected to on most occasions. 

To answer your question about did I always wear pantyhose, not until I did the DK fashion show and then later when I moved to NY. There was a bit of time in aerobics around 1998-1999 that women replaced spandex tights for super glossy pantyhose and leotards, but it was a fairly short lived trend because by 2000 aerobics and leotards was out and other workouts with tights and bike shorts with jog bras were the new trend.  

I’ve probably spent more of my life in aerobic leotards and spandex unitards, bodysuits, pantyhose and swimsuits then regular clothes. Now when I go out its not even a thought of worry or insecurity. I think it just gets that way after a while but you have to be willing to take the first step. Meaning if you love wearing leotards and swimsuits, don’t hide it, especially under clothes, just go out and be free.

/ Sorry for the long response...

[hosefun13]

/ Sorry for the long response...

Don't apologize for your long response, it is great to hear your personal story, I could read on and on, so please don't hold back. I know your mother initially started you down this road, was she aware of how your job evolved...runway shows wearing leotards, tights, pantyhose, ski outfits, skirts and heels? Was she supportive of your work and even encouraging? I know you say it took a long time to enjoy this clothing in public but how about in private situations? When did you first start to like this clothing in private and did you like one item better than another or was it the combination of a leotard with silky pantyhose together that you liked the most? What was your favorite style of leotard...long sleeve, short sleeve, tank? As far as legwear did you like glossy tights (suntan being one of my favorites), regular colored tights, sheer pantyhose (suntan, black)? Did you wear the heels in private also or just during shows? Did you make friends with the female models and discuss your outfits? Were they curious about you and what you thought about the clothes you were wearing? Also, as far as today what would you say is your most enjoyable outfit to wear...do you enjoy legwear and heels with your leotards or just leotards? Thanks and feel free to write as much as you like.

[LeotardLover]

/ Sorry for the long response...

Don't apologize for your long response, it is great to hear your personal story, I could read on and on, so please don't hold back.  I know your mother initially started you down this road, was she aware of how your job evolved...runway shows wearing leotards, tights, pantyhose, ski outfits, skirts and heels?  Was she supportive of your work and even encouraging?  I know you say it took a long time to enjoy this clothing in public but how about in private situations?  When did you first start to like this clothing in private and did you like one item better than another or was it the combination of a leotard with silky pantyhose together that you liked the most?  What was your favorite style of leotard...long sleeve, short sleeve, tank?  As far as legwear did you like glossy tights (suntan being one of my favorites), regular colored tights, sheer pantyhose (suntan, black)?  Did you wear the heels in private also or just during shows?  Did you make friends with the female models and discuss your outfits?  Were they curious about you and what you thought about the clothes you were wearing?  Also, as far as today what would you say is your most enjoyable outfit to wear...do you enjoy legwear and heels with your leotards or just leotards?  Thanks and feel free to write as much as you like.

To answer your questions... 

1. Was mother aware of how my job evolved?

Yes, completely. She sometimes booked gigs and would drive and accompany me to castings, photoshoots, events, etc. A lot of gigs were out of town.  

My mom was proud of how impressive I wore everything. Sometimes I would help at her aerobic classes and would wear aerobic wear. Afterwords we would go do various errands and people always thought I was her daughter, even in class. She liked that but not in the way your thinking, she liked that nobody recognized me or that I was boy, so I could be as free as her to wear dance wear in public.  

2. Was my mom supportive?

Very, if I didn't try on leotards for her friend and model, I probably would have ended up in a leotard somehow. 

Before all of that, I was into Rollerblading which let to an interest in 5 wheel racing skates. I entered a bunch of local races and won and then got an invitation to Rollerblade’s own race in Flushing Meadows NY… which was a big deal then. My mom made me wear a short skin suit which I didn’t want to wear. I can recognize now that it was absolutely the right call and definitely one of the factors to my 4th place win out of a couple hundred extremely good racers. 

A couple years after that race I tried on the aerobic leotards for my moms friend which led to paid work, something both my mom and I never expected. My mom's friend said she knew when seeing me try on the leotards for the first time just because I wore them so well. So it wasn’t set up as a fetish at all, it was work which I saw as something different. I never could let my guard down to enjoy anything anyways for fear of wearing a shiny unitard and high leg leotard in public. 

After the first modeling gig, my mom and I were on a doubles tennis team at our country club and at a tournament at another club, she wanted me to wear a white collard short sleeve high-leg swimsuit like leotard with a long leg white bike short with black accents. This was all based on how well I looked in the leotards. My mom insisted I wear the outfit. She legitimately thought it would be so awesome. It still surprises me today that we won, because I was so nervous people could see a panty line or the leotard through the shorts or worse, the legs would pull out of the shorts on the sides when I was moving. That’s what my focus was on, not the game. Among all the colors of spandex, white is the easiest to see lines though. Afterwards I got so many compliments and my mom loved every minute of it. I didn’t have any outfit slip-ups but I’m sure women or maybe everybody knew I was wearing a leotard. I don't know. 

I can now admit that the leotard and shorts played a part to our winning, just from the performance enhancement spandex offers, along with the leotard helped me move better. But because it was something my mom made me wear and believe me, I did not want to wear it, she just wouldn’t let me off the hook.

After that my mom made me wear that tennis leotard and others like it on our own court practicing and when working with my instructor, who thought the leotards were a great idea. I had several collared cotton leotard/bodysuits that looked like tennis shirts from a popular designer I can't think of right now. I practiced mostly in spandex similar leotards and occasionally wore the cotton ones, but they were too thick for spandex shorts. My teacher Kim, even suggested I try a short skirt which I ended up really liking because of how much cooler it was then spandex shorts in summer. Wearing a thick leotard in summer in general is pretty hot, its not loose like a t-shirt or breathable, so I preferred skirts to shorts but when I played in games I wore spandex shorts.

3. When did I start to enjoy dance wear, ski wear, swimsuits in private?

I took a long time. Just because I didn't identify any of it as fetish, it was work. I think the reason it took me so long is because I had to discover it on my own, not by someone else if that makes sense. For example, on the forum we frequently discuss fetish as self-discovery, wether everyone recognizes that or not. We talk about trying to introduce a fetish to a partner and failing because the psychology of fetish is about exposure to something that arouses from a process that is personal.

After giving this some thought, I think if you want your wife to love wearing leotards and pantyhose you have to set her up to discover it herself. She has to feel something for it. When you make it weird, she thinks it's weird. Maybe start with suggestive photos (she finds herself) and comments like, wouldn't it be fun if you roll played as a 1980's aerobic instructor with a sexy leotard and pantyhose. Then let her connect the dots on her own. 

I read this woman’s story a while ago on Facebook describing her teens and early 20’s. When she was younger, her mom was big into aerobics and developed some kind of belief like my mom that aerobic dance wear had to be worn for all sports, so her mom forced her wear spandex shorts, biketards or tights with aerobic leotards for every sport. Her mom forced her wear aerobic leotards from middle school to high school under soccer, karate and fencing uniforms. She would go to fencing class wearing a thick white footed unitard, white long sleeve hooded leotard with high cut legs and elastic slippers which made her terribly insecure. She was tall and skinny but hadn't fully developed her boobs like friends and nothing was more revealing about that then a leotard. Her family would go hiking on the weekends and she had to wear a leotard under regular shorts or tights and she remembers being so hot in summer. At first her mom wouldn’t let her wear jog bras, only leotards. Then later let her but they had to be worn under a leotard. She was also required to wear one-piece swimsuits with revealing high-cut legs when her friends wore low-cut bikinis. She hated leotards growing up but rediscovered them later in life and started buying aerobic leotards off ebay to wear for fetish and because wearing them made her feel better somehow. I completely relate to her story. 

My mom was just like her mom in a lot of ways but instead owned a large scale aerobic dancing business. When I was younger, all she wore anywhere was aerobic dance wear and by that I mean tights, unitards, biketards, shorts and leotards. She has said she liked wearing them but to what level I don’t know. 

I think for her it was a combination of business and advertising, making women want her look/body and just because she could…aerobic wear was also street fashion in 1990-00. I remember being in the grocery or mall and my mom would run into clients wearing something like neon green bike shorts and a neon orange tank thong leotard. 

From that, my mom thought it you were really fit and doing something sporty, you should wear spandex. If she saw a woman for example working out at the gym in sweats and a t-shirt, she would say that woman needs a leotard and might go tell her. 

My mom made me wear spandex cycling shorts and later bib style shorts when nobody did. We were in Italy on a trip, and there was a small bike shop near our hotel that had a mannequin in the window wearing bib shorts which were new then. My mom wanted to buy it for me but it was to big, so she turned part of our trip into going from bike shop to bike shop buying several bib shorts in my size. Back then jersey’s were tucked into shorts and were loose fitting in matte colors. My mom made me wear shiny spandex tight fitting jerseys like the ones today, under bib shorts. These bib shorts were also very shiny spandex when the regular shorts people wore in the US were matte. I always stood out in ways I didn’t like. People would say “I would never wear that (meaning bib shorts) and that kind of stuff embarrassed me.

It was these experiences that took me a while to enjoy any of it. My main motivation for continuing to model was not wearing leotards for fetish or because I enjoyed it, it was the money, and that I made the same amount as friends who worked all week in just a few hours.

After modeling a few times for my mom’s friend, I was getting really comfortable and back then there were two really cute fitness girls who modeled everything spandex and fitness in our area. I would always see them in ads and local magazines. I got their gigs because they would cancel or try and delay a shoot because they were on their period and wouldn’t wear a leotard. I heard that all the time and later companies and photographers would just hire me instead. 

I started to enjoy it much later when I was still skate racing. I wore aerobic leotards to train in because its what felt most natural to me. I wore a tank or long sleeve leotard swimsuit-style with high-legs and spandex shorts or capri tights over top. Sometimes I wore a biketard under a thong leotard or two high-leg swimsuit-style long sleeve leotards by themselves. The leotards made me a better athlete and go a lot faster. Plus it’s so liberating skating in just a high-leg leotard…feeling the air on my legs and thighs and the pull of the leotard up the front of my crotch into my stomach and chest and butt and back with every stride was really nice. When you wear tights or shorts of any kind, the waist effects how the leotard moves on the body and its just not the same. 

It was about this time when I started to like leotards for myself. I entered a Rollerblade race wearing a royal blue long sleeve mock neck ribbed swimsuit-style leotard and black heavy yoga pants like capri tights over top. I was warming up and stretching before the race and didn't realize that the leotard high cut legs rose above my tights waist and several racers told me this was a men's only race, that women's was after. They didn't recognize that I was a guy and I wasn't going to take off the leotard so I went and resigned for the women's race which not one person questioned and I ended up crushing the national time which was unfair but I needed to do a race in a leotard. 

4. Was pantyhose the reason I started to enjoy it all?

No, I started to sort of enjoy spandex before. I was talking to my mom last weekend and told her someone asked me about my first time wearing pantyhose as a guy and what it was like. I then talked about the DK show, but it turns out that was not my first time in pantyhose. I did a series of large sports shows for Everlast, modeling these women’s vinyl foam padded gym-boxing helmets, vinyl padded torso leotard like things that you’re velcro-ed into that protect women’s boobs, stomach, crotch, butt and back and matching boxing gloves… my mom said I had to wear two thick black shiny pantyhose with a high leg thong long-sleeve leotard in yellow/black and another in pink/black both with Everlast written across the chest. I did 4 shows around the country in NYC, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles…I somehow remembered wearing spandex tights but she swears I wore pantyhose. We were always booked into hotels four-five blocks from the venue and these were huge events, so we walked to the event and I had to be dressed from the hotel because it was to chaotic at the booths. I would get dressed at the hotel in the morning and wear a long t-shirt over the leotard. My mom was worried because it was stifling hot those couple of weeks in the upper 90’s -100+ and she thought I would overheat in such think pantyhose that didn’t breathe. So I guess I was wrong.

But despite what she claims, my real exposure to pantyhose was at the DK show as far as I remember. I even recall the experience as all new to me, so if I really wore pantyhose so much earlier as my mom states I wouldn't have had the same experience. I think she's wrong but whatever. 

To answer your question, when I lived and modeled in NY that’s when I started to love wearing pantyhose and wore them all the time with leotards and bodysuits. My everyday fashion was pantyhose and a leotard or bodysuit, men's and women’s short skirts or fitted pants. All the designers loved me in pantyhose and long sleeve bodysuits year round. I wore winter thick velvet long sleeve bodysuits in July because some designers just loved it. On the weekends I was invited to various people's houses in Southampton and would get there to find several one-piece swimsuits laid out for me to wear. 

For that, even though I was basically being forced to wear leotards, bodysuits and swimsuits again, I liked being surrounded by people who loved me in them which made it different, like a safe space to be anyone I wanted and because of that I could let all my guards down and enjoy it all. I would wear a high-leg one-piece swimsuit off the beach or out of the pool, skateboard to a store to buy smokes and everyone think I was a girl just because of the swimsuit and even if they thought I was a guy, it likely wouldn't have mattered because people expected different things and trend forward stuff. It was just a great time and place to be. 

5. What's my fav legwear?

I love ribbed shiny spandex anything, it's probably my favorite overall. For pantyhose, I like skin tone, I also have several variants of grey, black and navy. Just different shades. I go for glossy or shiny, not matte. Probably my favorite is shiny silver grey. I also love this hue that's hard to pin point a name for, its purplish, blueish and silverish hose I got recently. 

6. Do I wear high heels?

No much anymore. Yes, I wore them at some shows and aerobic tennis shoes at others. When I did runway for bodysuits, I always wore pantyhose and high heels. When I modeled swimsuits, I just wore heels and no pantyhose. When I wore pantyhose and bodysuits as my own everyday fashion, I always wore heels. 

7. Was I friends with other models? 

At first yeah. Then they saw how good I looked and were jealous. Most models are not friends, it's a cut throat business. Male models did not consider me one of them, I was considered a girl basically. The majority of models then and now don't look good in high-leg bodysuits, leotards or swimsuits, it takes a rare body for that. I got to be known for it and a lot of times didn't even have to go to castings, my agent would just tell me so in so booked me for their show. 

8. Where other women model's curious about me?

Oh heck yeah! At first they were like, what's this guy doing here (at castings). They thought there was some role for a guy that I was trying for, despite the designers being women's only clothes. Then they would see me model the same clothes and be like whaaaaa? At first they thought I was temporary like, how can a guy have a career modeling women's bodysuits and swimsuits, but when it was evident I could, everything changed. Most working models live a lonely existence, it's not all parties and wild times. 

9. Most enjoyable outfit?

Hmm... probably just spandex or pantyhose (unitard styles) with spandex high-leg leotards. I wear spandex unitards a lot more then pantyhose just cause I have so much of it. The pantyhose I have that is mostly custom, I'm careful with it because I'm not sure I could find replacements if I needed to.

[LeotardLover]

Stretch ski suits were entirely different. I had to learn how to wear them, including bib stretch stirrup pants which I usually wore a sweater like a Dale of Norway over top. 

The pants and suits I mostly wore were shiny, which always drew attention even when I just wanted to fit in and be less obvious. I preferred matte stretch but that didn’t become trendy until near the end of my modeling skiwear.  

What made wearing them difficult was the style, which was extremely tight fitting. Today, stretch pants are still popular but styles are based on comfort, so fit is loose. Back in the 1990's to gauge correct size was to put a quarter under the pants in the butt and if you could read it, it was the right size. That made the overall fit extremely tight including the stirrups. 

Then put those stirrup feet in ski boots, some stirrups were stretch mesh which didn’t add much bulk in the boots and some were thick which weren’t as comfortable in ski or winter boots. Once you tighten a ski boot around those tight pants, they get tighter because ski boots cover the calves. When you ski in bibs or a suit, its a little too much tight compression and springy-stretchy then you want. When sitting down on a chair lift, it's not easy and when you go to get off the pants practically throw you forward because its thick and at max stretch. Not very enjoyable, but it was sexy and that’s what the fashion called for women on the slopes.

The brands I modeled for loved me in one-piece suits, whether stretch or insulated and that’s what I primarily wore. I also got more work at shows when other brands saw me. When it was to hot to wear a suit, and I was made to wear one-piece suits at shows even in summer, I wore the bib stretch pants or to go shopping in winter like regular pants. My mom loved the bib stretch for regular winter because of the tight fit and stirrups. The bibs and stirrup combo really made the fit nice on me.  

These Nils suits are some of the exact suits I wore, plus several other styles and colors I couldn’t find pictures of. You can see how shiny they are. 

       

I also modeled for Spyder and wore a ton of these suits, they produced this suit for several seasons only changing colorways season after season. I wore a gold many, many times for two seasons and I hated that one the most. These were plastic-like and super noisy rubbing together or crinkling as I moved. I wasn’t a fan at all. I wore these suits ice skating at the plaza in NY several times, while walking around shopping when I was there for ski shows or events and at similar skating rinks in other big cities. I was required to wear their clothing while skiing, in winter, snow, etc. because it was in my contract. People would look at me even in frigid temps like, why are you wearing a ski suit? Modeling isn't always fun! 

           

You can see how plastic the material was in this photo. 

   

[Like Ra]

on the forum we frequently discuss fetish as self-discovery, wether everyone recognizes that or not. We talk about trying to introduce a fetish to a partner and failing because the psychology of fetish is about exposure to something that arouses from a process that is personal.

Oh! Yes! That's a good conclusion!

After giving this some thought, I think if you want your wife to love wearing leotards and pantyhose you have to set her up to discover it herself. She has to feel something for it. When you make it weird, she thinks it's weird. Maybe start with suggestive photos (she finds herself) and comments like, wouldn't it be fun if you roll played as a 1980's aerobic instructor with a sexy leotard and pantyhose. Then let her connect the dots on her own. 

Great advice! Should be copied to the related thread! Actually, I successfully followed this strategy a couple of times. I specifically like this:

you have to set her up to discover it herself.

aerobic dance wear had to be worn for all sports

I agree!

everyone think I was a girl just because of the swimsuit and even if they thought I was a guy, it likely wouldn't have mattered because people expected different things and trend forward stuff. It was just a great time and place to be. 

To easily pass for both roles - isn't it a dream for many? At least for me it is! Happy times indeed!

[hosefun13]

Your story just gets more and more interesting and leads to so many more questions! And thanks for your excellent responses, so complete and detailed! 

So, you openly discussed wearing pantyhose with your Mom?  Wow, you are so comfortable having a discussion like this and for her not to be even shocked by it?  So, many fetish loving males would love to have a parent so supportive, allowing them...even encouraging them to  wear and recommend leotards, tights and pantyhose .  I know you say it was weird to be in this situation but many young boys face severe consequences if found wearing female items.  You said you would wear aerobic clothing to your Mom's aerobics class, that she thought you wore it well and then you would go out on errands with her.  How did that work and what specifically did you wear?  Did she recommend certain outfits, pick them for you, did you wear footed tights as well, did she suggest you might like wearing spandex aerobics wear?  If you did wear tights and leotards during your mom's aerobics class did you wear the way females do leotard over tights, legwarmers?  Were you embarrassed since you were wearing girls outfits?

In New York you said you wore a lot of tights, pantyhose, bodysuits, skirts, tight fitting pants as street wear, was it weird walking around town like this, did people stare at you, did they question you, where you presenting yourself as a male or female?  I guess New York is one place you can get away with this!  You said designers loved you wearing pantyhose and bodysuits, did they tell you this?  Did they compliment you on your look, like you look great in that leotard and pantyhose?  Did you have to completely shave when working as a model?

You say when you lived and worked in New York you started to love wearing pantyhose, did it just kind of happen, how did you come to really enjoy the pantyhose wearing experience?  How would you acquire your pantyhose, would designers give them to you or would you go shopping at stores for them?  If you bought your own was it nerve-wracking?  What brands of pantyhose did you like the most (brand, control top, low denier, high denier)? Did you ever stiletto style heels at home with your outfits as well? 

With aerobic wear and bodysuits, did you have to wear a certain style of pantyhose because of the amount of leg and inner thigh visible , obviously not control tops?  Did you ever discuss your outfits with fellow models, whether you enjoyed the clothing, whether they felt nice?  Did they ever ask you about your outfits, if you liked the bodysuits or pantyhose?  Did you guys ever discuss what items you liked the most...a brand of pantyhose, tights or leotard?  Also, did you ever get the opportunity to model the classic suntan shimmery tights with shiny leotard that was so popular at the time and if so, did you like this outfit?  What brand of pantyhose did you like the most when you were modeling?

[LeotardLover]

Your story just gets more and more interesting and leads to so many more questions! And thanks for your excellent responses, so complete and detailed! 

So, you openly discussed wearing pantyhose with your Mom? Yes, she was an integral part of my modeling career. She was also aware that I was known throughout the industry for having a body perfect for modeling leotards, swimsuits and bodysuits with high-cut legs. Wow, you are so comfortable having a discussion like this and for her not to be even shocked by it?  So, many fetish loving males would love to have a parent so supportive, allowing them...even encouraging them to  wear and recommend leotards, tights and pantyhose. I know you say it was weird to be in this situation but many young boys face severe consequences if found wearing female items. I’m aware my situation was rare, not many men modeling women’s clothes back then either. You said you would wear aerobic clothing to your Mom's aerobics class, that she thought you wore it well and then you would go out on errands with her.  How did that work and what specifically did you wear?  Did she recommend certain outfits, pick them for you, did you wear footed tights as well, did she suggest you might like wearing spandex aerobics wear?  If you did wear tights and leotards during your mom's aerobics class did you wear the way females do leotard over tights, legwarmers?  Were you embarrassed since you were wearing girls outfits? My mom had me help her primarily to help me become more comfortable in aerobic dance-wear for modeling (early on) and she was right, it helped enormously. I was starting to get more offers from the initial Dance France show I did for her friend. A lot of reps and brands saw me and wanted to hire me after that. I needed a ton of practice and this was the best and easiest way to get it.  

All the local shops held the latest dance wear for my mom to see first. When she would go, she would buy me dance wear also, especially leotards she thought would be cute. Ribbed spandex dance wear was the latest trend and most expensive, leotards were $80-100+ and unitards and biketards pushed $150 which became the most expensive aerobic wear to date. After I did a few shows and events for Dance France and Casall, they both gave me 60 different styles and colors of ribbed spandex leotards and another 100 or so of unitards and biketards… it became my main interest and preference because I looked amazing in shiny ribbed spandex.

In New York you said you wore a lot of tights, pantyhose, bodysuits, skirts, tight fitting pants as street wear, was it weird walking around town like this, did people stare at you, did they question you, where you presenting yourself as a male or female?  I guess New York is one place you can get away with this!  You said designers loved you wearing pantyhose and bodysuits, did they tell you this?  Did they compliment you on your look, like you look great in that leotard and pantyhose?  Did you have to completely shave when working as a model?

Nobody treated me different. I think people thought by my look that by default I had to be female. Men and Women would say “nice bodysuit” or “love your bodysuit” and compliment my pantyhose. I expected women to but men, that was unexpected. I was surprised women could tell I was wearing a bodysuit too though. If I were treated weird I wouldn’t have worn them on the street.

You say when you lived and worked in New York you started to love wearing pantyhose, did it just kind of happen, how did you come to really enjoy the pantyhose wearing experience?  How would you acquire your pantyhose, would designers give them to you or would you go shopping at stores for them?  If you bought your own was it nerve-wracking?  What brands of pantyhose did you like the most (brand, control top, low denier, high denier)? Did you ever stiletto style heels at home with your outfits as well? 

I didn’t start wearing pantyhose when I moved to NYC, that was several years after the initial DK show, so by the time I moved there I was a well seasoned pantyhose wearer and had modeled many times in pantyhose and heels with bodysuits and leotards. I had even done some satin lingerie teddies but that was not an interest of mine. Mostly designers gave me pantyhose which was the finest quality. I couldn’t afford to buy those brands, so thankfully I would do a show or model in-house and they would hand me a box full in different colors. I would pick through the colors and styles I liked and sell the ones I didn’t.

With aerobic wear and bodysuits, did you have to wear a certain style of pantyhose because of the amount of leg and inner thigh visible , obviously not control tops?  Did you ever discuss your outfits with fellow models, whether you enjoyed the clothing, whether they felt nice?  Did they ever ask you about your outfits, if you liked the bodysuits or pantyhose?  Did you guys ever discuss what items you liked the most...a brand of pantyhose, tights or leotard?  Also, did you ever get the opportunity to model the classic suntan shimmery tights with shiny leotard that was so popular at the time and if so, did you like this outfit?  What brand of pantyhose did you like the most when you were modeling?

Yes, there were special pantyhose made for aerobics. It was very shiny and much thicker and compressive to provide more support for aerobics. Some brands had a thin foam pad that kept women from having camel toe, but that later proved to be a bad idea along with wearing pantyhose in general for working out because it didn’t breathe and gave women yeast infections. That was also partially why spandex dance wear and leotards went out of fashion also. Women who worked out in gyms decked out in spandex often had infections over and over which forced industry change. That’s when shiny spandex was out and cotton spandex shorts and jog bras were in.

[Like Ra]

I was known throughout the industry for having a body perfect for modeling leotards, swimsuits and bodysuits with high-cut legs. 

Sounds like music 😋

[hosefun13]

My mom was proud of how impressive I wore everything. Sometimes I would help at her aerobic classes and would wear aerobic wear. Afterwords we would go do various errands and people always thought I was her daughter, even in class. She liked that but not in the way your thinking, she liked that nobody recognized me or that I was boy, so I could be as free as her to wear dance wear in public.

What aerobic clothes would you wear during these events?  Did you wear the classic leotard over footed tights like women wear wearing at the time?  Legwarmers?

[LeotardLover]

My mom was proud of how impressive I wore everything. Sometimes I would help at her aerobic classes and would wear aerobic wear. Afterwords we would go do various errands and people always thought I was her daughter, even in class. She liked that but not in the way your thinking, she liked that nobody recognized me or that I was boy, so I could be as free as her to wear dance wear in public.

What aerobic clothes would you wear during these events?  Did you wear the classic leotard over footed tights like women wear wearing at the time?  Legwarmers?

Your thinking 80’s…this was early to mid nineties and there was nothing traditional about it. Aerobic wear was all neon color shiny spandex. Most women wore stirrup unitards, Capri style unitards or biketards under leotards that were typically thong. Thong was the new craze and if women didn’t wear a thong, it was high-leg swimsuit style which had a narrower bum then traditional full bottom leotards. The swimsuit style was sexier. Racer back leotards also became popular, which gave more breast support like a jog bra then trad. scoop back leotards. 

At this point the fashion of aerobic wear really took off and there were tons of new more 'skimpy' styles of leotards coming out that were based on high-cut legs or high thighs that gave shorter women the appearance of longer legs or slightly heavier women a sliming style. 

Unitards had high stirrups, the fashion was for stirrups to go several inches above the tops of sneakers. It was all about seeing the stirrups. 

The type of aerobic dancing was also new. It was based on a higher level, assuming all women had the basis of the earlier more simple style, this was now high impact which was far more strenuous. 

I would wear something like a royal blue spandex stirrup tank unitard with a bright yellow thong tank leotard or purple stirrup unitard with a royal blue swimsuit style leotard. My mom would coordinate colors with sweat bands, leg-warmers and spandex belts for the both of us. 

It was important for her and I to look a certain way, since this was her business. The aerobic high tops we wore in class, we took off afterwards and put on other sneakers so the aerobic ones would stay pristine.

Sometimes during hot and humid summer days after class, I would take off my leotard and unitard and just wear spandex shorts over my tank liner leotard.