Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York & Los Angeles

One of the oddest sartorial moments in television surely must be Carrie Bradshaw gallivanting about New York in the heart of winter in bare legs and Manolo Blahniks. And yet this strange sight seems to have set off a never ending debate in fashion about the merits of covering one's legs.

But as the weather worsens I for one am beginning to think rather heavily about the merits of panty hose. But as a battle hardened fashionista I am worried what my brethren will think if sport the nylon nasties. Can I wear panty hose under outfits like shirt dresses? Surely a fifties housewife getup warrants a bit of pantyhose. And yet I shudder at even the notion. How is it that pantyhose has gotten such a bad rap?

In fact pantyhose was quite the revolution when it first appeared on the market. According to Slate.com panty hose was invented in 1937, when a group of scientists at DuPont led by Dr. Wallace Carothers invented nylon.

A DuPont team subsequently created nylon hose, unveiling them at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Like their predecessors, the hose had seams and were attached to garters, but the new material made them much less difficult to tear and much easier to wash and re-wear. In their first year on the market, DuPont sold 64 million pairs of hose. By the 1950s, seamless stockings hit the scene.

Thus the piece of clothing we so revile now was actually quite a step forward in comfort and ease of use for women. Even today it is quite the feat of technology to produce these durable and uniform garments.

But alas so few people seem to have positive feelings about pantyhose. Indeed they appear to be entirely supplanted by tights. Every editorial spread you see these days features a model wearing black tights. In fashion at least tights have won.

In the war of pantyhose vs. tights I personally am on the side of tights. They don't ride up, they are completely opaque, and they never run. Plus the girls at Conde Nast can't make fun of me for wearing them. But I still can't help but feel that in certain circumstances pantyhose just may be the right way to go. Not to mention the sheer amount of effort and time that went into that technological wizardry ought to count for something.