Bare legs in the spring, summer and fall. Tights in the winter.

Maybe twice a year for dressy occasions when colors or black won't do. I wore them to work every day for many years and felt funny without them. My legs were so much better then--no varicosities or spider veins.

I grew up in the era when ladies had to wear firm fabric girdles and nylon stockings--the buttocks were not to move or you were considered a floozy.

I love nude fishnets! But I live in a moderate climate. I imagine if I lived north of Montana I'd be trundled into about a dozen pairs of tights at once...

Skintone hose in fall and spring, sometimes summer. [Donna Karan is the only line I've found that doesn't give pale me Ice Skater legs; they're pretty sturdy for hose but I admit I baby them and get that clear nail polish out ASAP if I spot a snag!]

Ditto micronets (taupe or pale grey work better than the beige ones, also love the black). Pale grey, off-black, or black sheers every once in a while.

Opaque black, brown, or grey tights in the winter. I look for herringbone, ribbed, or other textured versions but wear the plain. 95+% of the time tall boots are worn over them...my uniform.

Oh -- age = mid-40s. Can't hurt to try them, right?

Interesting thread. I hadn't thought about it, but I think I am like you, Lisap—there's something about them that gives me a knee-jerk frump reaction.

However, I will also say that I avoid all hose like the plague. I absolutely hate it. So I have no hose, except maybe one black pair from, oh, 15 years ago. I would like to buy a pair of the nude fishnets, though. I think those are interesting enough to not be frumpy.

When the weather cools off, I wear tights. I buy tights with a high natural fiber content (not nylon tights), so they are very opaque and textured. These let my body breathe so I don't sweat so bad in them; I don't find nylon very breathable.

I had considered buying some knee-high nude hose for wearing with pants and flats for days when the weather is cold, but given the breathability issue I have with nylon and also given my fear of frump, I just can't bring myself to do it.

Not in everyday life, then I wear dark hose or bare legs. But I'm often wearing nude hose with dressier outfits to special occasions.

ETA
Just saw that you asked for the colder months. When it's cold I only wear dark opaque hose, mostly two pairs layered. Everything else is too cold.

I do, yes. The color is very close to my own skin color so the effect is a bare-legged look. Bare legs aren't frumpy so why would this be? I wonder if the negative knee-jerk reaction is related to the old-time hose that were several shades darker than the wearer's skin, which looked odd at best.

I stopped wearing sheer nude hose several years ago when I became aware of the nude hose = frump theory. However last year I started wearing them again after Angie gave her blessing and the Duchess of Cambridge was seen wearing them so stylishly. Tights aren't really a thing in So Cal and sheer hose keep me from freezing in the winter. I do mix it up with nude fishnets. But I love my sheer hose and am happy to see them making a comeback.

I do wear nude hose for the office. I only bare my legs in summer and wear mostly opaque tights in winter, but spring and fall are for nude hose. I like the covered feel of hose and need a control top (which I guess I'm in the minority in not minding) I try to be careful to pick as nude as possible.

Lisa - I've always loved "pantyhose!" Maybe it's the old movie associations of glamour. I think they really make legs look better. So when they were outre on the fashion scene, that did not change my love for them and it never made me stop wearing them. That being said, I'm typically a tights girl. I adore very opaque, very black control top tights which I wear a lot and is 99% of my hosiery wardrobe. For very formal occasions and in hot weather I do wear sheer nude and sheer black hose - which to me are tdf elegant if they are the right hose. PS and sorry if this is tmi, but my husband thinks hose are the ne plus ultra of sexy. He says it's a guy thing, like a beautifully wrapped present. Hey, just saying!!

I had to answer before reading comments.
I absolutely wear hose, especially in the winter, otherwise I would never be able to wear the fashion items I love. It's way too cold. It's often too cold for nude hose, and one must wear cotton or wool tights with skirts and dresses. It gets even so cold that I keep nude hose to wear under my (wool) pants, as an extra insulating layer (works!).
Other than winter, in the Fall or Spring, yes, I do wear good quality nude hose, and I don't think it's frumpville to do so.

@ Suz: Why do you say colored tights look clownish on you?

@ Dianthus: You are right, when it gets that cold, nothing is going to stop one from freezing. But the long coat + long boots combo is a good thing to remember. Especially if the coat is a lined, cashmere or wool one.

@ DonnaF: LOL I can remember the time when hose was mandatory too! And a time when I was summoned in the director's office for not wearing one with my skirt.

I haven't worn pantyhose in so, so long with one exception (which I'll get to in a second). I wear tights. Lots of opaque tights. In winter, mostly wool tights because they are so warm and cozy and I run cold. I have one pair of patterned Wolfords which are closer to being pantyhose-- they are sheer black with dark black polkadots.

Here's my exception. On Angie's suggestion I bought two pairs of nude to me knee highs so I can stay warm on cooler days when I wear my booties with my cuffed boyfriend jeans.

I discovered nude fishnets via YLF (I think it was Mary who had some) and love them - they seem to outlast nude hose for me. So it's more about the cost than the aesthetics of them for me. I switched to sheer black rather than solid at Angie's recommendation and now that is what my eye is used to. Solid black tights are a look I very much appreciate on others.

@Gryffen, I love your DHs perspective :D.

YES.

I wear nude hose and nude knee-highs very frequently.

Yes. I too wear nude hose and nude knee highs. I never considered the look frumpy ... perhaps because the colors match my natural skin color so well.

I'm trying to remember when I last wore them, and it must have been a quite formal occasion. It may have been as long ago as 2008, actually. I tend to wear sheer black hosiery for dressy/formal occasions, but I still have some nude ones. Just haven't had occasion to wear them in a while, since my life is so casual. Last winter I barely wore the few winter dresses and skirts I own, and when I did, it was with tights -- nude hose would have skewed too dressy. In spring through fall, if I'm wearing skirts or dresses, it's with bare legs.

This is making me think I probably need to go through the hosiery drawer and see if some more needs to go. I got rid of all my patterned and colored tights last year (they just don't feel like me anymore), and still I have more in there that I haven't worn in ages.

I think I'd be ready to give them a whirl again. After much searching, I finally found a good match for my skin tone in a pair of nude knee-highs, and I wore them with jeans and flats in Seattle at the meet-up. They were so much more comfortable than no-show footies. I'm able to wear my flats bare-footed at home because my climate is so dry.

If I worked in an office, I'd definitely wear nude pantyhose with skirts and dresses in Winter. I think the frumpy associations with it are wearing off, and if you already have a reputation for being stylish, I'm sure you can pull them off with aplomb. You'll have others copying you in no time.

I wear nude hose to formal occasions, I don't really wear skirts otherwise in the winter. They make my feet much more comfortable in shoes than going bare legged and look nicer on my pale legs. I need to get some nude knee highs to wear with my cut-out booties. Age - early 50's

Big yes from me. I like the warmth and the comfort on the feet

Haven't worn hose in ages. I wear dark tights in the fall and winter.

What an interesting thread!

I actually don't mind the look of silky hose with a slight sheen, if I can EVER find it in my true skin color.

But the idea that it's warm, even layered, is laughable in my climate. I have done the "nude hose under nude fishnets" for dressy occasions, like the symphony, but even the walk from the car to the theatre takes a lot of grit in deep winter.

Here's a timely blog post:
http://www.wardrobeoxygen.com

Yes! Very rarely, because in my world nylon stockings = dressed up for a fancy event, but I do wear them. I like the look of a section of bare leg in between a dark skirt and dark footwear, and most of the time -- spring, summer, fall -- I just do that (i.e. wear no hose at all). I get around the problem of cold legs by not wearing skirts in the winter! But once in a while, like say for a wedding or funeral, you really do need to look properly polished, so I'll wear nude hose, regardless of the season. I like it when your legs look a little shiny.

ETA I'm 42. I've been wearing nude hose (very occasionally!) for my entire adult life. I also wear sheer black hose, and fishnet stockings in either nude or black.

I have worn them my whole adult life, never stopped. I have an office job so I wear them about 8 months of the year and go bare-legged in the summer. I live in southern California so it is comfortable in the winter though on the coldest days I just wear pants.

I started wearing them last winter after reading here that Angie said it was okay. I wore nude hose with skirts and dresses and also nude trouser socks with pants. I remember feeling self conscious at first but stopped thinking about it after a few wears.

Interestingly, as our weather again turns too cold for bare legs, I'm again feeling a bit uncomfortable about wearing nude hose. I definitely want to wear dresses and skirts all winter, so I'll have to figure it out!

So, WOW. Almost 60 of you have taken the time to add to this thread. You know what is so great about YLF??? the resource that is a big group of women of all ages, experiences, shapes and lifestyles willing to chime in thoughtfully about the everyday reality of dressing.

I don't get the chance to talk like this with friends - ever. It's too "frivolous". My opinions on hose, nude in particular, were only informed by reading magazines, not by real life. It is so great to read what others think and do - and I am definitely getting myself a couple of pair of nude hose STAT. It sounds like they have come a long way since I last wore them.

and Deborah - that clip from the young pretty blogger nailed it for me. I found a pic of her in a black skirt, striped shirt and suede booties that I need to emulate. Thank you!

I bet we are all getting something out of this discussion, no? Happy Monday

I use the Angie suggestion of a few years ago : fishnets with nude hose underneath for warmth. I love it. Particularly with boots. Black or grey fishnets lighten things up. But I like the subtle fishnets.

I wear them a couple times a year, usually in April when it's too cold for bare legs, too warm for tights, and I just can't stand the thought of wearing pants another day. I think they are pretty much invisible if you choose the right shade and no one really notices anyway. Oooh, Isabel, I must have missed that fishnets over nude hose tip - I'll have to try that.

I admit to being a year-round hose-wearer. It's either that or no dresses or skirts. So I've made my peace with the fashion critics. Kind of!

I wear nude hose when others are bare-legged and shift to opaque tights as soon as it seems seasonally right, since the skirts and dress colors also move to darker colors and I think dark tights are more "acceptable" than nude sheer hose (see, "kind of", above).

I don't do many outdoor summer dresses for that reason but would consider bare legs for some informal situations if I had the right casual dress and footwear. However I usually adapt by not wearing a dress, when others might wear a dress to a barbecue, say. For casual occasions, I'm more of a pants person anyway. I think if I found the right maxidress or maxi-skirt outfit that was flattering, that would be an interesting option, to be flowy but not too much bare leg showing. Most are sleeveless/low neckline though.

Bare legs in the spring, summer and fall. Choc brown OR black scheers(+lace, or geometric prints) or opaques in the winter, as I like a long legline and have mainly dark footwear for that time of the year. Nude sheers, only if very special, dressy occasion-and only if perfectly nude and transparent for my skin(usualy a matte 15DEN or less).