Suspenders!

[JennieLee]

Does anybody actually wear them in ordinary daily life?

As opposed to dressing up for erotic purposes - if that's the sort of thing you do.

I need to know thils.

Why do you need to know?

Do your hands need shaving again?

Haha!

Because I have to comment on a novel written by a man with a female first person narrator, who wants to know whether the character is convincing.

It would be easy to say, 'No woman ever does X or Y.' on the basis of my own limited experience

But it may be that there are Mumsnetters who do do X or Y. Hence the question - I know it could seem slightly weird...

I think you know full well that the writer has done that because he wants to think that women do.

I’m sure some women probably do

I do. Tights make me sweat and I find hold-ups uncomfortable.

I am slightly curious as to whether he actually knows any women.

It would make sense of a sort if he was trying to write a raunchy novel - but this is meant to be a serious/literary work.

(Some bits of the MS are actually quite unintentionally funny - like the stuff you get with the #menwritingwomen hashtag.)

I wore hold ups and suspenders in my 20s - more often hold ups, TBH, because of the extra faff with suspenders.

Now I'm old, I can't be bothered with any of it!

They are very inconvenient. I never know whether you’re supposed to put your pants over the top, which is weird but at least you can pull them down? Or underneath, which looks correct and is more comfortable but then you can’t pull them down?

Pants over the top. It doesn't matter what it looks like when nobody sees them.

I wore them in my late teens/early twenties. I was in the forces and although they weren't compulsory I just found them so damn sexy. @Tuberoses knickers over the top for me because as you say you can pull them down quickly for whatever reason

I'd say it's rare but some women do. I'm in my 30s and would. I find the waistbands of tights roll over, I'm always ripping tights pulling them up and down at the loo and I can see why someone who struggles with cystitis but who needs to wear tights for work. Not going to lie, sometimes it would be for a guys benefit but not in a "dressing up" sense, more an every day surprise. They can be a little bit fiddly but tights are awkward too.

I met a women in her late 20s at work who wore them everyday and seemed surprised that no-one else did. She was from a med country and lectured us all on how it was unhealthy to wear tights and that "things need air circulating down there" . She was very open about it and didn't see it as remotely kinky. The men at work definitely did though .

I would feel so ruuuuude wearing them for anything other than sex! 🤣

In what time period is the novel set? My mum wore very sturdy sussies as a young mum in the 60's (and turned to slacks as soon as they were respectable enough...)

I used to 40 years ago

I would look at any lingerie section of any retailer and see if they actually sell suspenders (I highly doubt it). That will tell you how niche they are

Good plan Oldraver.

It seems to be a contemporary novel - though as there are some difficulties with the time scheme, it might be a decade or so back. But there are mobile phones, Eurostar etc.

I'd say as well, it can be a class/wealth thing. Anyone I've met who might wear them on an everyday or regular basis tends to have a corporate/City type job.

Yes it was common in the first half of the 20th century. My grandmother wore them into her 80s… not sure that’s what your author has in mind though

M and S only sell holdups. So I think they'd be plausible, but not suspenders... (In terms of the central character's daytime wear for meeting a male relative at a cafe.)

When I went to M&S (pre lockdown) to buy some stockings I was told they don't sell them in store anymore as no-one wears stockings / suspenders these days.

I do. Sturdy, not sexy Haven't worn tights since a nasty bout of thrush in my early 20s, so been wearing stockings daily for over 20 years.

I did for years - better for cystitis and thrush. You could even get opaque stockings from M&S in the 90s. M&S not S&M!

There are also compression tights.