"Hold ups"...do they?

[GraceUnderFire]

I'm going to a dinner dance and have a party frock under which I plan to wear some seriously smoothing and holding-in underpinnings. Tights are no good - they give me a ridge round my waist. Do hold-ups stay up? I'm planning on dancing til my feet ache in my killer heels so I don't want to have Nora Batty-esque wrinkles.

Any recommendations or brands to avoid?

Don't know about particular brands but one main thing is not to moisturise your leg as it stops them clinging.

Also would assume the hairier the better

M&S holdups are brilliant - I wear them all the time (I'll echo the don't moisturise too! hair free is better than hairy btw)

Well I was planning on shaving...but I don't have hairy thighs anyway (one must be thankful for small mercies).

depends on your thighs

if they are at all big (and I'm including mine in that, which are a size 12) they can hurt

Wearing some at the moment, and no! The ones I have are fab posh ones (Wolford), and though very nice, they do not stay up! I have fairly regular legs. The ones with strong elasticated tops can also create a rather unsightly 'thigh ridge' as well as being uncomfortable and roll down. Very distracting. However, I have a friend who has a very straight up and down body, with very straight up and down thighs and she says hers never come down. So I guess it depends on your legs!

I'm a size 12 - but my legs aren't bad really - slimmish. I'll have to get a pair and practice, won't I? Will go to M&S tomorrow, iris, thanks.

So if I can't wear hold ups...then what? Nowhere makes proper stockings any more, do they? Plus, they're even more potentially bumpy. I guess I could wear tights under the hold everything in super sized big girls' pants...

M & S ones are pretty good.

The ones with the silly thin elastic strip at the top generally dont work as well as teh ones with a wide lacy top. Generally.....

Mine always stay up, but I do have an attractive red ring around my thighs by evening!

LOADS of places do stockings. M & S for a start.

La Senza. Agent Provocateur. Figleaves. Debenhams. Take your pick.

I personally dont like stockings and suspenders compared to hold ups though.

How about stockings? Hold ups can fall down for various reasons, but you know where you are with a suspender belt

i gave up wearing hold ups after a couple of embarrassing experiences when one wouldnt stay up, so use a suspender belt now

My M&S doesn't have stockings - only hold ups. And I haven't seen a suspender belt for years - only on basques.
I don't have any of the other shops near me - live in the sticks

Aren't they supposed to be very bad for you? Cutting off your circulation and contributing to varicose veins? Or is that a scary myth?

i got a lovely belt on ebay

I'm only wearing them for one night...I'll risk it if they stay up

Nah Caligula, they give you stockings to wear when you go in for ops, dont they

I've just found these, which would work brilliantly under the magic pants - but there's no way I'm paying £18 for a pair of tights. Going to see if I can find some cheaper ones warning - there's a bare bottom in this picture

Ooh I've found some like that much cheaper at a shop that sells all sorts of peculiar items (the sort that come in plain brown parcels). Shan't link

I've also found some at a non-dodgy shop - just in case anyone else thinks they look like a good idea...suspender tights - no bums in this one