Another cheeky set from the late 1980s, where a set of steps is used to show off the model. It’s quite reminiscent of many ToCo shots, but it doesn’t quite feel the same. Is there not quite enough left to the imagination? Or is it the colour, or perhaps what she’s wearing?
Staunch devotees of feminine leg beauty would have it that nothing - but nothing enhances the appeal of a shapely pair of legs like sheer black stockings. These artful wisps of dusky nylon enjoy a highly favoured status in the hearts of leg lovers, to whom they conjure up a host of bewitching visions and pleasurable sensations.
In part this is due to the special significance of black as a colour for feminine underwear. By general consent, black is held to be the sexiest colour of all - the most mysterious, alluring, provocative colour a woman can wear in the boudoir - or out of it.
Models in men's magazines are photographed in black more often than any other colour, from stockings and garter belts to gloves and negligees. Figure photographers like black because of the dramatic contrast it makes against white flesh tones. Strippers, chorus girls and cocktail waitresses wear long black net stockings because the customers like it that way. Recently black has stepped down from the stage to become a common sight on city streets and in offices. Try counting the number of girls you see in black nylons in one day. The number may surprise even you, a leg man from way back. Undoubtedly black silk is big business, from Sears to Saks Fifth Avenue.
What's wrong with that? Nothing at all. But consider: are leg fanciers becoming so enamoured with black silk that they're in danger of losing a sense of proportion? Will their senses, tuned in to black, tend to become atrophied and dulled to other shades? In short, are they missing the whole forest just for a few trees?
The girl who sports black nylons is still in a relatively tiny minority. To take the broad view, the vast majority of women still pack their gams in beige and sand-coloured hose, with a few taupes, greys and other shades thrown in. White is still the standard colour for underwear, with pink and blue following close behind as perennial scantie favourites. And by all means let's be broad-minded about this. The narrow view taken by the "black nylon brigade" could lead to missing out on a multitude of visual treats.
Not that black is to be spurned - it is still by far the most voluptuous colour a woman can wear for her "private life." Every woman should include black in her lingerie drawer, for those times when she wants to be at her most alluring and exciting. But sexiness is by no means synonymous with black. To put it another way, if a girl is responsive, she'll feel responsive no matter what colour she wears. By the same token, a cold pigeon will still be a cold pigeon, even if she paints her toenails black.
To be sure, vapor-thin, skin-hugging black stockings are the perfect partners for a black cocktail sheath, as any woman with good dress sense (and horse sense) knows. But she also knows they aren't right with white or pastel outfits, and this is when she sensibly turns to her regular nylons. For the same reason - good taste - she isn't likely to wear a black bra beneath a transparent white blouse, not unless she's trying hard to draw attention to what the bra contains. A harmony of effects in top wear and underwear is what she aims for, and rightly.
Even the model whose business it is to know clothes from A to Z can benefit from awareness of contemporary, everyday tastes. If she errs too far towards the exotic, she runs the risk of appearing bizarre. Black, lacy garter belts and bikini briefs styled by Hollywood creators are all very well, but if a model looks too far-out her appeal will be restricted to a small, specialized audience. The most successful and sought-after image a model can create is that of looking like the girl next door - or appearing to. The girl next door may never wear black silk stockings or lace scanties, but she is nevertheless a very desirable young lady. Beige hose and dime-store briefs may not be the ultimate in sexy attire, but inside them is a living, flesh-and-blood woman. Why not accept her as she is, enjoy her for what she is? There'll be time enough to educate her into the refinements of feminine wear; this in itself will become a pleasure, as she adds to her collection of lingerie and steps into a new world of tantalizing ultra-sophisticated black fashion.
Until that happy day arrives, it might be well for the leg lover to lower his sights and take in a wider panorama. While keeping black as his bullseye, he should never forget his main target legs, legs, legs! It is the overall scene from hip to toe that really scores - the ineffable rhythm conveyed by a pert posterior and carried clear down to the heels. And what a rhythm! It is timeless, awe-inspiring, no matter what stocking shade she wears. Sheer white nylon would not impair the message inherent in a good-looking pair of gams, nor will black nylon enhance it. And if the boudoir should reveal a flair for underthing’s of firehouse red or shocking pink - or even standard white - your ticket is still good for a trip to Paradise!
Leg Show Volume 1 No 5 - 1963 (By Perter Weatherby)
By PAMELA GREEN
I was very privileged to be able to take my photographer, Harrison Marks, behind the scenes and in the dressing room of the Prince of Wales theatre. The glittering show is "Paris by Night". I was allowed to visit my old dressing room from the time when I used to be a showgirl at the Folies myself, and found some old friends there and many nostalgic memories from the past.
Read MoreA = American
The average American glamour girl lives in a woman’s world but doesn’t actually eat men. She is smart, sophisticated, has long and lovely legs but is succumbing only slowly to the mini skirt. Teeth very good. Goes in for bulk-buying of groceries, keeps her man up with the Astors if she can, never mind the Joneses, has large account with dry-cleaners, makes a wonderful all-American mother, believes in tradition for Europe and plumbing for the United States.
Sex rating: Campus-trained.
Example of long-legged American glamour: ARLENE CHARLES.
B = British
The average British glamour girl is bullied by career women who would like her to actually eat men, but the av. B.G.G. would rather be eaten herself—in the nicest way only, of course. Wears droll hats, mini-skirts, and stockings that give you spots before the eyes. Likes the beach, villas in Spain, gondoliers. Accepts man as boss (much to fury of career women), is coveted as perfect secretary and makes imperfect shopper. Develops into nice but worrying mother.
Sex rating: Sweetly confused.
Example of mini-skirted British galmour: PAT SIMPSON.
C = Continental
The average Continental glamour girl is over-glamorised, puts on weight is endearingly feminine, useless at sport, lovely at chemin- de-fer, dark, short-legged, bikini-mad. Looks great in a convertible, not so great on a horse, enchanting on beach, talkative in crowd, loves to be with men, hates other women. Wants to be a James Bond girl—the one he seduces, not the one he bumps off.
Sex rating: Incurable.
Example of Bikini clad glamour: KATHLEEN TRENTINI.
