Thursday, May 7, 2009

Loving Michelle O

Okay, it's official. I'm so in love with Michelle Obama, and not just because she makes us women of color P-R-O-U-D. She's gorgeous, she's stylish, she's smarter than her husband, and she seems to handle the incredibly high-profile, super-busy life she leads with unflappable grace and elan.

Oh, and apparently, she says Hell-to-the-no to pantyhose. I'm over the moon.

I guess I'd noticed it on occasion, but I didn't realize that she totally eschews pantyhose. She may have donned some when she met the Queen of England -- it's hard to tell in the few photos available if she did or not -- and likely at the inauguration, too, but she didn't in her meeting with the Sarkozys in France, and in most events she's seen with her legs au naturel. Love. It.

I can't stand pantyhose. I can't stand the expense, the discomfort, the unnatural appearance, the feel, the efforts required to put them on without tearing them. They're the bane of my professional existence, and when I have to wear a suit I generally either just grin and bear it or I eschew the skirt altogether and don pants. Not the most elegant look -- although they're certainly more comfortable and allow for more movement than a skirted suit would -- but it gets the job done and doesn't require me to wear anything other than knee-highs at the most.

Now I think I'll take Michelle Obama's lead and just avoid pantyhose altogether. In fact, I say that all women around the world should put pantyhose makers out of business entirely. We worked damn hard to free ourselves from corsets and bone-breaking shoes and lead-filled makeup. Why torture ourselves more with such antiquated notions as pantyhose? What's wrong with our natural legs?

It'll be interesting to see the reactions (if any) from potential job interviewers, for example, if I were to come in wearing a nice suit, pumps and no pantyhose. But then again, would you want a job where your entire worth as a professional and an intelligent human being rests on whether or not your legs are encased in scratchy, itchy nylon? I don't think so.