There’s no good way to say this, but some men like wearing pantyhose. I don’t mean in a cross-dressing, “Just call me Phyllis,” sense, but in a normal, “Well, it feels nice and boxers can be so bulky,” kind of way.

The truth is that “mantyhose”, featuring a special “male comfort panel”, caught my attention some time ago, but I kept it to myself. No point burdening all of you with a mental image that could put you off your meat and two veg. But I now see this was futile. The trend for straight men to invade female fashion territory is seemingly unstoppable. Even before manscara and guyliner there were man bras, or manzieres. Now there are umpteen websites for male nylons. One, e-MANcipate! (www.e-mancipate.net), describes itself as “a project to accelerate the acceptance of male pantyhose as a regular clothing item” with tips on how to deal with snagging (a dab of clear nail varnish, I find, fellas, and do watch those shoe buckles).

The final proof of this shift was when, at the height of the Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand fiasco, Ross was pictured wearing a swingy red coat with a clutch bag tucked prettily under his arm (below). I know man bags are not new, but I’d never seen one carried quite so girlishly before. There was even a miniature SpongeBob SquarePants hanging off the zip. But where was the bitchy derision, the piling in to kick a man and his bag when he’s down? Nowhere. Ross’s ensemble barely elicited a snigger, which must mean that acceptance is here. Ronnie Wood wears Uggs (Muggs, surely?), Ross dresses like a lady who lunches. It’s all fine.

Which is good because we’re always stuck over what to buy men at Christmas. Perhaps people like me who feel ill at the thought of a chap in American Tan should just get over it and treat the men in our lives to some pantyhose. I’ve trawled the websites so you don’t have to, and can reveal that www.comfilon.com does a very reasonable “ultrasheer” range starting at £4.40, which could make an inexpensive – ho, ho – stocking filler. The leg fabric is “smooth, just a bit shiny, and glides extremely well under trousers, massaging and energising your legs all day”.

As the man behind e-MANcipate! says, “Men have great legs, and hosiery is a great way to show them. It’s quite practical in some ways. It prevents chafing, for example, when horse riding or cycling.” Indeed, so let’s all lighten up. But I would just say to any man thinking of embracing the 20 denier that having to wear tights is one of the very worst things about being a woman. Still, if you don’t mind an itchy crackle-fest around your nether regions, then please be my guest. Oh, and don’t expect your tights to be much of a chick-magnet. In fact, I’d say that mantyhose is probably the perfect gift for the man who never wants to get laid again.

bargainhunter@thetimes.co.uk

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