Meet the Men Who Dared to Wear Pantyhose

Who are these brave souls and how did they survive the heat and humiliation?

ByABC News via logo
June 16, 2008, 9:03 AM

June 16, 2008 — -- On the streets or in the workplace on hot summer days, it's rare to see women in pantyhose anymore.

But at one office in Wichita, Kan., women didn't have a choice they were required to wear them.

"My own professional view is, I grew up with women wearing pantyhose and I just think they look great in them," Mid-American Credit Union president Jim Holt told "Good Morning America."

But after a mini-uprising from female staffers, Holt softened his stance, and change is coming to Mid-American.

After that story aired on "GMA" last week, anchor Diane Sawyer issued a challenge to men: Wear pantyhose for one day and see if they could take it.

Several brave men stepped up to the plate, including Britt George and Dean Napolitano, also known as the Hollywood Handymen, who sent "GMA" a video accepting the challenge.

"We figured, how hard could it be?" George said.

They wriggled into their sheer suntan pantyhose before a full day of physical labor on roofs and in yards.

"It's not too flattering with hairy legs, but all right," Napolitano said while putting on the hose. "I'm putting on my shorts and I'm ready to go. After all, Joe Namath didn't whine about it," he said, referring to the famous 1970s TV commercial in which the former New York Jets quarterback donned hose.

But George and Napolitano changed their tune after a few hours in the hot sun.

"I'm uncomfortable. I'm itchy. I'm sweaty. I'm bunched up. I just can't work like this. I don't know how you do it," George said.

The Hollywood Handymen weren't the only guys to volunteer. New York real estate agent Josh Fields also put on the pantyhose for a day.

He wore them on the subway under a pair of khaki shorts. Then at the office, his boss gave him grief, calling his outfit "inappropriate."

He even donned them to show a new condo to one of his clients.

In the name of fairness, fellow New York real estate agent Danielle Sevier offered to wear a necktie all day to see how the guys feel.

"This is kinda fun right now, but I'm not so sure how I'm going to feel in a couple of hours," Sevier said when she first knotted the tie.

At her office, no one thought she looked out of place.

"I think it's very cute," said one female co-worker. "And I think that some people can pull it off. Danielle can pull it off."

But that doesn't mean she enjoyed wearing it for eight hours.

"It was fun for a day but every day? Never!" Sevier said.

But it was really Fields who wins the prize for stepping up to the plate, literally. He wore pantyhose for eight hours on the clock and then he joined his weekly softball game wearing them.

"I've got a new appreciation for you ladies, and I've gotta respect you," said Fields, as he prepared to take a pitch. "Man, this is tough. I don't think anybody should have to go through this."