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In 1964, college student Jane Licata and her friends were approached by a national manufacturer to test a garment. The company was convinced the item, made of nylon and newly invented spandex, would revolutionize fashion. They wanted feedback from young women like Licata, a clothing and interior design major at the University of Connecticut. For two months, she started the day by inching her legs into the world’s first pantyhose.

“The idea was great,” says Licata, Massey Endowed Chair of Management and Marketing at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. “You had the miniskirt then and the tops of garter belts would show, especially when you sat down. Pantyhose meant you didn’t have to worry about that.”

But convenience came at a price.

“They were hot as the devil,” Licata says. “By the end of the day, the waist was drooping and the crotch was down to your knees. None of us liked them.”

It didn’t matter. Pantyhose hit the marketplace, and discomfort notwithstanding, they sold well for the next 30 years.

But by the mid-1990s, hose began falling out of favor. Women had had enough of itchy, ill-fitting, run-happy undergarments, and bare legs were no longer verboten. For the next 10 years, sales slumped.

Today, more professional women than ever don’t wear pantyhose, or reserve them for occasions like funerals. But many human resource departments, particularly in fields like finance, law, politics and even Mary Kay sales, still encourage hose. As the working world continues to debate casual dress, the hosiery industry is trying to entice consumers back with new products. It won’t be an easy sell.

“My pantyhose are dry rotting in my lingerie drawers at home,” says Kathleen Callaghan, 57, an attorney with the Department of Health and Hospitals.

Carolyn Bennett, executive director of the Foundation for Historical Louisiana agrees.

“When pantyhose came out in the ’60s, they were embraced by all,” she said. “Forty years later, I hate them.”

The no-hose shift has been the result of several converging influences.

“You had the ‘casualization’ of the work place as well as the dot-com era,” says Sally Kay, president and CEO of The Hosiery Association, the industry trade group.

Women also began wearing more slacks. They started home-based businesses. And they took advantage of two complementary phenomena: fast, inexpensive pedicures and exposed-toe shoes. The HBO series Sex and the City took bare legs and designer shoes to new pop-culture heights. And The Today Show anchor Katie Couric showcased tanned, crossed gams every weekday morning.

But tossing tights hasn’t been the luxury of every working woman. Whether or not to wear pantyhose is often influenced by the audience, says Pam Mascari, a partner at Kean Miller and president-elect of the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

“You never know how a particular judge or client feels about appropriate female attire, so while I, and others, wear a lot of pant suits to court, I still sometimes wear suits with skirts and hose,” she said. Kean Miller doesn’t mandate pantyhose, but suggests them, especially for court.

No surprise, the hosiery industry likes the debate.

“It’s been a continuing discussion among human resource professionals about casual dress and productivity,” Kay says. “Some companies that have relaxed dress codes have actually returned to more traditional styles.”

For the first time in 10 years, hosiery sales were up 6.5% in 2006, according to Mashal Cohen, chief industry analyst for NPD Group, Inc. That doesn’t mean that the “bone” nylons of the 1980s are back. The jump is likely from new items like footless leggings and cosmeceutical hosiery featuring additives like vitamin E, anti-cellulite minerals, even mosquito repellent, Kay says.

Regardless, bare legs are firmly fixed in Baton Rouge, says Diane Mayer of longtime clothier Mayer Company. Sales of pantyhose at her boutique have dropped dramatically, especially in the past three years.

“I’ve carried Hanes for years,” she says, “but now I’m discontinuing them.”

That’s fine with Callaghan.

“Women are finally catching on,” she says. “We can actually dress for comfort and still look nice. When the spike heels bite the dust, I’ll feel that we’re finally moving towards true liberation with fashion.”