A piece of fluff from Maureen Dowd in the NYT on the 11th, with man-, bro-, and guy- portmanteaus:
Manlashes, Manscara and Mantyhose
Manskirts, manscara, guyliner and guylashes have all had their spurts, especially in Britain. (Yes, that’s you, Russell Brand and Capt. Jack Sparrow.) A British brand called Eylure started selling false eyelashes for men last fall, promising to create a “Hollywood gaze.” Next up: eyelash extensions, already a trend for Japanese men, who tend to have short lashes.
… Franceso Cavallini, the vice president of the Florence-based upscale legwear company Emilio Cavallini, told Women’s Wear Daily last week that there is “a cult following for mantyhose,” also known as “brosiery” and “guylons.”
Not much of this is new — linguabloggers have been on the case for several years now (my contribution here, with links to some other sources) — but it’s entertaining to have the men’s fashion items assembled like this. (The man- / bro- / guy- inventions tend to celebrate either male bonding or misogyny.)
A personal note: many years ago I had several pairs of mantights, which served as warm knit underwear on cold days in the Ohio winter. They were definitely meant for men — they had flies — and they were comfortable. The local source for them dried up at some point, unfortunately.
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