What makes a woman feel like a woman? Is it her long flowing hair, an endless curvaceous bodyscape, or the elevated tingle of towering stilettos? Maybe it’s the way she walks into a room with perfect poise, or the way she knows how to wear flowers in her hair. Some sisters say they feel more like a woman when they contour her luscious lips in a bold shade of blush. Let’s not even get started on the little black dress phenomenon.

The only thing one can assume you know about the ever-elusive ‘cat factor’ is that no two women would agree on exactly what it is. No wonder a man finds it so difficult to shop for the special woman in his life. Let’s try to give him some slack and do some calculations for him.

What if there was one thing in common to rule them all? What if there was only one safe ingredient to foster a woman’s sense of femininity?

The research is back, folks, and it’s pretty conclusive: No woman anywhere, ever, reported feeling less than the utter embodiment of femininity when wearing, drumroll, please… stockings.

Even the word is perfect, sensual; easy on the lips. Consider that soft, breezy first h, followed by a low O. The iery French-tinged finish adds sophisticated old-world charm, finishing off the word with the same taste as brie on a cracker. Hosiery. Yes, that’s what makes a woman feel like a woman.

Imagine the soft, shimmering, ethereal-thin feel of a fine fabric combined with styling designed to enhance the beauty of a woman’s legs. Now you have an idea why tights are one of the oldest accessories in women’s fashion history.

Whether cut above the knee or above the thigh with delicately sewn fringe, stockings, in all their forms, have been the special friend a woman can call trustworthy. Who do you turn to when the world tries to make you feel androgynous, or less than ladylike? Hospitality. Who do you call to impress on those first dates? Hospitality. Hosiery is an undercover achiever, a loyal companion who doesn’t disappoint.

The feline factor? You got it: hosiery.