Quote - Callad, thanks very much!  Enlightening as well as beautiful. Now I noticed in the comments on one of your leggy images that you shrink the hose until it's almost inside the skin, then apply mesh smoothing.  When I try the same steps, I wind up with all kinds of weird polygons shooting out all over the frame.  Do you battle this somehow?  If not, then I guess I better try posting my settings and an example to try and get help. 

I was getting ready for bed when I saw your question, so a quick answer, everything else will have to wait untill tomorrow :)

Are the legs bend very far? If so this method wont work if the lower leg and upper leg touch eachother. If not: try fiddle with the 'Smoothing Iterations (bring them down).

It also can be that the stocking prop 'isn't right' for mesh smoothing.

You could also try to adjust the leg pose just a tad, then fiddle with the smoothing iterations.

(now a little 'doc tease': Going to the bedroom and slowly will undress, then will put on a slightly see-through nightgown and will slide gracefully into my bed. No daubt I will dream of.. counting sheep! :P )