Stockings - Some facts

Tights and stockings, with stockings in particular, are an important part of any lingerie set. Stockings have mainly been used with corsets, basques and tights have only become popular since the 1960s.

Stockings had been around for over 400 years and were mainly made of silk, wool and cotton. Surprisingly, these stockings, or hose as they were known from where hosiery is taken from, were worn by men.

Women did not accepted to show off their legs until the early 1920s and it was the invention of Nylon that brought stockings and tights to the mass market. Nylon, discovered by Wallace Carothers in 1935, was an affordable option rather than silk. In 1937, DuPont patened nylon in 1939 nylon appeared for the first time at the New York World Trade Fair.

Nylon stockings were first produced and sold in 1940 and over 750,000 pairs were sold on the first day and in the first year over 64 million pairs were sold in the USA.

During the Second World War, nylon became hard to find as all efforts were diverted to helping the war effort. Women were clever enough to combat the lack of stockings by drawing black lines down the back of their legs to give the impression that they were wearing stockings.

Early nylon stocking were made available in various sizes because the stockings were shaped to the shape of the leg because the nylon did not stretch  and these stockings were known as 'fully fashioned'.

By 1950 nylon was developed to become more maliable and stretch and in 1959 DuPont invented Lycra, able to stretch up to seven times it's length and return to it's original shape without breaking.

1960 saw the dawn of the mini-skirt and an alternative to stocking was needed which saw the tight take over. Nylon developed further to have have virtually no seam and in 2 years it held over 70% of the market.

No tight and stocking come in various formats, hold-ups, moisturising and massaging to bodytoning control.

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