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Hosiery 101History of Stockings |
Hosiery includes all types of knitted coverings for the legs, including socks, stockings, tights, and pantyhose. From time immemorial people living in cold climates have worn clothing to protect their legs and feet from the weather. In England these garments were originally known as hose (hence the modern term hosiery), though this term could also include close fitting trousers. In more recent times they were subdivided into socks, which ended below the knee, and stockings, which came above the knee. A form of hand-knitting was in use well before the birth of Christ, and although this is not now considered to be true knitting men have worn knitted socks since the time of the Egyptians. The first examples of modern knitting date from about 1000 AD, and knitting is thought to have been introduced to Britain in about the 13th century. By the 14th century knitting was the basis of a flourishing craft, and played an important part in the economy, especially in Scotland. In the Middle Ages socks were lengthened to become stockings (usually worn by women), and tights (usually worn by men), although these were mainly worn by the nobility. Women wore calf length stockings. Most handknitted hose was made from handspun woollen yarn, and was relatively coarse. During the reign of Elizabeth the First women learnt how to knit stockings from silk, enabling them to produce much finer garments with a more luxurious feel. In 1556 Elizabeth the First received a pair of black knit silk stockings as a New Year's present from Mistress Montague, who had knitted them herself. The Queen was so pleased with them that she famously proclaimed that henceforth she would wear no other. In 1589 William Lee, a poor parson of Calverton, invented the first knitting machine. This was not immediately successful, but gradually took over from the armies of hand-knitters. One reason for its slow adaption was that it took eight spinners to produce the yarn for one knitting machine, and it was not until Hargreaves and Arkwright developed practical spinning machines that mass production of stockings became practical. The new machine made stockings were much finer and more even than handknitted ones, and could be decorated with elaborate clocks, or patterns.
At first stockings were held up with garters (in the English sense; originally ribbons or belts tightened around the legs). The first recorded use of suspenders in England was at the performance of an Opera Bouffe in London in 1876. This created a sensation, as the dancers had naked thighs, with their stockings held up by suspenders. Initially the suspenders were attached to a harness, or to a belt around the waist, as shown on the right. It was not until 1901 that suspenders were attached to the corset. This not only enabled the stockings to be held in place more securely, without placing an excessive strain on the waist or shoulders, but also helped to hold the corset in place.
In the Victorian era women's bodies were hidden under numerous layers of voluminous garments, and the mere sight of a ladies ankle would throw a man into raptures. Stockings were barely visible, and were chosen primarily for comfort. They were usually black, fairly thick, and made of cotton or even wool. Silk stockings were available, but only the well-to-do could afford to wear them, except perhaps for very special occasions. Most stockings were plain, although fancy knits were sometimes used, and they were sometimes embroidered with elaborate patterns and ‘clocks’. For examples of the stockings worn during this period see Hosiery in the 19th Century. In the 1920s sunbathing became fashionable, and women's clothing was greatly simplified. Both the number of layers and the area covered were markedly reduced, revealing women's arms and necks for the first time. Skirts also became shorter, revealing their legs. Women still wore stockings, even on holiday, but instead of the customary black, or bright colours, sheer skin toned stockings became more fashionable. Only the well-to-do could afford silk stockings, and most women had to make do with rayon or cotton stockings. The cheaper stockings were knitted on circular knitting machines, and were shiny, thick and poorly fitting. The best silk stockings were knitted on flatbed knitting machines, which allowed stitches to be cast off so that the width of the stockings could be varied to match the circumference of the leg. The two sides of the flat blank were then sewn together at the back, giving the much more desirable 'fully fashioned' stocking. At first these were very expensive, but as they became more popular production increased, and the price of rayon stockings fell to the point where nearly everyone could afford them, while the far more desirable silk stockings remained the preserve of the well-to-do. In October 1938 the Du Pont Company announced the discovery of a new artificial fibre, which they named nylon. The first nylon stockings were released at the 1938 New York trade fair, and created a sensation. The first public sales occurred in 1939, but nylon disappeared from the shops when the States joined the war in 1941, and nylons did not reappear until 1945. During the war stockings of any type were extremely hard to obtain, especially in Britain, and women resorted to leg makeup to camouflage their bare legs, and some even drew 'seams' down the back of their legs. After the war it took some time for the industry to recover, and in Britain nylons did not become readily available until about 1950. Fully fashioned stockings are not quite extinct. The English Touchable Co has an interesting article describing the manufacture of fully fashioned stockings on their web site. knee highs footlets seamless run resist fake seams tights and pantyhose seamless pantyhose body stockings The miniskirt effectively killed off stockings, as made it extremely difficult to wear stockings without exposing stocking tops and garters, especially when getting on and off public transport, walking up stairs and so on. However they were replaced by pantyhose, and women continue to wear these on most dressy occasions, if they were wearing dresses or skirts. But by the 1980s it was becoming more common to see bare legs at work, at the theatre and on similar occasions. Hosiery displays were still quite prominent, and quite a large percentage of the shelf space was given over to control brief styles. At one stage in the nineties I estimated that these must made up more than 30% of the total sales. By 2000 it was becoming uncommon to see a young woman in pantyhose, even at fashionable events like weddings and race meetings. The amount of display space allocated to hosiery in the stores was shrinking and the displays were being pushed out of the prime areas into out of the way corners up stairs. Although shapewear was supposedly having somewhat of a comeback in the new century, at the end of 2007 I noticed that the percentage of control brief styles had fallen markedly. Possibly this is because women have rediscovered the virtues of shapers, and realised that it was more economical to separate the two functions, so that a laddered stocking did not mean the lady had to throw out an expensive control brief. I also noticed that more than half of the remaining stock was now sheer to the waist styles, which would also be rational if the two functions had been separated. The percentage of opaque and patterned tights had also increased markedly.
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The Art of Corsetry Ed: Bunyip Bluegum |
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