Classic Fully-Fashioned Stockings

In the Victorian era legs were completely invisible, so stockings were chosen largely for warmth. This remained the case until the 1920s, when skirts suddenly rose, and exposed the legs to public view. This encouraged the development of sheer stockings in skin tones, but these were far more fragile than the old service weight stockings, and stockings suddenly became a major item in the average woman's budget.

Until the late thirties stockings were made from wool, cotton or silk. These are all natural fibres, and come in relatively short lengths, so that a number of fibres have to be spun together to make a relatively thick compound thread, and this limited the sheerness which could be obtained. In the late 1930s DuPont invented nylon, an artificial fibre which could be spun in unlimited lengths. This meant that stockings could be knitted from a monofilament -- a single very fine thread, rather like a superfine nylon fishing line, so stockings could be made much sheerer.

The first nylon stockings were released in the United States just before the Second World War, and were an immediate sensation. But during the war nylon was reserved for essential purposes, and nylon stockings did not become generally available until after the war.

Nylon, like its predecessors, was relatively inelastic, and a complex knitting process was required to give the stocking a tapered shape so that it fitted the leg properly. The stocking was knitted flat, starting from the toe, and when the calf was reached stitches were cast on symmetrically on either side until the welt was reached. Here the material was folded back. Then additional rows of stitching were inserted to produce the heel. Finally the two edges were sewn together to form the finished stocking. Stockings made by this process were called fully fashioned stockings. They were very attractive, but were relatively inelastic, so that many women had difficulty getting a good fit. If the back seam was in the right place it made the leg look slimmer, but unless the suspenders were in just the right place the stockings would twist, and women were forever asking each other ‘Are my seams straight?’

The limited stretch also meant that very high stresses were generated at the knees and the back suspenders when the wearer bent over or squatted down, and this often caused ladders. The manufacturing process was complicated and labour intensive, and had a low yield, so the stockings were expensive, and they laddered very easily if anything caught the thread.

In the mid-fifties stretch nylon thread was introduced. This was made by crimping very fine nylon thread, so that it became wavy, and then spinning a number of these threads together to make a single relatively elastic thread. This made it possible to produce seamless stockings, knitted on a circular knitting machine, which were sufficiently elastic to allow them to be shaped to fit the leg without having to cast stitches off. This meant that they could be knitted on a much faster circular knitting machine.

The new stockings did not have as good an appearance or feel as the old fully fashioned ones, but were much cheaper and lasted better, so by the seventies fully fashioned stockings had largely disappeared.

When the miniskirt was introduced in the mid-sixties, it became very difficult for girls to preserve decorum by keeping their stocking tops concealed. After a number of unsuccessful experiments with long stockings and short suspenders, pantyhose were introduced. These were knitted as two separate legs, which were then sewn together to form the body.

The first pantyhose did not stay up very well, and most women wore a control brief over them to hold them up. But as the design and construction improved, this became unnecessary, and many women gave up their girdles.

This was the start of an increasing trend towards casual dress, and it was not long before women started giving up hosiery altogether. By the 21st century stockings had almost completely disappeared, and pantyhose are rapidly following them. Today they are still worn for work in some offices and shops, but it is becoming increasingly common to see bare legs at even the most formal functions.

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