The
history of Nylon StockingsWhere does it
all start?
Hosiery is an old industry, older than modern day weapons,
gun powder, processed foods, even civilization as we know it. About the only thing
that it is not older than is the original sin, which puts to rest the hypothesis
held by some that it was really a pair of sleek, sexy lace stockings that brought
about the fall of mankind rather than an innocent-looking little red apple.
- Sid Smith, president for National Association of Hosiery Manufacturers Most
historians consider the Egyptians to be the inventors of weaving. Weaving is the
art of interlacing yarns or fibers to create a fabric, whereas knitting, a later
art, is the creation of interlocking loops of a continuous strand to produce a
fabric. The earliest examples of knitting are fragments of fabric found at an
ancient Syrian city founded in 280 B.C. Even today, it has not been established
whether the three pieces of fabric found on the site were pieces of underwear,
hosiery or other apparel, but it is known that they were made of wool fibers and
that each was a true knitted fabric. Evidence of hand knitting has been
found in the Egyptian tombs of the Coptic period. Four of five articles found
in the tombs have clearly been determined to have been socks. Save for one distinguishing
feature - a separate pouch for the big toe - at first glance they do not differ
too greatly from some of the bulkier knit socks of today. The division of the
big toe from the other four made room for the thong of sandals. What is particularly
interesting about these Egyptian socks is that they were meticulously fashioned
and constructed in careful dimensions to fit the foot. While the knitted fabric
was clearly a flat knit (versus today's circular knit), it was carefully cut and
sewn in the original full-fashioned manner to a specific size. How the
art of knitting was introduced into Europe is still debatable. When the Arabs
conquered Egypt in 641 A.D., they found a thriving textile industry. As they reached
out for new conquests, these arts were carried with them. But however it got there,
we have clear historical evidence of hand knitting being commonly practiced throughout
Europe on an extensive scale from the 12th century. In Europe the breeches worn
by men became close fitting, reaching from the waist to the foot like modern tights.
They were held up at the waist with laces. Woman wore stockings held up above
the knee by garters. After 1545 knitted stockings came into fashion, their seams
where often covered by elaborate silk patterns. In 1589 William Lee, an
English clergyman, made the first knitting machine. Its general principles are
incorporated in all modern machines, and the bearded-spring needle, part of the
original model, is still used in machines producing full-fashioned stockings.
Silk Stockings were sometimes worn several pairs at a time in cold weather. In
the 17th century, when large boots were in fashion, linen boot hose were worn
to protect the silk stockings underneath. They had wide lace tops, which were
turned over the boots. Men continued to wear silk stockings with garters until
the end of the 18th century, but then long trousers began to appear and socks
have been worn underneath ever since. About this same time, the American
colonies were beginning to take root and even under the threat of death, colonists
smuggled hosiery knitting machines out of England into the New World and an industry
was born in the cradle of the new country in the New England area. As the colonies
flourished, so did the New England industrial belt including hosiery manufacturing.
Invention of the straight-bar machine
In 1864 the englishman William Cotton invented a straight-bar machine that made
cotton stockings became available for women. Full-fashioned stockings are knitted
flat, then fashioned by hand manipulation and hand seamed up the back. Knitting
is back and forth across the fabric. The stocking is started at the top with the
welt, an extra-thick section for gartering. The fashion of at the turn
of the century was formal and romantic. Men wore long slim trousers with a bit
of fullness at the top. A cap with goggles and a linen duster made up the motoring
outfit. The lightweight, cotton knit shirt became popular for beach and sports
wear. Women wore the high, straight-front corset with long hips making the waist
as small as possible. Garters came in during this decade. The skirt grew shorter
to accommodate stepping onto the new automobiles and trolley. The high buttoned
shoe lasted during this decade. Hats were large. Women were beginning to want
to think more of comfort during the 1910s, fabrics became lighter, colors are
brighter, and styles are looser. Cotton stockings where popular until World War
I (1914-1918), after the war short skirts became fashionable and long silk stockings
were worn again. It was in the 1020s that the dance marathons began and the first
Miss America contest took place. The fiber content in hosiery up to this
time was all-natural fibers: cotton, wool, or silk. Cotton and wool were warm,
strong and plentiful but the bulky nature of the finished product certainly provided
no flattering appeal to the shapely leg. Silk was sheer but very expensive and
extremely delicate. All of these fibers had one characteristic in common, they
were rigid fibers, meaning they had no stretch or give to them. This means that
flat knitted fabric had to be carefully, meticulously cut and sewn to fit a specific
size foot. This created a tremendous manufacturing inventory challenge and tremendous
overhead costs for retailers in both space, styles and sizes. Finally flat fabric
knitting gave way to circular knitting, which simply means that a lot of the cutting
and sewing was eliminated because a round tube of fabric was created. This new
"seamless" hosiery was both popular and fashionable, but did not do
anything to remove the problem of specific sizes.
Nylon
stockings
In 1930 researchers for the Dupont Company studied chains
of molecules called polymers, in an attempt to find a substitute for silk. This
work culminated in the production of nylon, marking the beginning of a new era
in synthetic fibers. Walter Carothers had simply discovered that a tough, durable,
flexible fiber could be derived from coal tar, air and water. This molten polymer
could be drawn into filaments, cooled and stretched to form very strong but sheer
fibers. Finally, the sheerness of silk but strength surpassing even cotton or
wool was available in a single element. Dupont first displayed their invented
nylon at the New York World Fair in 1939. Actually, the 'ny' in nylon stands for
New York and 'lon' for London. When Dupont decided to develop nylon into a commercial
fiber, the company specifically intended to use it to compete with silk in the
women's hosiery market. The company decided not to register nylon as a trademark,
according to Dupont they, "choose to allow the word to enter the American
vocabulary as a synonym for stockings. On May 15, 1940, the first nylons were
sold in stores across the USA and all four million stockings sold out in the first
four days, women were wild with this new magic fiber. The first year on the market,
Dupont sold 64 million pairs of stockings.
 |  |  |  |
| On May 15, 1940, the
first nylons were sold in stores across the United States and all four million
stockings sold out in the first four days! | Pinup had its
early beginnings in the 20s, but it was in the 40s that it exploded into the phenomenon
that we know today. Hollywood movie stars such as Bette Davis and Greta Garbo
set fashion trends in dresses. Glamour was build around stockings, stockings where
sexy, they where elegant and they felt good. The 40s where a breakthrough in individual
expression, which was also expressed through jitterbug dancing. However
everything came to an unfortunate halt with the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945),
nylon production was interrupted and women grudgingly had to go back to natural
fibers. Nylon all but disappeared commercially, going totally into war production
for parachutes, belts, web gear and other pieces of equipment. Already manufactured
nylon stockings were melted down for aircraft tires, and they were gathered up
with pots and pans and other raw materials. Movie star Betty Grable publicly peeled
off her nylons at a war bond rally and they were auctioned off for $40,000. As
the men went off to war, the women were needed to work in the factories. Nylons
where scarce, and teenage girls unable to find nylons on the black market, used
eyebrow pencils to draw fake seams on their bare legs and used gravy browning
as coloring to give a nice tan and impress their boyfriends. But although very
difficult to obtain, nylon stockings didn't completely disappear and they became
the ideal gift for American soldiers trying to impress British women. GIs preferred
symbol was the pinup girl, such as Rita Hayworth or Betty Grable. Pictures were
mounted on lockers and inside helmets to remind the men what they were fighting
for. World War II ended in 1945, war production had pulled the US out of
the Great Depression. The men returned having seen the rest of the world. Women
had to give up their jobs to the returning men, but they had tasted independence.
Peacetime slowly brought nylons back into stores, but not fast enough to supply
the huge demand. In New York, Macy's sold out of it's entire stock of 50,000 pairs
of nylons in six hours, leaving many unsatisfied customers. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh
a mob of 40,000 women stood all night in a torrential rainstorm to buy nylons
from a tiny hosiery shop, which must have been mayhem! By 1948 however, the production
of nylon stockings had returned to normal, much to he relief of the disgruntled
bare legged ladies. Seamless stockings
Until now nylon stockings usually had seams. They were knitted flat and “fully
fashioned” which means that they were shaped to fit the leg by decreasing
the number of stitches towards the ankle. Seamless stockings are knitted on circular
machines, brought out in the mid-19th century. For many years such stockings were
a straight, knitted tube that did not fit as well as the full-fashioned, because
stitches cannot be added or dropped in circular knitting by machine. But when
nylon yarn was introduced in the 1940s its thermoplastic properties enabled the
knitted tube to be permanently formed into the desired shape by heating. By
the 1950s seamless stockings were so much improved that they were the rule for
the well-dressed woman. Fifties clothing was conservative, men wore gray flannel
suits and women wore dresses with pinched in waists and high heels. French fashion
designers such as Dior, Channel and Givenchy were popular and copied in America.
Nylon and natural fibers shared the sock market. Discus
and share at the Stocking Fetish forum >>
Discus
and share at the Pantyhose Fetish Talk forum >>
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