Hosiery: A guide to vintage nylon stockings
by Tamanya Thompson
Nylon stockings: In WW2 women couldn't get hold of nylon stockings so they'd dye their legs with tea bags and paint seams down their legs. Our style guide tells you what to look for in both modern and vintage nylon stockings, and how to wear them.
Stockings are defined as being a "close-fitting, usually knitted covering for the foot and leg made from nylon, silk, cotton, wool, and similar yarns". There. It's nice to know what we're working with, isn't it?
Nylons and Me
As I do not own a single pair of trousers, hosiery is everything to me. Without the blessing of hosiery, come winter time I would be doomed... and frr-frr-freezing! Although I wear a wide range of hosiery including knee high socks and tights, my absolute favourite leg wear of all time has to be vintage nylon stockings. They have to be back-seamed - that is to say, with a black seam running right down the back of the calf and leg. My lovely vintage nylon stockings also have to be 'fully fashioned' (emulating the natural shape of a leg to ensure a good fit), as is traditional in vintage hosiery from the 1940s and 50s. Other hosiery features from this period include the keyhole, welt, reinforced toe and heels, French or Cuban style heels, and hand-stitched seams.
Other than the glamorous vintage look, I also find original nylons much harder-wearing and with a much nicer feel than the modern lycra alternatives. Worn any time of year, vintage nylons are a great finishing touch to my usual 50s/60s vintage style.
A brief history of nylon stockings
Earliest references to hosiery date back to the ancient Greeks and were worn by both men and woman, women wearing a shorter version like a sock (called 'soccuss') around the home. Socks were also worn in Japan and China for many centuries.
In the 19th century, machine-made silk stockings were produced for woman's fashion, but in 1930 researchers at Du Pont, a stocking manufacturer, began studies to find an alternative to silk stockings and the nylon stocking was born! By the late 30s and early 40s the preference for silk stockings began to fade and nylon became the popular choice for manufacturers.
During WW2 nylon stockings became scarce and many women resorted to staining their legs with tea bags and drawing vertical lines down the backs of their legs to get the look of their beloved stockings. After the war ended, nylon stockings factories went into productivity once again and many of the original 1950s reading machines were rescued from the old factories, such as the Charnos hosiery factories (which are still going strong), before being fully renovated. Many of these machines are still in use today.
Characteristics of the Vintage Nylon Stocking
Heel:
There are two main styles of heel: Cuban and French (or Pyramid), and the less common Havana and Manhattan heels. The Cuban is squared off and French tapers off into a point. The Havana version is similar to the Cuban, with a squared off reinforced heel, but the reinforcement on the Havana is shorter and wider, and the reinforcement under the foot is narrower. The Manhattan version is unique - it's similar to the Cuban but with a point at the top of the heel, augmented with a delicate outline.
Toe:
Reinforced and matching the seam and welt.
Seamed:
Traditionally, nylon stockings were manufactured on machines and had a back-seam stitched by hand.
Fully Fashioned:
Manufactured simulating the natural shape of a leg to ensure a good fit.
Welt:
This is the reinforced 'band' around the top of the welt where suspenders or a garter would be secured to keep the stockings up.
Key Hole Back (or Finishing Loop):
This can't be eliminated as the seaming machinist had to finish the seam by turning the stocking top (welt) inside out, leaving this hole behind.
Denier:
This refers to the thickness (or weight) of the stocking. Denier is an Italian measurement for knitting yarn and equals 5 centigrams per meter of yarn. The most popular being 15 denier , the sheerest practical denier is 8 denier.
Colour:
Natural skin tone or black. Sometimes, with a natural coloured leg, the back seam would be coloured black in contrast. Other options such as grey and barely-black are now being manufactured.
Favourite Manufacturers of vintage nylon stockings
Eleganti - United Kingdom
Gio - United Kingdom
Cervin - France
Favourite Online retailers of vintage nylon stockings
Wearing Vintage Nylon Stockings: Dos & Don'ts
Do wear them with grace and charm.
Don't wear them with a dress or skirt that is too short and may expose your welt.
Do wear them any time of day.
Don't ever be told you can't wear them! Just don't hear of it, I tell you!
Do feel empowered and ultra sexy.
Don't forget your high heels.
Do team with vintage or retro underwear.
Don't be afraid! Once you have your first pair, you will never look back.
Mookychick loves Burlesque and Pin-up Glamour:
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- Corset advice for plus-size curvy girls
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- How to become a burlesque performer
More alternative style tips
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Mookychick believes that climbing trees and riding giant turtles is more fun and girly than worrying about make-up. But if you want to worry about make-up instead of turtles? Fine by us. Be you feminist, kitten, punk, emo, indie, goth, witch, vegan, horror junky, intellectual, christian goth, corset queen, geek, unicorn, sea monkey... be you into alternative style, alternative health, spirituality, comics, manga, j-pop, harajuku or jock culture... we will always love you.
Fully fashioned nylon stockings with cuban heel from Nylon Dreams
Dita's diamond back seam from Secrets in Lace
15 Denier seamed hold-ups from What Katie Did
Piano seamed nylon stockings from Pandora's Choice
Tamanya Thomspon: I am a Learning and Development Specialist and my roles include Personal Development Consultant, Trainer and budding Writer. I am passionate about learning and personal development, and use coaching, training, mentoring and writing to inspire, motivate, focus and encourage individuals. I like art, music, tattoos, learning new things, summertime, patent leather, inspiring people, being creative, vintage, photography, everything 1960s and helping people to be successful in whatever they choose. Email me or visit my website.
