The stocking's story

THE

STOCKING STORY Demonstrate products as cultural productions within the fashion premise�

MONICA SASIKUMAR InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator

THE STOCKING STORY

The oxford dictionary

hose …legs and feet” (Elmer

defines stockings “A

Batters, 1995) The stocking

women’s garment, typically

has an established place in

made of translucent nylon

the contemporary lexicon

or silk that fits closely over

of erotic imagery. This

the foot and is held up by

elegant quote comes from

suspenders or an elasticized

Elmer Batters, an American

strip at the upper thigh”.

photographer who dedicated

“What are the qualities essential to feminine allure?

What is it that attracts and holds the eye of the male?

Let me give you a hint. It begins at the tip of the toes and runs to the top of the

his life to photographing thousands of women in stockings and concluded that the image of a woman in stockings is a powerful one of female glamour and latterly gave way to being one of sexual allure.

INTRODUCTION 1 the Tip of the Toes to the Top of the Hose . In: An excellent overview of the Photographer’s work. Cologne, Elmer Batters, E. E. K., 1995. From Germany: Taschen, p. 216.

MONICA SASIKUMAR

EVOLUTION OF STOCKINGS The stocking was not always considered a

different subjects. not the same. The era of

sexual symbol. Three things that qualify to

stockings was closely linked to the invention

be stockings is Coverage up to upper thigh,

of the first knitting m/c n 1589 by an English

stretch & transparent garment that have a style

clergyman named William lee. Knitting m/c

statement irrespective to the usage & erotic

– capable of churning out using wool, cotton,

symbol. The majority of stockings were made

silk as raw material was so fine it was suited for

from wool, although silk was commonplace

being used in stockings. With the exemption

for the aristocratic and landed gentry, and

of small tweaks here & there to optimize the

were viewed as a covering for the legs that was

knitting process & to make it more efficient,

particularly practical for the climate. The word

stockings

stockings got its true synonyms as “Nylon” in

virtually unaltered through the years, right up

1940.

till the 1930 when the lightning struck twice in

Stocking in general & nylon stockings is two

knitting

technology

the same spot of the industry.

remained

THE STOCKING STORY

1. Circular knitting m/c- This m/c was capable

stockings that are recognized today didn’t

of creating stocking legs out of one piece

appear until the 16th century. During this time

of material, w/o the need to sew a flat piece

knitting guilds flourished throughout Europe.

of material together at the back of leg - a

There are references to a Paris guild founded in

procedure which resulted in a visible seam.

1527, and Henry VIII was said to be quite fond of

2. The other massive innovation- The invention of polymer 6.6 which later became as nylon.

Before the invention, all fine garments had to be made of silk which is obviously much more cumbersome to work with ad much more expensive to produce.

Although in 5th & 6th centuries, the first legging either woven or leather was used by common people, the word stockings came from Ancient Greece to Modern America. Socks

knit silk hose imported from Venice and Milan.

Stocking manufacture was a thriving industry and was further revolutionized by the invention of the mechanized knitting frame during the reign of Elizabeth I. The fit was poor and required constant adjustment. In a History of hand knitting states that in 16th century, before the invention of knitting machine the stockings were handmade & a knitter could produce only 6 pairs of stockings a week.

evolved into stockings in 12th century Europe.

History tells, Horse’s Leg markings are usually described by the highest point that is covered by white. White marking that extends at least to the bottom of the knee or hock or sometimes higher is called “stockings”. The majority of stockings were made from wool, although silk was common place for the aristocratic and landed gentry, and were viewed as a covering for the legs that was particularly practical for the climate. Only Men wore the stockings of different colors on each leg. In the 14th century together to form a leg-shaped piece. Knitted 1

Stockings in this era served the purpose of warmth and protection.

MONICA SASIKUMAR

ELIZABETH & VIC TORIAN ER A Elizabeth I- 1533 to 1603 and Victorian 837-1901

A way to express their financial and class standing, the silkier the material, the wealthier they were. Both men & women wore woven stockings until the knitting m/c is invented in 1589.

The stockings from these two periods faced

of stockings when bent. When men & women

so many changes, Elizabeth I- 1533 to 1603 and

started wearing shoes rather than boots and the

Victorian 837-1901. People used Silk stockings of

clocked seams on the ankle area became more

various designs & patterns. Most of the stockings

visible, decorating them became even more

were of knee-high length. Fabric tended

fashionable. In the 17th century when large

toward the colorful, were often patterned with

boots were in fashion, linen “boot hose” were

embroidery and silver and gold threads. In late

worn to protect the silk stockings underneath.

16th century, women started wearing stockings,

In 1800s, men were moving away from

hidden under voluminous skirts. It was termed

stockings and breeches into trousers. After the

as

French Revolution, this style of clothing became

“Fancy Feet” where the lower part of the stocking was decorated, because the crinoline the women used to wear reveals good amount

considered a form of conspicuous consumption - and thus, feminized. Silk, velvet, and lace was out; cotton, dyed in dark colors, was in.

Stockings in this era were made in framework machines. They were first knitted flat and then seamed to fit the leg.

THE STOCKING STORY

The image of stocking changed from

would cover the complete leg, women still

practical covering to status emblem.

chose to wear stockings.queen Victoria

Before that, women’s legs were never

loved her silk stockings and continued

shown in public. The invention of circular

to wear them. Many well to do women

knitting m/c in 1816 and the industrial

also adopted the trend of wearing silk

production of stockings from 1860 made

embroidered stockings. The embroidery

them more available.

details are mostly on the calf portion of the

A proper Victorian woman generally wore black, white, or pastel-colored hose. During Victorian era, Ladies garters & suspenders

leg. Women of lower classes, if they wore stockings at all, wore plain, practical hose simply to keep their legs warm.

were invented to hold the stockings.

Without using them the stockings would fall any time. By the end of the century garters were attached to corset. Garters in the 18th century could be elaborately decorated-

embroidered

with

names,

dates, mottoes or humorous phrases.

Prior to the invention of elastic, they were fastened by buckles, or threaded with spiral springs to grip the wearer’s leg. In 1812-1830, women dampen their Grecian looking thin gowns to show off their bodies, pink & flesh colored stockings became fashionable, worn to give an impression of nudity. By the mid 1820s fashionable people again wore shoes & stockings to match their dress. The color choices were black, white and pastel shades. Even though the skirts 1

A bit of stocking peeping out

MONICA SASIKUMAR

Few years later the Victorian era, it was 1911 when the all sheer stockings came into fashion, without

SILK STOCKINGS

a reinforced body section, therefore having a sheer appearance from top to toe, giving an elegant look. (Less than 10 denier). Silk was majorly used matched with the shoes. Due to the use of leather shoes , larger & dirtier towns & more reliable dyes, most commonly used stocking color were black

FANCY FEET Blue silk lisle stockings embroidered with silver thread, circa 1710-1740.

,Grey. 19/20 pairs sold was Black. In early 20th century, newfound freedoms spurred an interest being active—tennis and cycling were particularly popular. To facilitate these activities skirt design had to change considerably—imagine trying to ride a bike while wearing a crinoline or bustle dress. Skirts were shortened; bloomers made their debut, and it became socially acceptable for women to “expose” their legs while engaged

After the French Revolution,1799 it was considered a form of conspicuous consumption - and thus, feminized.

In 1800s, men were moving away from stockings and breeches into trousers. in these pursuits. To maintain modesty when dressed this way, women wore thick wool hose and calf-height boots.

The image of stocking changed from practical covering to status emblem.

“

for making stockings. Women wore Stockings

The silkier the material, the wealthier people were –

Victorian era

THE STOCKING STORY

T H I S

W A S

Y O U T H F U L S E R I O U S O F

A N

A

P E R I O D R E A C T I O N

C L O T H E S ,

O L D E R

E S C A P I S M , A G A I N S T

B E H A V I O R ,

&

E A R LY 2 0 CENTURY

A

T H E M O O D

G E N E R A T I O N

Stockings matched with the shoes.

R A Y O N

O F

Embellished stockings,1880-1910

S T O C K I N G S

1 9 1 2

With the introduction of rayon (then known as Art Silk) man-made fibers began to replace costly cotton and silk. With the combination of World War I and flapper culture leading to shorter hemlines, more women relied on stockings for warmth and modesty. Unfortunately, elastic wasn’t yet used in stockings, and women had to hitch up their sheers with garters.

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TH

MONICA SASIKUMAR

THE STOCKING STORY

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MONICA SASIKUMAR

This was the Jazz Age—the decade of

motoring was enjoyed by many,

the “flappers,” as they were generally

thanks to Henry Ford’s new, affordable

known, although Britain also knew

Model T car. In terms of fashion and

them as “Bright Young Things.” The

behavior, the 1920s appeared to be

1920s opened with an explosion of

a decade of fun for the consumer,

color, the wailing sounds and fast

but beneath this jazzed-up facade

rhythms of jazz, and the energetic

were all kinds of social and moral

dancing that went with it. This was

tensions. In 1919, the Volstead Act

a period of escapism, a youthful

had prohibited the sale but not the

reaction against the dark and serious

consumption of alcohol. Generally

clothes,behavior, and mood of an

known

older generation still clinging to old

lasted from 1920 to 1933. It had been

Victorian and Edwardian values. To

introduced on moral grounds and to

the enthusiastic lyrics of “Everybody’s

discourage the growing criminality,

Doing It Now,” the new society

which Congress blamed on the large

hurtled through the twenties at an

consumption of alcohol throughout

optimistic pace. Suddenly the world

the country. However, the act had the

seemed smaller. Internationalism—a

opposite effect. As the sale of alcohol

move

down

went underground, there was a huge

national boundaries in everything

increase in the illegal smuggling,

from finance to style—was a theme

manufacturing, and selling of what

that ran through the decade. It was

was known as “bootleg whiskey.”

toward

breaking

mostly an attitude of mind, but new practical links were made possible by developments in transportation.

Auto racing became a popular and spectacular sport, while happy family

as

Prohibition,

P A R T I E S

the

ban

1920’S

THE JAZZ AGE

THE STOCKING STORY

In

the

1920s,

electricity

revolutionized

decade, the crucial link between Hollywood

housework and factory production alike.

and the fashion industry developed, with

For example, a new generation of sewing

certain styles being christened with the

machines, each powered entirely by a

names of the movie stars who wore them.

small electric motor, went into production.

The implications for home dressmakers, as well as machinists in clothing factories,

S E W I N G G O E S E L E C T R I C

were enormous. In the 1920s, middleclass women were the main target of the electrical household revolution; the first Novelty acts were very popular. Here the almost

features to be electrified were lighting and

identical

water heating, and then came the first of

Dolly

Sisters

are

performing at London’s exclusive Kit Kat Club.

those consumer goods that most home owners take for granted today. In 1921, the Women’s Engineering Society in Britain held a competition for the invention and improvement of laborsaving devices for the home. Two years later, the American company Frigidaire brought out an electric icebox, the forerunner of the refrigerator.

The new consumer responded positively to modern technology, including new forms of communication. Fashion magazines continued to provide an important source of ideas and information, and in the twenties these grew in number and variety. Articles

The graphic style of this poster by August True,

focused on aspects of modern life, like the

dating from January 1928 and advertising a Haid

new sports and the clothes that went with

and Neu sewing machine, embodies the spirit of

them. And then toward the end of the

Hungarian

the machine age.

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seen

MONICA SASIKUMAR

“Le Black Bottom,� the toast of Paris dance halls. Like the Charleston, the dance was introduced into Europe by professional African American entertainers from the United States and was considered rather scandalous by the older generation. Young people, however, danced till they dropped.

THE STOCKING STORY

It spread from the United States to Europe in 1919,

with her own jazzy interpretation of the vogue for

when the all white Original Dixieland Jazz Band,

“African” culture. Wearing outrageous costumes,

which had created a sensation in Chicago and

exotic tropical plumage— and sometimes very little

New York three years previously, opened a three-

at all—she described as “a woman possessed … a

month season at the

shining machine à dancer

Hammersmith

Palais

… all joint and no bones.”

de Danse in London.

She was at one moment

Playing by ear— since

the fashion artist’s model,

not one musician in the

the next Picasso’s. By the

band could read music—

late

their

spine-tingling

Baker’s success led her to

notes on trumpets and

open her own nightclub

saxophones

in Paris. She would arrive

attracted

twenties,

every

in

most

Voisin car, its brown body

jazz

and snake skin upholstery

with

exactly matching the color

the revival of African

of her skin. The effect of

American

her

a

full

night.

house But

people’s was

in

minds,

associated music

in

her

Josephine

chauffeur-driven

dramatic

entrance

New York’s Harlem. The

was captured in Vogue.

stage show the “Revue

Sometimes black musicians

Nègre” came to Paris

were hired to play in private

in the 1920s, just as jazz was taking off. Its star,

Manhatta apartments or country homes, but color

the African American Josephine Baker, sparkled

barriers were rigidly kept, and white and black

in fashionable white society while entertaining

audiences did not mix.

Though jazz was

jazz bands also a

N I G H T

C L U B S

Band and Paul W

in Blue in 1924, w 1

MONICA SASIKUMAR

W O O L

S T O C K I N G S

This kind of skin- and body-consciousness was also expressed in new fibers and light fabrics. “Art” (artificial) silk—a man-made fiber made from plant cellulose, variously termed acetate or viscose rayon— was first developed in the late nineteenth century, but after World War I, when acetate was used to coat the Jazz garter, was a flat piece of elastic covered ribbon, lace & small flowers that was purely for decoration. Usually wore stockings with girdle clips & then placed the Jazz garter over it to look seductively.

canvas wings of aircraft, this inexpensive simulation of silk was produced commercially. As the decade progressed, production increased; in the United States, production of viscose rayon rose from 8 million pounds in 1920 to 53 million in 1925. Both acetate and viscose rayon were naturally more lustrous than real silk and had a brightening effect when woven into gaily colored motifs for women’s dresses. But the biggest impact of these new fibers lay in the production of flesh colored stockings (to be superseded by nylon from 1940), which simulated bare legs. This was a stark contrast with old-fashioned black wool stockings, especially when the hemlines rose. And what’s more, working girls could afford them.

thought of as an expression of black culture, white American

Skirts were so short that one can see the stocking

attracted huge crowds—for instance, the Original Dixieland

tops. As skirts became shorter, embroidered, beaded

White man, whose orchestra was the first to perform Rhapsody

garters were definitely intended to be seen, became

with the composer George Gershwin at the piano.

very popular

U

ndeterred by the disapproval of adults, the younger generation was setting out to have a good time.

The emancipated female painted

her face and drank cocktails. She smoked cigarettes in elegant holders. She might wear a

Turkish inspired “smoking suit” and turban. Her boyish silhouette is sometimes referred to as the garçonne look— all flat-chested beneath the new shapeless fit and revolutionary brassiere.

To achieve the new slim line—modern, minimal, geometric—the surface of the body was broken up by shapes of contrasting color, dismantled, and reassembled rather like a Cubist painting

by Picasso or Braque. By 1925, dresses were the shortest in history— an act of the devil, some thought. There was an international outcry to protect the moral code; campaigns were launched to save the future generation from chaos and destruction. What’s more, fleshcolored stockings of artificial silk— which women of all income levels could afford—gave legs the impression of nudity. Within the United States, Ohio and Utah responded by passing laws fixing hems at about seven inches from

T H E

S M O K I N G

the floor 1

S U I T

MONICA SASIKUMAR

O

ne of the biggest influences on fashion has been sport. In the 1920s, barriers were broken down between these two fields of dress.

Coco Chanel revolutionized day wear and sportswear alike by creating casual suits and

20’S SPORTS I N

S E A R C H

O F

S U N

A N D

F U N

golfing outfits of jersey that had “elasticity in action” and “slender lines in repose.” Since golf fell into the category of traditional sports, golf clothing, like that for riding and fishing, tended to be made of old-fashioned heavier cloths, such as tweed and plaid. The conservative nature of the fabric was echoed by the restrained cut of the golfing skirt—inverted pleats that did not swing around the body so widely that they made the wearer off balance.

Skiing and flying, which belonged to the new generation of sports, demanded flashy metallic detail, dazzling snow white, or the nearest thing to primary colors. Waterproof yet pliable ski mittens were made of chromed (leather with a metallic finish) horsehide. Buckles and zippers were used experimentally as outer details on garments whose component parts could be detached and rearranged to perform a new function and create a new garment within seconds. For example, in 1926, the house of Redfern, an established producer of yachting wear, designed a white velvet skating outfit whose skirt zipped off to become a scarf.

E L A S T I C I T Y

I N

A C T I O N

THE STOCKING STORY

The new rage of ‘ Rolled stockings’ took off amongst the Flappers of the early 1920’s – especially in summer time and at the beach. Women began to wear more body hugging styles of swim wear like the famous Jantzen bathing suit. Up until the mid 1920’s, the popular fashion was to roll your stockings to just below the knee and wear with your swimsuit.

Popular trend of 20s- roll up one’s stockings down just below the knee and dust rouge on knee caps.

Another glimpse of stocking: Miss Kitty Lee, society girl of Baltimore, Maryland, with a portrait of her boyfriend printed onto her stockings.

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The rolled stockings were worn not only with dresses, while with bathing suits.

MONICA SASIKUMAR

Wimbledon’s Centre Court was the

and convention demanded that they

focal point of radical sportswear that

continue to wear white stockings—

hit the headlines, both on the court

baring the legs was a freedom and

and off. Male players still wore long

privilege as yet restricted to the

trousers and shirts for tennis, but in

seaside resort.

1926, the Duke of York set a precedent at the Lawn Tennis Championships by wearing “sleeves cut short above the elbow.” From then on, “no other man need be afraid to do so,” assured the Sunlight League’s Dr. Caleb Saleeby. French women’s champion Suzanne Lenglen caused a sensation with her chic wardrobe of tennis dresses designed by Jean Patou. She was instantly recognizable by the colored bandeau wound around her head, matching her monogrammed sleeveless neckline

cardigan. of

the

The

dress

low-cut featured

an ingenious lapel that could be buttoned up to the neck after the match. Another tennis star who attracted imitators was America’s Helen Wills, famous for her eye shade.

French tennis star Suzanne Lenglen sports a Jean Patou outfit at the Wimbledon lawn tennis

Together, she and Lenglen changed

championships. Her “short” skirts

the face of tennis since their less

shocked crowds in 1922, and she was

restrictive clothes helped to speed

obliged to wear stockings to preserve

up the game. Nevertheless, modesty

her modesty.

THE STOCKING STORY

C O L O R S

&

P A T T E R N S &

M O T I F S

Stockings were also available in whole host of colors. The Flappers & young women used colored stockings & embroidered patterns that made their way from the ankles to the knees. Bold patterns

such

as

plaid,

checks, diamonds & stripes were a favorite for sporty fashions.

Mature women would wear solid, striped or honeycomb black, beige, brown, or grey cotton lisle in daytime and lighter sheer silk or rayon

thread). Women preferred to wear stockings that

stockings

matched the dress.

by

night.

One

short trend was to paint design on stockings. Some were

Art

deco

T H E

F I S H N E T S

Designs,

Asian Motifs. Mid 20s – Pastel

The sheerer the stockings were the more hair was seen underneath. The leg shaving trend was only picked up by the

colored stockings- cream,

most fashion forward flappers. Stocking Ads promoted satisfying both the women group who shave legs and who

light green, yellow pink &

don’t. “Smooth legs & smooth Stockings” s do a great Job of covering up unsightly leg hair” Flapper fishnets were only

silver (some with real metal

for naughty showgirls yet didn’t cover the hairs.

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MONICA SASIKUMAR

FA B R I C S 20’S In 1920s, more of silk & rayon were used. Women thought rayon was too shiny, so they would apply powder to dull & glare. Cotton stockings were available but not fashionable.

Mix of silk/ Rayon & cotton provided the best of both materials & the longest wear. Stockings were held by garter belts later replaced by girdles & suspenders. Between the years of 1920- 1939 “fully Fashion” stockings were available which were knitted flat & sewn together with a back seam.

These stockings Led to the bunching & Baggy ankles. The new rage of ‘Rolled stockings’ took off amongst the Flappers of the early 1920’s – especially in summer time and at the beach. By 1926 this fad disappeared fairly rapidly. Stockings reached mid-thigh – lot of them opposed wearing garters because they were afraid the rolling effect will be missing.

Hence used a rubber band to hold their stockings. Authentic garter rolls were soft covered elastic bands that rolled up the leg & then back down a little catching the top of the stocking. It was an easy thing to do. Women were fixing their rolls several times a day.

THE STOCKING STORY

I L L U S I O N

S T O C K I N G S

1925 The purpose of “The Illusion Stocking” is to make the ankles look like what they “aren’t.” On the left, the vertical striped stocking which will disguise the appearance of the fat ankle

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MONICA SASIKUMAR

THE STOCKING STORY

19 3 0 ’ S

grew into panic as people raced to withdraw

T H E M O D E R N 3 0 ’ S

W O M E N -

their investments. On October 24, 1929, 13 million shares were sold on Wall Street, the financial heart of America. One company after another crashed as its credit failed, and by the end of the month, American investors

The thirties were a decade that opened in

had lost some $40 billion. Unemployment

depression and ended in war. Throughout the

rose while purchasing power collapsed.

1920s, economies worldwide had been booming,

Large businesses failed, often taking smaller

bringing prosperity to thousands of ordinary

ones with them. Thousands of small investors

people who gambled their spare cash on stocks

lost everything, and in the industrialized

and shares. But in 1929, the economy of the Western

towns and cities, unemployed workers joined

world sank deep into a period of depression.

breadlines. By 1932, 3 million were out of

The downward spiral began with an excess of

work in Britain, 6 million in Germany, and 14

agricultural products, which led to falling prices.

million in the United States. Generally, when

In an attempt to control the decline, produce

we think of the 1930s, our minds conjure up

was kept off the markets. The fall in agricultural

images of despair: mass unemployment

prices meant that the farming population faced a

and breadlines, the rise of Fascism and the

reduced income. When agricultural prices began

drift toward World War II. With these images

to fall, in America at least, investors in industry

firmly planted in our minds, it is easy to forget

remained optimistic, and in early 1929, the price

that fashion, beauty, and glamour were still

of stocks was still rising. With this investment in

important aspects of everyday life for many

industry, manufacturers were able to increase their

people.

output: in 1929, the automobile industry produced about 5.5 million cars. But the industrialists

These 1932 dinner frocks from the House of

soon began to realize that the market would

Lelong show fashion in a transitional phase. The

become saturated and they would have to check

longer length and slimmer cut are countered by

production. Doubts turned into fears, which in turn

the crisscross necklines, which still retain a feel of the previous decade.

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MONICA SASIKUMAR

The new woman of the thirties

wearer’s body. With a variety of

was also a different shape. Gone

outfits, women naturally needed

was

the

boyish

a variety of shoes. In the twenties,

look

of

decade.

shoe designs had been limited for

Bosoms reappeared, waists were

the most part to “Louis-heeled”

back in their normal place, and

styles

shoulders

to

by the French king) with pointed

broaden eventually reaching the

toes for evening wear and sturdier

exaggerated proportions of Joan

versions for day wear. Thirties

Crawford’s. But the biggest fashion

shoes came in a variety of styles,

innovation of the decade was the

heel heights, and materials, with

backless evening gown. Popularly

pumps popular for both day (in

accredited to French couturier

crocodile, lizard, and snake-skin)

Madame

Vionnet,

and evening (in satins, dyed to

the halter neck, bias-cut evening

match evening gowns, brocades,

gowns shaped themselves to the

and silver or gold).

flat the

chested, previous

gradually

Madeleine

began

(resembling

those

worn

TIGHTENING T H E B E LT Women want men, career, money, children, friends, luxury, comfort, independence, freedom, respect, love and cheap stockings that don’t run Phyllis Diller

THE STOCKING STORY

If fashion had been merely a luxury, during the

were stylish and elegant. The longer and more

1930s the industry would have totally collapsed.

flowing lines that the Paris- based couturiers

Instead, it responded to all the economic and

had shown in their collections in the autumn of

social changes of the decade and was swayed

1929 were to become established in 1930. But the

by the opposing influences of the economic

increasingly difficult economic situation meant

climate and the impact of Hollywood style

that many women simply could not afford the

luxury. Because the rich were tightening their

luxury of new clothes. In an effort to bring their

belts, spending less and making economies

existing shorter-length skirts up to date, many

where they could, designers responded by

women resorted to adding lengthening bands

cutting their prices, by producing new lines

of contrasting fabric or even fur to their hems.

of ready to wear clothes to make up for the

Material was often added to collars and sleeves

shortfall in orders for couture garments, and

to give the impression that their outfit had

by producing more practical clothes made

been designed that way and was not simply

of economical and washable fabrics. In 1931,

an emergency measure. Within a year, the new

Gabrielle “Coco� Chanel showed a collection of

lines for fashion had been established, and as

evening dresses that helped to promote cotton

if they were mirroring the economic slump,

as a fashion fabric, and by 1932, she had also cut

hemlines dropped. Longer and narrower skirts

nearly 50 percent off her prices. Designers also

that gradually flared out fell to the bottom of the

had new fabrics to work with. What were then

calf. Longer hair was waved lower onto the nape

called artificial silks like rayon were now stronger

of the neck. Hats featured skullcaps with draped

and better, and in 1939, the production of nylon

folds of fabric attached to the back or sides or

began in the United States. Nylon was stronger

brims that obscured one eye. Sleeves were now

and more elastic than previous artificial silks.

full from the elbow to the wrist, where they

In addition to a whole host of preshrunk, or

draped onto cuffs or were loosely tied. Colors also

Sanforized, fabrics, there were uncrushable

reflected the subdued mood of the early thirties:

fabrics like Zingale and glass fabrics like

black, navy, and gray were popular for city wear;

Rhodophane, which Elsa Schiaparelli used

browns and greens were popular for autumn

to sensational effect. For women who could

outfits. For afternoon wear and evening dresses,

afford them, the fashions of the early thirties

black or pastel shades of peach, pink, green, and blue were the most fashionable.

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MONICA SASIKUMAR

This is the difference between fully-fashioned stockings and modern "seamed" stockings where the seam is non-functional, and is just stitched or even printed onto a finished stocking.

FULLY FASHIONED STOCKINGS Most stockings were fully fashioned, they were knit into the shape of a leg rather than as a stretchy tube available in 20-21st century. They didn’t always fit the shape of the leg and girls had to constantly run to the ladies room and fix sagging nylons and straighten back seams.

The finishing loop or ‘keyhole’ at the top back of the stocking is also a result of the finishing process, and is created because the seaming machinist has to finish the seam by turning the stocking top (the welt) inside out.

THE STOCKING STORY

F L A T K N I T S T O C K I N G S A modern fully-fashioned stocking knitting machine is usually designed to make up to 32 stockings at a time. Each stocking is knitted on a needle bar. A needle bar is approximately 14” wide. The whole machine will weigh about 15 tons. Most stocking welts are knitted with either heavier yarn or folded yarn and this knitting with thicker yarn is very often continued for another inch or so beyond the true welt to give slight additional strength. Where this is done the section of single fabric, but of heavy construction, is called an after- or underwelt. At the half-way point in the knitting of the welt, at the division between the welt and the under-welt, and sometimes at the end of the under-welt.

In the construction of certain types of stocking foot the edges of the heel tabs and the fabric are “linked”. The linking machine inserts a thread into the loops of the two fabrics to be joined, and serves a purpose similar to that of the pin in an ordinary hinge.

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MONICA SASIKUMAR

C O N S T R U C T I O N The seam of the stocking, according to the type of foot, runs either from the heel to the welt and from the heel to the toe along the sides of the foot, or from the toe, along the underside of the foot and round the back of the heel to the welt.

A T T A C H I N G

S E A M S

These seams are made by holding together the two pieces of fabric to be joined and drawing them through the knurled

F I N I S H I N G This operation commences at the lowest point of the stocking and ends just above the lower outside edge of the welt. Seaming is always done whilst the stocking is turned inside out. In the construction of certain types of stocking foot the edges of the heel tabs and the fabric are “linked”. The linking machine inserts a thread into the loops of the two fabrics to be joined, and serves a purpose similar to that of the pin in an ordinary hinge. Rayon or “artificial silk” is one of the new ma terials that the industrial revolution has made available generally since the World War. Rayon, artificial textile material composed of regenerated and purified cellulose derived from plant sources. Developed in the late 19th century as a substitute for silk, rayon was the first man-made fibre.

Rayon entered the industry during 1900.its a semi-synthetic fibre made from cellulose. own to the hosiery industry. Autoclaves and presses were used to apply heat and pressure to stockings so that their shape and appearance improved. About 88 percent of women’s stockings were cotton, about 11 percent were wool, and about 1 percent were silk. Over the next 35 years silk and artificial silk (rayon). Rayon has many properties similar to cotton and can also be made to resemble silk. Readily penetrated by water, the fibre swells and loses strength when wet. It can be washed in mild alkaline solutions but loses strength if subjected to harsh alkalies rayon stockings !

R

ayon entered the industry during 1900. Rayon or “artificial silk” is one of the new materials that the industrial revolution has made available generally since the World

War. Rayon low cost, artificial textile material composed of regenerated and purified cellulose derived from plant sources.

Developed in the late 19th century as a substitute for silk, rayon was the first man-made fibre. Autoclaves and presses were used to apply heat and pressure to stockings so that their shape and appearance improved. About 88 percent of women’s stockings were cotton, about 11 percent were wool, and about 1 percent were silk. Rayon has many properties similar to cotton and can also be made to resemble silk. Readily penetrated by water, the fibre swells and loses strength when wet. It can be washed in mild alkaline solutions but loses strength if subjected to harsh alkalies.

By 1954, a by-product of petrochemicals, Terylene, or Dacron as it was first known in the United States, hit the headlines.

A polyester fiber, it had first been developed in Britain before the war but then taken up by the American company DuPont.

Like nylon, it was easily washed, quick drying, and shrink proof. Although crease resistant, it could take permanent pleating, removing at a stroke the tiresome chore of ironing.

Lightweight but warm, a man’s suit made of Dacron weighed only twelve ounces rather than the usual twenty, a boon in summer weather. Suddenly the somber colors were gone, and shrinkage, moth damage and ironing were virtually banished.

All this should have given women more leisure time, but in fact it was the opposite.

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R AYO N A N D BEYOND POLYESTER

R AYO N STOCKINGS

S T O C K I N G S

THE STOCKING STORY

MONICA SASIKUMAR

M O V I N G W I T H T H E M O V I E S

Although designers still continued to

who went to Hollywood in 1929. Al-

create lavish gowns for royalty and the

though her designs were elegant and

rich, they were also taking into account

innovative, by the time the movies

the requirements of the working lives led

were released, hemlines had dropped

by more and more ordinary women. The

and the styles that she had created

changed role of women in society and

were obsolete. Nevertheless, many

the gradual weakening of clearly defined

other designers made the pilgrimage

social distinctions that had begun at the

across the Atlantic to Hollywood, in-

beginning of the century meant that

cluding Elsa Schiaparelli, Marcel Ro-

many more people were sharing similar

chas, Captain Edward Molyneux, Alix

lifestyles. During the day, women might

(later Madame Grès), Jean Patou, and

be working in offices or in light industry,

Jeanne Lanvin. But undoubtedly the

while their evenings were spent dancing

best were Hollywood’s own indige-

or at the theater or movies. If radio was

nous designers like Gilbert Adrian,

the miracle of the twenties, the miracle

Orry-Kelly, and Edith Head. Not only

of the thirties was the talking picture.

did women copy the dress styles of

Sound movies had arrived in 1927, but it

the movie stars, they also copied their

was in the thirties that they were truly “all

hair. Claudette Colbert’s stockings

talking, all singing, all dancing” spectac-

and bangs became popular. Women

ulars. While the rich and royal may still

all over the world now started to copy

have looked to Paris for their fashions,

her style.Claudette lifts one of her fa-

working women all over the world—and

mous legs, which she so memorably

even the couturiers themselves—kept

flashed in “It happened one night”

an eye on the movies. The first of the

from beneath the tablecloth where

designers to try to join movie costumes

we sit and rolls her foot for my closer

with real-life clothes was Coco Chanel,

inspection.

THE STOCKING STORY

A

successful dance director of Broadway shows, Busby Berkeley went to Hollywood in 1930 to work for Samuel Goldwyn, but it was not until 1933, when Berkeley moved to

the Warner Brothers studio, that his true genius was revealed. As dance director for movie musicals like 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Dames, and the “Gold Digger� films of 1933, 1935, 1937, and 1938, Berkley developed his flamboyant visual style with the help of aerial photo raphy, kaleidoscopic camera lenses, and scores of singers and dancers.

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MONICA SASIKUMAR

everyone

humming

“Cheek to Cheek,” the hit song from Top Hat. RKO

had

been

one

of the smallest of the Hollywood film studios, but in 1933, following the success of the first Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

D A N C I N G D E C A D E

Dancing was a popular way to keep fit in the thirties.

Henry Hall, Jack Payne, Glenn Miller, and Tommy

You needed more than rhythm for steps like Kicking

and Jimmy Dorsey. Offshoots of commercial swing

the Mule, Truckin’, and Peelin’ the Apple: these

music included Latin American rhythms like the

dances also required complete unselfconsciousness.

rhumba, whose hip swaying movements were

In America, this was no doubt encouraged by

ideal for drawing attention to the flowing lines of

the repeal, in 1933, of Prohibition—a ban on the

draped, bias-cut dresses. The best loved of all the

manufacture and sale of alcohol in place since 1920.

dancers were also Hollywood idols. Throughout the

The more restrained could still tango or take to the

decade, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dazzled

dance floor to the sounds of the big bands led by

audiences with their intricate routines and left

film,

Flying

Down to Rio—in which they weren’t even given star billing—it became known as the home of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical.

THE STOCKING STORY

ART DECO

Art Deco was a style that drew on the art of

and the imminent war in Europe. But the

different cultures for its motifs. In the 1920s,

prophet of streamlining was indu trial

elements of the style had been taken from

designer Norman Bel Geddes. Many of

African and pre-Columbian art, and after the

Bel Geddes’s ideas were visionary rather

discovery in 1922 of Tutankhamen’s tomb,

than practical, but through his efforts,

Egyptian themes became hugely popular.

streamlining became the accepted style.

Alongside

gazelles,

It also came to be seen as a symbol of

hunting dogs, and zebras, these elements were

optimism and promise for the future,

incorporated into fabric designs and pieces of

suggesting a nation moving forward

jewelry. By the 1930s, the hallmark of the Art

out of the depression to become the

Deco style was its geometry, largely derived

powerhouse of the new machine age.

motifs

of

fountains,

from the Cubist movement in art. All the motifs, from flowers and animals to the human figure, became angular, but the most popular subjects were the hard-edged forms of zigzags, electric flashes,

and

sunraymotifs.

The

geometric

shapes of Art Deco lent themselves perfectly to strong colors and contrasts, with red, black, white, and silver being one of the most fashionable color combinations. The greatest stylistic innovation of the Depression era, and an important aspect of Art Deco, was streamlining.

Speed was one of the marvels of the modern age, and the shapes and lines dictated by aerodynamics were incorporated into the work of many designers. art deco streamline stockings In America, the style was embraced by a wave of European designers who came to the United States to escape the rise of Fascism

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Suspenders and certain styles of boots, caps, were not acceptable.

There might be a depression but fashionable men and women could not drop their standards.

MONICA SASIKUMAR

Rayon

nylon

and lingerie. They also gave a boost to accessories and leisure

the

wear. Elastic yarns made of rubber combined with silk, cotton, or

two most familiar

rayon produced a fabric that, since it clung to the body and kept its

synthetic

fabrics

shape when wet, was ideal for swim wear. Plastic materials could

from a whole host

be molded and colored to create jewelry, handbag frames, belt

of

intriguingly

buckles, and sunglasses. Plastic zippers, in matching or contrasting

materials.

colors, were pioneered by Schiaparelli, first in sportswear and later

We are also familiar

on in evening dresses. Metallic fabrics were also popular. Lamé

with

cellophane,

is the name given to fabrics woven with flat metallic threads,

but we don’t usually

immensely popular for evening wear. Sequins and beads made

associate

with

from colored plastics and glass also swathed women’s bodies in

fashion. Yet it was

shimmering light effects. Rhodophane, a less well known fabric

out of this material

developed in the 1920s by the French company Colcombet, was

that

a glass-like fabric made from a mixture of cellophane and other

are

and

perhaps

named

F A B R I C S G A L O R E

an

Alix

it

created

evening

dress

synthetics. It was versatile enough to look either like clear glass

likened to the wing

or a gauzy cobweb. Despite its fragile appearance, Rhodophane

case of a shiny black beetle. Victor Stiebel also used cellophane,

was used by Schiaparelli for a variety of dresses and accessories,

in conjunction with white taffeta, in an accordion-pleated gown

including handbags and even shoes. The new synthetic materials

modeled in Vogue in 1936 by Vivien Leigh. Metallic fabrics were also

were not just confined to evening wear and lingerie. They also

popular. Lamé is the name given to fabrics woven with flat metallic

gave a boost to accessories and leisure wear. Elastic yarns made of

threads, immensely popular for evening wear. Sequins and beads

rubber combined with silk, cotton, or rayon produced a fabric that,

made from colored plastics and glass also swathed women’s

since it clung to the body and kept its shape when wet, was ideal

bodies in shimmering light effects. It was versatile enough to

for swim wear. Plastic materials could be molded and colored

look either like clear glass or a gauzy cobweb. Despite its fragile

to create jewelry, handbag frames, belt buckles, and sunglasses.

appearance, Rhodophane was used by Schiaparelli for a variety of

Plastic zippers, in matching or contrasting colors, were pioneered

dresses and accessories, including handbags and even shoes. The

by Schiaparelli, first in sportswear and later on in evening dresses.

new synthetic materials were not just confined to evening wear

THE STOCKING STORY

D E P R E S S I O N M E N D E D S T O C K I N G S During depression post war, women practiced habit of taking care of their possessions. The visuals shows us evidence of existence of mended stockings. The word’ mend’ means is to repair.

Women still chose to wear stockings despite of depression.

Choosing to wear mended stockings post war was more of a fashion statement

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MONICA SASIKUMAR

N E W M AT E R I A L S R E V E A L I N G T H E BEAUTIFUL BODY From Silk to Rayon not only did the clothes that women wore in the 1930s become more womanly, women also wore fewer of them. The new curvy shape that women sought was enhanced by a variety of fabrics, some old and some new, that could be cut and draped to show off the wearer’s body. In addition to the various silks, wools, and linens designers had always used, they now had at their disposal a whole range of synthetic materials. Since these new fabrics could be produced inexpensively, they were often used for mass-produced clothing. Some designers, however notably Elsa Schiaparelli and Victor Stiebel— incorporated synthetic materials into their haute couture range. Since the late nineteenth century, the search for synthetic substitutes for natural materials had concentrated on silk. Silk was the most expensive raw Material because it was the hardest to produce: the mulberry tree on which the silkworms feed will grow only in certain climates. Experiments in the last years of the nineteenth century led to the development of artificial silk, later called rayon. The new fiber, once woven into cloth, produced a fabric that not only draped well but also had a high absorbency, which meant it could be dyed easily. Rayon was also widely used for stockings, but in 1939 it would be replaced by a new fabric, nylon.

Nylon was the result of a research program begun in 1927 by Wallace H. Caruthers at the Du Pont Company in Delaware. In 1938, Du Pont

This woman is delighted that her silk stockings are protected by their new cellophane packaging, but by the end of the decade, the stockings themselves would probably be made of an artificial material.

produced nylon commercially and in the following year successfully tested it in knitted hosiery.

THE STOCKING STORY

C H R I S T M A S S T O C K I N G S F R O M S E A R S Women in the 1930s cross America waited eagerly for the Sears Christmas catalog, to take a quick peek at their underwear selections.

and They

hosiery advertised

like - ‘For the sheer laciness of a cobweb and the glow of lovely pewter, slip into these silky stockings in a glamorous new Metal Mist color, with French heel and re-enforced toe strong enough to wear to work and sheer enough to wear in evenings. Fine gauge stockings for Christmas, with style details that made them the number one Sears selling stockings. Full fashioned, dull silk, they felt so smooth to wear and were so affordable.

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MONICA SASIKUMAR

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT The athletic element she introduced into skating could not be performed with ankle-length skirts, stockings and wide hats.

During the thirties, physical activity and sun worshiping assumed cult proportions. With the increased popularity of active sports, designers of sportswear now had to address the funtional needs of the sports rather than simply altering existing day-wear styles, while at the same time maintaining a fashionable silhouette. Active sportswear had to allow for maximum movement. Skating skirts were now shorter than they had ever been, well above the knee and pleated or flared for movement and an eye-catching line. The sport itself was given a boost by the champion skater turned- Hollywood-star Sonja Henie, who skated through her films in a variety of lavish one-piece skating dresses. “Ice-Skating: A History” noted Sonja Henie’s contribution to skating fashion history in the late twenties: “Apart from remodelling women’s skating, she ‘refashioned’ it as well.

Stocking as a glamour notion It was 1930s when Stockings on women was seen as erotic symbol and black stockings often showed in media as a seduction tool, especially promoted thro pornography to attract men. Hence women became so conscious about their legs and bought stockings.

As women's consumer power continued to grow, magazine editorial became increasingly important in the aggressive marketing of hosiery products. The advent of the cinema heightened the appeal, and facilitated the marketing of stockings. Film stars like Betty Grable propelled the sleek, stocking’ed leg to iconic status- and it was an attainable glamour. The sleek, seamed black stocking was identical with postwar fashion and a focal point for Christian Dior's "New Look" in Paris in 1947.

Suspender belts are usually a woman's undergarment consisting of an elasticized material strip usually worn around the waist, to which 2 or 3 elastic suspender 'slings' are attached on each side, where the material is shaped to the contours of the body. Garters are narrow bands of fabric fastened about the leg, used to keep up stockings, and sometimes socks. In the eighteenth to twentieth century they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking from slipping. They were

S S S S R R E P SUSPENDE GAITE GIRDL HOLDU

EROTICISM

made with rayon or cotton & Small portion of elastic was used. 1820swas the invention of elastic garters.

Girdles hold up the stockings with straps but the part that goes around the waist is extended to be more

high wasted & extend farther down on the hips. While holding up stockings, an open bottom girdle’s main focus includes being a smoother & shaper, but is still unnoticeable under regular clothing. In 1950s, Waist cinchers can look basically identical to open bottom girdles; however they are an extension of it. Instead of just smoothing a shape, waist cinchers aim to take inches off your waist for an hourglass shape. And they have attached garter straps to keep the stockings up. Hold ups as a whole

GIRDLES

H O LD UPS 19 67

referred to as thigh high stockings with an elasticized band at the top, designed to hold the stockings up when worn, without the use of garters or suspender belts.

They are held up by one or more bands sewn to the top that backed with silicone on its inner surface. They are designed so that the elastic band exerts just the right pressure on a women’s thigh, avoiding any

WAIS T CINCHER S 1930S To look sexually appealing & Pornography.

Acquire

sort

Marketing

of

Men’s

attention Magazines

from

men.

like

FHM,

Maxim, GQ, and avante garde fashion magazines with editorials that explicitly implied a sexually charged nature.

uncomfortable muffin top effect.

Hold-ups were brought to the market, completely getting rid of suspender belts and the annoying bulges they created

B ELT S

under clothing. silicone bands, women were now able to wander around comfortably.

GARTERS

Garter, 19th century

MONICA SASIKUMAR

19 4 0 ’ S Fashion

wasn’t

exactly

grabbing

the

For evening wear, shirred (gathered with elastic

headlines in the newspapers of 1940. As the

thread) rayon jersey gloves were considered

decade began, the silhouette for both men

a glamour accessory around 1944 as fabric

and women was largely unchanged from the

replaced leather. Despite this continuity, there

previous couple of years The female shape

had already been occasional hints of change on

consisted of wide, padded shoulders; a narrow

the runways of the fashion salons in both Paris

natural waistline; thin hips; and a skirt that fell

and New York, where a number of designers

to just below the knee. Heavy shoes provided

had been experimenting with a new silhouette

a counterbalance in both cases. Accessories

focusing on the waist. For the moment, however,

were still essential for women. Hats remained

there were more serious things to worry about.

popular, with styles varying from those tipped over the forehead to those planted firmly on the back of the head. During the war, however,

R A T I O N I N G

hats were increasingly replaced by fabric head scarves and turbans, especially for women

All military personnel, on both sides of the

involved in war work in factories. It could be

Atlantic, had to be equipped with weapons and

said that hats were one of the casualties of

clothing, which meant that factories had to swing

war. Purses took the form of small box bags,

from producing consumer goods to war goods.

especially in black plastic patent with a mirror

The government also specified that no “enemy”

in the lid. For daytime, women carried overthe

products were to be used for the wedding dress,

shoulder bags or large “clutch” bags without

which meant that British designer Norman Hartnell could use neither

handles. “Crushed” suede gloves with flaring

Japanese seed pearls nor Italian silk. In the United States restrictions and

cuffs were popular for day wear. These were

embargos were also having an effect. The ban on Japanese silk thread

elbow length but were worn casually pushed

meant that nylon was replacing silk for stockings, but nylon itself was

down the arm; hence the name crushed.

also required for military uses.

THE STOCKING STORY

WINNING THE PEACE The end of the war brought its own problems. The process of demobilization released millions of men from military service, and finding work for them was an urgent priority.

Suddenly, the women workers were no longer needed.

Governments began a crash program to persuade them that their place, happiness, and future were in the home, while the men themselves had to readjust to home life and the realization that in their absence, the women had managed quite well without them.

V FOR VICTORY IN WAR WORK As the factories moved into munitions and other war production, consumer goods became scarce, and rationing was the only fair way of distributing limited supplies to everyone. Some raw materials were completely unavailable and sacrifices had to be made, while general shortages led to some ingenious solutions.

Cuffs, double yokes, patch pockets, and attached hoods were all banned as part of a general “no fabric on fabric ” rule.

SEAMS AN ILLUSION

This is the first pair of experimental nylon

Experimental nylon stockings made by

stockings made by Union Hosiery Company for

DuPont in 1937. The leg of the stocking is

DuPont in 1937.

nylon, the upper welt, toe and heel are silk, and cotton is used in the seam. (National

Silk and nylon stockings were in short supply: in Britain, they had vanished from shops completely by December 1940. Pants hid their absence, but women also resorted to Cyclax Stocking-less Cream, or other forms of leg makeup, completing the illusion of stockings by drawing “seams” down the back of the legs with an eyebrow pencil.

Museum of American History)

INVENTION OF NYLON BY DUPONT 1

NYLON STOCKINGS

Nylon a by-product of petroleum pioneered by the DuPont company in the 1930s—was first used for women’s stockings and lingerie, but during the war, most output went to supply the military demand for parachutes, ropes, and tires. When American manufacturers were released from war-time restrictions, however, the demand for nylon hosiery was so high that the word nylons quickly replaced stockings. The advantages of nylon for underwear were considerable.

Advertising promoted its qualities as easily washable, shrink proof, and quick drying, as well as lightweight and long lasting. “Goodbye to mending” was the message. It could be produced in all weights of fabric, from heavy fake fun furs to the sheerest of lingerie. It could feel as soft as silk, yet be stiff enough to hold out the circular skirts of a dance dress.

NYLON REVOLUTION When American manufacturers were released from wartime restrictions, however, the demand for nylon hosiery was so high that the word nylons quickly replaced stockings. The advantages of nylon for underwear were considerable. Advertising promoted its qualities as easily washable, shrink proof, and quick drying, as well as lightweight and long lasting. “Goodbye to mending” was the message. It could be produced in all weights of fabric, from heavy fake fun furs to the sheerest of lingerie.

It could feel as soft as silk, yet be stiff enough to hold out the circular skirts of a dance dress.

WORLD

WAR

II NYLON

RIOTS

Although most nylon was used to make stockings, some was bought by the American military to replace silk in the manufacture of parachutes.

When the United States entered the war, DuPont shifted nylon production to a war footing and production was channeled uses,

into

including

national

defense

parachutes

and

bomber tyres, and supplies of nylon for stockings dried up. Silk stockings were also unavailable, as trade with Japan ceased and the American army requisitioned all stores of silk for use in munitions. American women were not that badly off as they still had access to rayon or cotton stockings.

BRYAN

NYLONS

SURRE ALISTIC SALVADOR

ADS

BY

DALI

SURREALISTS | OBJECTS AND ILLUSIONS Surrealism was one of the major international art movements of the thirties. Initiated in the 1920s by André Breton—who wrote its manifesto—and drawing on the Dada movement, dreams, and Freudian analysis, Surrealism was initially a literary movement involving writers like Louis Aragon, Jean Cocteau, and Paul Eluard but soon moved on to embrace the visual. This disruption in the traditional role, scale, and association was intended to shock the viewer and produce a completely new interpretation of the scene. There was no single Surrealist style. Some paintings are eerie landscapes inhabited by objects that are not identifiable from the conscious world, while others, like Dalí’s “dreamscapes,” place distorted familiar objects into strange locations. Influential on art and literature, Surrealism also began to affect fashion.

And not only in the way that fashion was presented—in illustration, photography and window displays— but in the clothes themselves.

“

The Surrealists were fascinated by objects removed from their usual setting and seen in some new, often bizarre context

the appearance of stockings. The first versions stained dresses and ran off in the rain. Newer versions were better, and came in liquid, cream or powder that was mixed with water. Several different shades were usually offered to complement different skin tones.

Across the Atlantic, where supplies were

more

limited

and

clothing

rationing more extreme, the stocking situation was much worse. Women in England were issued with 60 clothes coupons per year and stockings took two of those plus cash. The first time English women had the opportunity to try nylons was after the American military arrived in 1942. As silk and Applying leg make-up. Drawing

nylon stockings vanished from the

an even, straight line down the

shelves, women looked to alternatives.

back of the leg was the most

Depending on the occasion, what

difficult part.

was available, they substituted with stockings made from other fibres, wore

During the war any available silk, nylon, and

socks, covered their legs with trousers,

sometimes

make

went bare-legged or used leg make-

parachutes, tents and other fine materials. To get

up – also known as cosmetic stockings,

the 1940s nylon look without hose, women began

liquid stockings, bottled stockings and

to stain their legs with brown household items like

phantom hose – to give the appearance

gravy browning, coffee and cocoa powder to give

of stockings.

Rayon

were

needed

to

COSME TIC STOCK INGS LEG MAKEUP

LIQUID

STOCK INGS

ADS Some cosmetic companies had been making leg make-up to give legs the appearance of a tan, e.g., Dorothy Gray’s Finishing Lotion introduced in 1929 and Elizabeth Arden’s Velva Beauty Film released in 1933. Mostly these were variations on liquid powders used to even out skin tones on arms, legs and other exposed parts of the body. There were also products that were made specifically as a stocking substitute, such as Doraldina Leg Makeup released by the Doraldina Company in 1927.

The description below is of a ‘hosiery cream’ sold in London in 1929; unfortunately it is unnamed.

Leg make-up sales were low in the early part of the war but picked up as manufacturers improved their products and sales techniques, and women got more desperate. Even so, sales never met early expectations, mainly due to the poor quality of the products – it was very difficult to produce a fluid product that did not separate out in the bottle, that dried quickly, and left a water repellent film after it was applied. Many of the brands suffered from pigment separation and only a few were waterproof. Acceptance and repeat business also suffered from the fact that leg

seamed stockings also known as just nylons. Nylon was being used so much to make stockings instead of silk that ‘nylons’ became synonymous with stockings. Although seamless circular knit stockings were manufactured too, most women continued to wear stockings with a seam up the back. Seamless stockings looked too much like bare legs, and the seam-free version took a long time to take off. They were most often worn for special occasions in an ultra sheer gauge. Most stockings were fully fashioned meaning they were knit into the shape of a leg rather than as a stretchy tube like they are today. They were Held up by garter belts or girdles. They didn’t always fit the shape of

N Y LO N S TO C K I N G S PA I R E D W I T H N Y LO N LINGERIE.

I N V E N T I O N O F LY C R A

Early1950 wardrobe would be incomplete without classic

the leg and girls had to constantly run to the ladies room Early 50s used Nylon because it was the end of the WW2 and the Nylon came again into market. It was 1959 when DuPont invented Lycra. Unlike 1940s stockings, 1950s seams were often black regardless of body tone. The forties wanted a subtle seam while the 1950s embraced the visible seam. Both skin tone and black seams were equally popular in the 1950s. Another innovation of the 1950s was a new kind of knit, "micro-mesh". They were developed to help prevent runs in the stockings. Micro-mesh has a smooth, matte finish which resists laddering, and was very popular during the late 50s and 60s. Micro mesh is a type of knitting construction incorporating tuck stitches usually in a diagonal configuration to give improved durability characteristics.

19 5 0 ’ S

and fix sagging nylons and straighten back seams.

Seamless Reinforced

stockings heel

and

were toe

made (RHT).

with Classic

RHTs are generally made from 100% Non stretch nylon and along with fully fashioned stockings, are the most reminiscent of the golden era of the 1950s. They are produced on circular knitting machines and are shaped by tightening the stitches. An exciting part of wearing 1950s stockings was the heels– Cuban heels or point heel. Classic RHTs are generally made from 100% Non stretch nylon and along with fully fashioned stockings, are the most reminiscent of the golden era of the 1950s.

RHT stockings do not have a seam when made with Lycra. Cuban heel is a type of the heel on a fully fashioned stocking whereby the reinforced part is squared off the above the back of ankle, rather than tapering to a A few fun designs for the youth embraced

point, helping to emphasize the length and

musical motifs, animals, butterflies, flowers, bows

shape of the leg, called as “personality heels”

and people. It was also possible to order nylons

They were detailed and sexy and added a little

with a monogram of initials.

personality to the outfit. Fancier heel types extended the design up the back of the leg,

REINFORCED HEEL

&

TOE

but usually no higher than low calf. Designs could be stitched in with black thread or “flocked” with velvet like dust pressed into the nylon. Most designs were geometric squares, points, arrows, checks, dots, lace and double stripes.

EMERGENCE OF NEW CONSUMER MARKET Nylons were back in

January 1, 1950, was like any other New Year’s Day.

circulation after the

There was no change of direction on the political,

shortages of the forties. But

economic, or fashion scenes to mark the start of the

the wonder fiber wasn’t just

new decade. The election of World War II hero Dwight

for lingerie and stockings.

D. Eisenhower as president in 1952 was a milestone in a

As this advertisement

decade when many were looking back to the alliances

indicates, it was now being

and achievements of World War II as something

used extensively in men’s

solid to hold on to in a world newly split by East–West

underwear, socks, and

tension and the terrifying possibility of nuclear war.

sportswear.

This conservative mood dominated the early years of the decade, both in the United States and in Europe, where conditions were quite different. America had emerged from the war years with increased prosperity.

Wartime restrictions had been quickly removed, and

felt good. But the world was changing. The People’s Republic had been established in China

the new “consumer society” was forging ahead, helped

in 1949. India was enjoying the independence gained from Britain at the end of 1947. In Egypt,

by such new developments as the start of the credit

the year 1952 symbolized a new beginning with the departure of King Farouk, while the death

card system in 1950. But many European countries,

of Joseph Stalin in 1953 marked the end of an era for citizens of the Soviet Union. emergence

Britain included, were still rebuilding their shattered

of new consumer market World War II had brought the end of the European colonial empires,

economies, and there rationing continued well into the

and third world countries were striving toward economic development and political unity.

next decade. These quite different conditions, however,

Although the war was over, the American government and military—and the general public—

produced the same effect on fashion—a veering away

were becoming increasingly apprehensive about the extent of Communist influence in Asia

from the radical and ex- treme and a tendency to

and at home. Communism had to be contained, whether in the rice paddies of Korea or in

prefer the safe and normal. With the memory of the

the film studios of Hollywood. As a last resort, the thinking went, the nuclear bomb would

war still so fresh in many people’s minds, “normal”

deter the enemy, and the decade saw a number of political crises when everyone thought the bomb just might be used.

W

hen DuPont didn’t pursue the fitness

market,

in

1958,

they

invented Lycra and discovered that

it could add stretch to nylon. Lycra has an ability to stretch (up to 5 times its original length) and recover totally. By controlling the tension of the

Seamless stockings Appeared barelegged, thought to be unladylike.

Lycra in knitting, the strength of the elasticity can be controlled. Lycra can be used in its bare form (i.e. No covering). This sis most economical, but is not suited to all applications. Alternatively, Lycra can be single covered or double covered.

Covering increases the thickness and changes the handle characteristics of the yarn. It also adds to the yarn’s durability and costs. It s also possible to mix nylon and Lycra together by air jet, as an alternative to covering. These are known as air intermingled yarns and are widely used in support stockings.

LY C R A

THE FIBER OF THE DECADE Another innovation of the 1950s was a new kind of knit, "micro-mesh, type of knitting construction incorporating tuck stitches usually in a diagonal configuration to give improved durability characteristics.". Micro-mesh knits were developed to help prevent runs in the stockings. It has a smooth, matte finish which resists laddering, and was very popular during the late 50s and 60s.

SEAMLESS STOCKINGS lycra is knitted into every course giving a supremely smooth and comfortable fabric with stretch in all directions and a second skin fit. Wearers will experience exceptional comfort of Lycra 3D stocking and the clear, even color coverage of the leg wear. The unique softness and silkiness is apparent the moment the product is taken out of the pack. This dramatically

improved

the

fit

and

comfort of hosiery and helped introduce seam-free stockings to the market. “onesize fits all” by Lycra began to outpace the seamed stockings. During the nylon period, there was an overabundance of stockings in varying shapes, sizes, and designs, which show the property of being not particularly stretchy / elastic of nylon compared to Lycra. Instead of 10-20 sizes in a line of stockings, there only needed to be 3-5 sizes thro Lycra 3D process. Lycra almost completely dispended to produce ‘suspender belts’.

washboard, and heavy mangle would be dragged out or—for those lucky enough to own one—the lumbering top-loader washing machine with integral mangle. Suddenly, artificial fabrics came to the rescue. Some of them had been around for several years, but only in the 1950s was there large-scale production, dramatically increasing supply and lowering costs.

Lines produced down a stocking giving a

AN ARTIFICIAL FREEDOM Laundry Trouble - The media continually exhorted women to “wash whiter” as part of their wifely and motherly duty. Commercial laundries and dry cleaners weren’t cheap, and anyway, dry cleaning removed the waterresistant finishes from garments until new processes were introduced in 1959. Laundromats were still few and far between, so once a week the boiler,

watered effect. These are caused by the needles on which the stocking has been knitted being out of alignment. No stocking showing this can be regarded as first quality.

B E AT N I K The young Brigitte Bardot was one of the few European actresses to achieve cult status in the United States. Taken up by the beat generation in their hunger for anything French, exotic, and sexy, she was already enjoying a high profile as a magazine celebrity and pinup when she starred in husband Roger Vadim’s movie

And

God

Created

Woman in 1956. The movie, about an amoral teenager in a respectable small town, suited Bardot’s

teenage

sexuality

West Coast, ideas spread to New York’s Greenwich Village, while

perfectly. “She is every man’s

Allen Ginsberg’s protest poem Howl was heard as far afield as the

idea of the girl he’d like to meet

jazz clubs and coffee bars of London. Disquiet over established

in Paris,” declared one film

values was reflected in dress. The message was not just anti-

critic. The beat movement had

establishment but antifashion. The clean-shaven look and neat

similarities with the postwar

hairstyle for men were out, as was the immaculately pressed gray

existentialist movement, when

flannel suit. Turtle- or polo-neck sweaters, preferably black, or a

students

intellectuals

crumpled shirt and unpressed trousers, khaki pants, or jeans were

would meet in Parisian bistros

in. As for the young beatnik woman, she dressed just as casually, in

to talk and argue over the

a black leotard, perhaps, or a long, heavy “sloppy Joe” sweater over

latest writing of Albert Camus,

a long black skirt and black tights. Occasionally, she wore tight-

Jean- Paul Sartre, and Simone

fitting straight-leg corduroy pants but always with flat-heeled

de Beauvoir. From America’s

ballet pumps.

and

Black was definitely the color for the beatniks. The focal point of all the activity was the coffeehouse, the favorite meeting place

B E AT N I K S : PL AY I N G I T CO O L

for real and would-be beatniks in the early fifties. Here one could

Beatniks were “hip,” “cool,” and “groovy” and considered

listen to play or poetry readings and “cool” music, either on the

themselves in rebellion against the “square” world of the

jukebox or from a live jazz band. But mainly one could just hang

establishment. “Hip” could be anything from be-bop jazz to

out, lingering over a cup of cappuccino or espresso. Rebellious

Buddhism to just walking in a particular way, defined as “a

Beatnik women developed a distinctly recognizable style in the

catlike walk from the hips.” “Hip” also meant turning away from

1950s and 1960s. They gave up trying to follow trendy fashion,

the dress and even the speech of the white middle class toward

opting instead for loose men’s shirts over slacks or faded jeans,

the music and culture of black America. Paris and San Francisco

and plaid skirts with black stockings. These very dark stockings

remained the twin centers of the beatnik universe, but groups

had very little Sheerness to them. In many cases black leggings

of beatniks or beatnik imitators sprang up in towns across

or snug fitting ankle pants were worn instead of stockings and a

the world. The beat style included black berets, black slacks,

pair with a jersey shirt or loose sweater. Needless to say the normal

and dark glasses. Flat shoes for women and sandals for men

society did not appreciate the Beat style. None of 50s catalogs

were the popular footwear. Beatnik girls were recognizable by

even offer black stockings for sale. It was clearly an underground

their all-black outfits and lavish use of elaborate eye makeup.

anti-fashion movement.

Black skirts, black leotard tops, and black tights were the beat girl’s fashion choice, although wearing the clothes was as close as some would get to the beatnik way of life. The beatnik message was, “Be cool.” This meant a completely new

Jacques Fath’s stark colors

approach to fashion, and the “right” thing to wear definitely

and simple, structured

wasn’t something from an expensive fashion house. “Being

shapes proved more

cool” meant being in the know—a very attractive idea for those

popular in the United

with limited money to spend. The beatniks’ biggest impact

States than in his native France, but wherever it was worn, this outfit was definitely intended for the indvidualist. There is a hint of the ultra- sophisticated beatnik about it.

on fashion was in this new way of thinking about clothes. As the sixties unfolded, some beatnik attitudes worked their way into the heart of the fashion industry through the boutique and flower power or psychedelic revolutions. These later and much more startling styles of dress were to make the once outrageous beatniks seem almost respectable.

ITS SEPTEMBER 1964 AND YOU ARE STILL STRUGGLING WITH GARTERS. ISN’T IT TIME YOU TRIED GLEN RAVEN PANTI - LEGS

19 6 0 ’ S

as never before. Young people in the West were benefiting from the postwar industrial boom and had begun to refashion themselves accordingly. The existing fashion business wasn’t always able or willing to deal with this shift in demand, so the youth market would largely belong to a new generation of designers.

Fashion split the age groups. Extra cash in young people’s pockets meant extra freedom—freedom for the imagination, freedom for creative and provocative ideas. The world was becoming a smaller place as people began to take the idea of the global village for granted. The new freedom of youth made itself felt on both sides of the Atlantic, and it also began to make ripples farther afield—in Japan, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

INVENTION OF PANT YHOSE In 1953, Allen Gant Sr.'s wife, Ethel came up with an idea to create stocking that combined both undergarments when her pregnancy made it difficult for her to adjust her necessary stockings and garters. Pantyhose came along in 1959, but it wasn’t until the swinging '60s that they became popular. Unlike thighhigh stockings, pantyhose combined underwear and hosiery to simplify leg coverage. The dawning of the mini skirt—which was too short to be worn with stockings and garters—popularized the garment. The 1960s ushered in a revolution in both fashion and

This view was most welcoming only for lingerie photo

feminism. Seamed varieties had started to die out by the early

shoots. It was ‘The Street power suit era’ which led Panty

60S, at least partially form the counter culture (Hippie & Mod)

hose was at its peak. To show, “a bit of stocking”, was no

movements & an increasing preference for tights and pantyhose.

longer accepted

YOUTH

fashions, which had begun to take shape in the fifties, blossomed

THE NEW FREEDOM OF

The 1960s were a great time to be young. Youth culture and youth

3. In wearing pantyhose, skin chafing at the foot can be prevented, also hiding skin imperfections like skin color, blemishes, bruises, hair, scars & other things help beautify women’s legs.

A glimpse of shadow welt or welt on view

1. The most revolutionary launch of the Sixties, however, was the re-advent of one-piece tights as we know them today.

2. With the trend for hemlines creeping higher

and

higher,

model

Twiggy

and her peers needed a product that worked in harmony with their Mary Quant miniskirts.

‘THE STREET P O W E R SU I T E R A’

POP S TA R S The movie version of West Side Story, hitting the screen in 1961, was a timely reminder that teenage street violence and racial tensions were still high on the agenda.

P

op music also went through enormous

a smart, stylish, and upwardly mobile

changes— people even began to take

image, insisting on extensive grooming

it seriously as an art form. The charts

and styling for its artists before public

were virtually taken over by young, even

appearances. The alliance of fashion with

teenage artists, who were making the music

pop music has never been closer. All these

young listeners most wanted to hear. Biggest

artists created their own distinctive styles

of all were the Beatles, four young men

of dress. Dylan developed from beatnik to

from Liverpool, England, who had begun by

hippie to suede-jacketed country rocker.

playing to packed nightclubs in England and

The Beatles moved from chic Pierre

Germany before storming the world stage

Cardin suits to the spaced-out military

in 1963. The Beatles’ clothes and hairstyles

uniforms of the Sgt. Pepper period.

became the most familiar symbols of the new

Motown girl groups like the Supremes

youth culture. Although the Beatles were

dressed themselves up in gloves, satins,

the most popular group, they were strongly

and feather boas; male groups like the

challenged as spokesmen for youth by two

Temptations and the Four Tops went for

other figures: singer-songwriter Bob Dylan

colorcoordinated suits.

and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. Both Dylan and the Stones opted for a rebellious look, wearing outfits that recalled the outlaws of western or gangster movies—and in fact, both Dylan and Jagger have acted in such films. They gave form to Yves Saint Laurent’s remark that “clothes were a form of protest,” and both acquired a host of imitators.

Motown launched the careers of megastars like Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. Instead of taking a rebellious stance, Motown promoted

Everything these artists were expressing about their music and attitudes could be understood at a glance through their clothes. And the freedom that fashion allowed meant that everyone could dress up. All young people, in fact, could think of themselves as performers and “do their own thing.”

OUT OF THE FIFTIES

SPACE R ACE

- EMERGANCE OF THE

impact on people’s thinking

B E AT N I K

Unmanned space missions

Space travel had an enormous throughout

ifties fashion had been dominated by two

expanding our knowledge

strands that completely failed to connect—

of the solar system, and

the styles of the great haute couture

the USSR and USA were

fashion houses and the sudden emergence

engaged in a race to land

of the teenager and teenage fashions. And in

the first man on the moon. In

the fifties, high fashion remained largely the

the meantime, space travel

preserve of the wealthy, making relatively little impact on the dress of the average office worker.

Poles apart from all this were the youth cults

sweater, tight pants, and outrageous behavior in 1960, it could only spell beatnik.

sixties.

to Venus and Mars were

F Bare feet, “Sloppy Joe”

the

that sprang up, often considered as dangerous

had become a major source

Barbarella

of inspiration for both the

(1967), starring

fashion and entertainment

Jane Fonda

industries.

breeding grounds for juvenile delinquency.

American teenage style and its dangers were reflected in the hit movie West Side Story.

T H E S PAC E

AGE

SPACE-AGE HEROS Space-age fever caught on at

SPACE S T YLE

ground level too, with heroes

jumped to prominence in the late fifties, particularly in California and New York.

Jane was the most fashion conscious

like Batman and James Bond

The beat culture was primarily a movement of writers, with Jack Kerouac, Allen

of space fantasies. Based on a futuristic

fitting the hightech mood

Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti some of its leading lights. Certain styles

comic strip, the movie featured bizarre

well. Batman and Robin drove

of dress (and a leaning toward hard-bop jazz) were a fixed part of the beatnik

and minimalist outfits in plastic and

their

attitude: handmade sandals, black turtleneck sweaters, black berets, and tight

vinyl, particularly for the women—see

and dressed in fashionable

black pants. The beatniks’ “outsider” or bohemian attitudes, mixing up popular

through garments, high boots, and

bodysuits, while arch-villain

culture with “high art,” were a foretaste of what the sixties would offer. The

catsuits, with or without leggings.

Catwoman

beatniks themselves spilled over into the new decade—in fact, the beatnik

This form of this look remained high

sported a catsuit—which was

philosophy has never really gone away.

fashion for several years.

only natural.

Standing apart from this were the beatniks, who

futuristic

Batmobile

(Eartha

Kitt)

PSYCHEDELIC

Psychedelic music took its inspiration

EXPLOSION

electronic music, Indian music and

from everywhere—the blues, jazz, rock, even the classical tradition. One of the

era’s iconic figures was guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix’s colorful and exotic shirts and vests, boots, wide-brimmed hats and elaborate jewelry were frequently photographed by fashion magazines. Graphic artists like Peter Max also acquired a taste for psychedelia. There was a broad turning away from self-conscious minimalism and Op Art toward fantasies that used vivid “acid” colors and cartoon imagery. Posters and, above all, album covers reflected this trend. Fashion designers responded to the psychedelic mood by strengthening their colors. Bright and bold purple and orange flower prints on velvet fabrics were made into tight-fitting trousers for men.

FLOWER POWER

In complete contrast to the clean,

GOES HIGH

hippies decorated everything, even

FA S H I O N

the ethnic, and a romanticized view

geometric lines of the “spaceage” look, painting their bodies. The psychedelic, of the past all jostled together. The

hippie woman would not wear a teasing miniskirt, but a floor-length skirt accessorized with love beads and bells. The hippie man, with flowing robe and long, loose hair, presented much the same outline, challenging society’s Pierre Cardin dresses from 1967, with typically eccentric

ideas about masculinity. “You can’t tell the boys from the girls!” was the outraged response.

Everyone started to grow their hair

headgear loosely

HAIR & HEMLINES

based on space

Twiggy wanted hers to her waist. Long hair on boys, however, was often

helmets.

long. By 1969, even the wellgroomed

discouraged or banned in schools. The Beatles continued to grow their hair

still longer, and they adopted not only hippie

and ethnic wear had become just another

carefully groomed Caucasian style and allow

fashions but much of the hippie philosophy.

way of dressing up, with little or no political

themselves to project a much stronger black

The long maxi-skirt, a hippie spin-off, aroused

significance attached. Hippie dress fitted

image. The Family Stone and Isaac Hayes are

much the same anger as the mini. Many girls

in with the new “peacock” attitude to male

good examples. Established artists like Martha

cashed in on this by flaunting both fashions,

dress,

society

and the Vandellas altered their image, while

wearing the shortest of skirts under the

moving toward greater equality between the

hard-core soul artists like James Brown began

longest of coats.

sexes. Men either dressed up as a form of self-

to attract a mainstream following

expression or to attract women, just as women

black ethnic look became more popular, “afro”

had always dressed up to attract men.

hairstyles spread as far afield as Japan.

The declining infant mortality rate meant that

The ethnic mood was also fueled by cheaper

for the first time in history, there were more

and more ambitious travel, with exotic places

men than women to go around. Men needed

like Bali and Nepal suddenly becoming

to compete with one another to gain attention,

realistic destinations. The focus of fashion

while women were taking advantage of the

was beginning to extend beyond Europe and

chance to dress more simply, in practical

North America. The world might be getting

pantsuits—and especially jeans. “You can’t

smaller, but the fashion map was becoming

tell the boys from the girls these days” was a

more diverse all the time.

HIPPIE POWER The hippie ideals of peace and love have often been ridiculed in the years since the sixties, but it is worth remembering that the movement grew up against a backdrop of compulsory military service, at least in the United States, where the hippie movement had its roots.

Hippiedom was worldwide, and all you had to do to join was to let your hair grow. Although members of what was at bottom a political and moral movement rejecting Western materialism and its money hungry “rat race,” hippies set the tone for much of the fashion of the late sixties. They set the seal on the “anything goes” attitude, which had been building in force for some time, happily mixing up ethnic and psychedelic influences.

In fact, the hippies had such a widespread impact that by the early seventies, long hair

considered

suitable

for

a

frequent complaint. “Unisex” dressing was the style: young hippie men and women wore their hair long, with headbands, and dressed in worn-out jeans. Anything, in fact, that was not “neat.”

Another by-product of hippie culturen was the general acceptance of varied styles of “ethnic” dress, although the prime movers in this area were black musicians and the Black Power organizations. African-American pop stars in particular began to drop the

As the

This 1966 Young Jaeger outfit of black and white mini dress, clear PVC coat, and boots typifies the mid to late 1960s, combining the influence of Op and Pop art with a hint of space age travel.

OP POP AND BE YOND

They

were

quite different, a l t h o u g h equally popular.

The

Pop

Art

movement had

begun in the fifties, spearheaded by artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and Peter Blake. The key was the use of massproduced, commercial images— from cartoon strips or Warhol’s famous soup can— often repeated or enlarged to focus attention on their “deeper” meaning.

Pop Art became part and parcel of fashion, its influence continuing on everything from T-shirts to Fiorucci dresses. Op Art was a separate

movement.

Painters

like

Victor

Vasarely and Bridget Riley set out to explore and exploit the dramatic, trick-optic effects of line and contrasting areas of color.

Designers

like

Courrèges

and

Ungaro

produced garments heavily influenced by Op Art, while chain stores cashed in on the bold One of Helmut Newton’s Pop Art/Op Art fashion

“black-and-white” theme with boots, coats and

shots for Queen magazine, Spring 1966. A new

hats, usually made in vinyl or other artificial

generation of fashion photographers was reshaping

fabrics. Bridget Riley’s Op Art paintings were

the ways in which fashion was presented to the

used as a basis for a series of textile designs by

public.

Julian Tomchin.

T

he new decade had begun to show its true face by 1963.

This was the year of worldwide

Beatlemania, and it was also the year that the mod cult—short for “moderns”—erupted in Britain. Mods personified the early years of the Swinging

Sixties—youth,

mobility

(mods lived by their motor scooters), fashion (they spared no expense on their clothes). But by 1964 a series of pitched battles at British seaside resorts between groups of mods and rival Boss look for parties | mod culture

Mini skirt paired up with stockings, Mary Quants designs | Quant cult

Actress Charlotte Rampling,

Jean Shrimpton at the

March 1967

Melbourne races in Australia.

rockers—”greaser”

motorcycle

gangs—had given mods a bad name.

By the mid-sixties, they had begun to fade out.

MOD C U LT

Significant elements of the mod subculture

black turtlenecks, and the Teddy Boys, from

point was undoubtedly the launch of the

included fashion (often tailor-made suits);

which mod fashion inherited its “narcissitic

miniskirt—a fashionable skirt that rose eight

pop music, including African American

and fastidious [fashion] tendencies” and the

or nine inches above the knee and stayed

soul, Jamaican ska, and British beat music

immaculate dandy look. The Teddy Boys

there, at least until the arrival of maxi and

and R&B; and Italian motor scooters. The

paved the way for making male interest in

midi lengths in 1969–70. Like Saint Laurent,

original mod scene was also associated with

fashion socially acceptable, because prior

Quant moved away from the traditional role

amphetamine-fuelled all-night dancing at

to the Teddy Boys, male interest in fashion

of the fashion designer, producing her own

clubs. From the mid-to-late 1960s onwards,

in Britain was mostly associated with the

collection of tights with open-mesh designs

the mass media often used the term mod

underground

and original lace effects and starting her own

in a wider sense to describe anything that

flamboyant dressing style. The subculture

was believed to be popular, fashionable

had strong elements of consumerism and

or modern. There was a mod revival in the

shopping, mods were not passive consumers;

United Kingdom in the late 1970s, which was

instead they were very self-conscious and

followed by a mod revival in North America

critical, customising “existing styles, symbols

in the early 1980s, particularly in Southern

and artefacts” such as the Union flag and the

California. Coffee bars were attractive to

Royal Air Force roundel symbol, and putting

youths, because in contrast to typical British

them on their jackets in a pop art-style, and

pubs, which closed at about 11 pm, they were

putting their personal signatures on their

open until the early hours of the morning.

style. Female mods dressed androgynously,

Coffee bars had jukeboxes, which in some

with short haircuts, men’s trousers or shirts

cases reserved some of the space in the

(sometimes their boyfriend’s), flat shoes, and

machines for the students’ own records. In

little makeup — often just pale foundation,

the late 1950s, coffee bars were associated

brown eye shadow, white or pale lipstick and

with jazz and blues, but in the early 1960s, they

false eyelashes. Quant had been designing

began playing more R&B music. Two youth

and manufacturing her own clothes since

subcultures helped pave the way for mod

the late fifties, but the young, fun fashions

fashion by breaking new ground; the beatniks,

she designed began to take off in the

with their bohemian image of berets and

atmosphere of the early sixties. Her high

homosexual

subculture’s

range of cosmetics.

Female mods pushed the boundaries of parental tolerance with their miniskirts, which got progressively shorter between the early and mid-1960s, this was often paired with stockings.

M

ary Quant played a

key

role

in

launching

miniskirt.

As

a

the fashion,

the mini was worn most effectively

by

the

very

young. Teamed up with

The image of the sixties: Twiggy’s boyish looks and stick-thin figure made her the numberone model for the

Three outfits from 1967 that manage to combine the

miniskirt.

rebellious schoolgirl look with the essential boyishness of the decade.

geometric black and white Op Art patterns, the mini became an essential part of the developing mod girl image and quickly spread around the world. Models like Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, and Penelope Tree became personifications of the new look.

Mary

“Twiggy” her

Quant

used

mannequins

chain

of

in

boutiques.

Young girls tried to copy the “Twiggy look,” with huge, heavily made-up eyes, or the “Shrimp look,” copying Jean

Shrimpton’s

Everywhere,

old

bangs. ideas

about fashion were being turned upside down. Youth seemed to be taking over completely.

THE MINI MAKES DIFFERENCE

Some were shocked by skirts cut eight or nine inches above the knee, others saw the mini as a sign of greater freedom and relaxation in dress

19 7 0 ’ S

THE WOMENS MOVEMENT

By the late sixties, “minority” groups—

feminist

blacks or gay people and women—were

Spare Rib began to question who the

becoming more visible and audible in the

photographs were for. Men dominated

political arena. The publication of feminist

the

texts gathered momentum during the

professions, yet images of women in

seventies.

fashionable dress or promoting a product

They

often

discussed

the

position of women in society, focusing on the roles of mother, wife, and lover.

Germaine Greer’s

magazines

advertising

like

and

the

British

photography

were mainly looked at by other women.

An idea taken from the gay liberation movement

was

that

stereotyped

The Female Eunuch, published in 1971,

differences between male and female

challenged traditional perceptions of

could be broken down by cross-dressing.

femininity.

period

This was taken up by women who wanted

did not just treat women as fashion

to make an impression in a man’s world.

consumers but took into account new

Discarding skirts and high heels in favor

values and lifestyles, including careers.

of heavy boots and jeans was one way

The

An,

of downplaying the traditional images

launched in March 1970, covered Western

of femininity, which were thought to be

fashion and included features on food,

male-imposed standards. For the first

travel, and American ideals of women’s

time in history, women’s pantsuits were

independence. The British and the US

accepted as stylish city wear. By 1978,

editions of Cosmopolitan offered frank

padded shoulders and tailored coats

advice on sex, how to take the initiative in

were popular, both reflecting the radical

meeting men, as well as information on

feminism of the early seventies and

makeup, and the body. Even so, fashion

anticipating the power dressing of the

and fashion photography went on. But

yuppie eighties.

Magazines

Japanese

of

the

publication

An

On June 28, 1970, the anniversary of riots that followed a police raid on a gay bar in New York City, the Gay Liberation Front organized a march from Greenwich Village to Central Park. Since then, gay pride marches have become annual events in cities around the world and have taken on a festive, Mardi Gras-like character, often involving floats, dancers, drag queens, and loud music.

Possibly the most lasting image of the seventies has been punk. The term “punk” was first used in relation to rock music by some American critics in the early 1970s, to

THE PUNK

describe garage bands and their devotees. By late 1976, bands such as the Ramones in New York City and the Sex Pistols and The Clash in London were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical movement. The following year saw punk rock spreading around the world, and it became a major cultural phenomenon in the United Kingdom. For the most part, punk took root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. An associated punk subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive styles of clothing and adornment and a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies.

In 1976–77, punk got so much media attention that it has overshadowed the original American rock stage acts from which many elements of its style came. In early 1975, John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) adopted the short, spiky haircut that typifies punk—he had seen it in a photo of New York art band singer Richard Hell, who had invented the style in 1974. The New York Dolls and the Ramones, wearing jeans deliberately torn just below the knee, were very influential, as were Television, who wore their hair short in direct contrast to the hippies. Many groups went even further than wild hairstyles with stage performances that often caused controversy. Alice Cooper, for instance, worked simulated killings into his performances during 1972.

part of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ image. Siouxsie Sioux’s hacked haircut became

women in a major way. There were a number of

a key element of the “Goth” look, which is now considered typically punk. In fact,

influential figures from the American rock scene—

it was more part of a New Wave stage act—pure attention seeking, with hints

rock poet Patti Smith, for example, who wore layer

more of glamour than of shock. By the late seventies, New-Wave styles in fashion

upon layer of cardigans, men’s shirts, ties, and big jackets, all of different lengths. Another look of hers included a loose-fitting, frumpish dress worn with heavy, unlaced work boots. She modeled her look on the clothes and attitude of male rock heroes, especially Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix and on the French poet Rimbaud. Another American, Debbie Harry, lead singer of Blondie, created a sensation early in her career through shock gimmicks in her stage act. She appeared in a New York nightclub wearing a white wedding dress and then ripped it off while belting out “Rip Her to Shreds.” More sixties cast-offs, like skinny-rib sweaters and shift dresses and aggressively hard, shiny synthetic fabrics, were adopted by Fay Fife of the Rezillos, Pauline of Penetration, and Polystyrene of X-Ray Spex. Ski pants or fishnet stockings completed some outfits. These band members asserted their sexual freedom and poked fun at the radical feminists’ denouncement of

PRIESTESSES OF PUNK

Punk is arguably one youth culture that involved

fashion, while the B-52s played on a fifties cocktail-

and music—a neater, brighter, and more commercial form of punk—entered the

drinking society with their enormous wigs and

mainstream, taking over the hardcore black leather and plastic anarchic look. Thus,

secondhand glamour dresses. Secondhand clothes,

punk came to be seen as having more to do with fashion than with the subculture

hair cut into weird shapes, and daring makeup were

that it is sometimes made out to represent.

the “Me Decade.” The problem was, lots of “Me’s” were fighting for a piece of the action. Politically extremist and fundamentalist groups committed acts of terrorism. In terms of dress, fashion magazines declared, “Anything goes.” No rules applied any more. Nostalgia and an interest in traditional cultures of the developing world were elements that ran through the decade, from radical chic to punk. Retro styles were promoted by films like The Great Gatsby (1974), in which Mia Farrow and Robert Redford wore twenties-style clothes, and the American TV show Happy Days, based on the popular film American Graffiti, which centered on fifties teenagers. Hard as fashion tried to promote them, elements of past styles were no escape from the very real social, political, and environmental upheavals of the present. The energy crisis; increasing unemployment and world recession; the civil rights, gay liberation, and women’s movements; growing concern over the future of the environment, focusing on ecology and antinuclear strategies; demands for political recognition and independence; terrorism, bombing, and hijacking; the arrival of the computer microchip—all these elements were reflected in the way people dressed. The world seemed smaller. The Concorde, the first supersonic airplane, took to the skies. Charter lines sprang up, offering cheap transatlantic travel, and American fastfood chains like McDonald’s and Colonel Sanders’s Kentucky Fried Chicken spread across Europe.

NO RULES AND ANYTHING GOES

It was writer Tom Wolfe who dubbed the seventies

You Are What You Wear

The idea of dress was a system of signs, indicating the lifestyle and aspirations of the wearer, was taken very seriously in the 1970s ( semiotics )

DISCO KINGS AND QUEENS

The of

summer 1970

worn leotards with all kinds of decoration: short frilled skirts, cap sleeves,

was

spots, stripes, and rhinestones. These were also worn for exercise and for

the

ice skating. They were sometimes worn with leg warmers, a feature that

newspapers

began as warmup wear for the gym or in the dance studio and ended

“the

up as a fashion statement. Hot pants—extra-skimpy shorts— were big

coined

ever.”

by

nudest But

the

news in the early seventies. Fashion writer for the New Yorker Kennedy

tiny bikinis and swimsuits of that year were nothing compared

Fraser noted: “Satin shorts are vulgar. Knitted shorts are nice, and

with the exaggeratedly high legs of 1976 or minimal swimsuits

crocheted shorts are delightful, but both are hard to wear.” Hot pants of

like the “String,” the “Savage,” and the “Thong,” promoted by Los

leather, suede, and velvet were generally considered okay and had the

Angeles-based Rudi Gernreich, who was designing Lycra body

advantage of softening once worn in. The new generation of designers

wear for the French firm Lily. The impression that the body had

who created “fun” clothing for teenagers included Americans Bill Blass

been spray-painted was created by the new range of leotards,

and Geoffrey Beene. Youthful optimism was expressed in color, for this

worn for working out in the gym, for playing ball on the beach,

was one way to stand out from the established designers and the older

or for disco dancing. One of the most innovative and successful

generation. Whether the hemline was maxi or mini, women of any age

manufacturers of leotards was Danskin, which marketed a

could indulge in a pair of colorful striped tights or over-the knee socks—

collection of coordinating body wear, leotards with contrasting

preferably clashing with the feet, which might be in scarlet work boots,

tights and wrap around skirts. For disco dance young women

emerald green squaretoed sandals, or fuschia ankle boots.

People moved to dieting & exercising like jogging and dancing Lean & thin silhouette for women. Calvin Klein and Fiorucci followed the fit craze look Skin tight Satin trousers, footless tights, shorts, stockings, leotards, split skirts, strapless cocktail dresses revealed bronzed glossy limbs Transparent fabrics, Opulent colors or black emphasized

FITNESS CRAZE

the boAdy’s erotic zones. Makeup emphasized the sexual message, with vibrant shiny and glossy colors and a wet look on the skin and lips

THE CHIC STYLE

ROLLER COASTING

A

round 1978, in hot pursuit of the skateboarding craze, roller skating and roller disco flashed onto the scene. Lycra and other stretchy, shiny fabrics were especially appropriate

for these sports. Fashion designers were quick to latch onto this, producing a range of clothes to complement the skates. A typical example matched a pale pink satin vest (resembling a loose camisole), with boxer shorts and fuschia pink leather skating boots, worn with the obligatory headband.

19 8 0 ’ S CON T ROL TOP S TO CK INGS

pantyhose had a full replacement. In mid 1980s instead of suspender belts, introduction of “hold ups” with elasticized tops came into fashion as “control top hosiery”, stockings expanded its gain. On the other hand Latex rubber in hold-ups may irritate some people's skin some women considered suspender (garter) belt was the only option in these cases.

By the late 70’s, the synthetic fabrics disappeared from the runways. But they were embraced by the mainstream, at least for a while. Then their artificial, shiny look began to appear tacky as people returned to wearing natural fabric.

Today we may see (or feel) less nylon in our clothes, but its presence, mostly in the form of plastic, is established in our kitchens, bathrooms and offices. And while Phyllis Diller’s legacy lives on as nylon remains an essential ingredient for our reasonably priced stockings, tights, and knee-highs today, when it comes to the flesh-toned pantyhose business, it has taken a tumble in the past couple decades as women were more likely to go barelegged. But DuPont is hard at work creating the next revolutionary material to make them less disposable and more earth-friendly. Stockings have become fashionable again, because pantyhose being uncomfortable in crotch area causes infection as nylon worn close to the genital area can exacerbate any infection present. Its tendency to sag or bag at knees & DuPont Suspender stockings came up with an option of replacing any leg if it is worn out but

DuPont suspenders

1. They have simply gone out of style: Stockings has not been marketed in Cosmo, Vogue, etc, as trendy and stylish is not purchased. The fashionistas for years have been telling young women that only grandmothers and old ladies wear pantyhose, that nude pantyhose makes your legs look like they’re encased in a sausage, and that it also makes your legs look orange.

2. Hosiery is an annoyance and inconvenience to women: They often have runs, which require frequent purchases. Also, a run can cause embarrassment. They are uncomfortable. They have a tendency to slip down, and can create annoying wrinkles in your shoes.

REASONS LEGS WENT BARE the effects of unfriendly razors is long gone.

3. Tan legs are “in”: A function of hosiery (especially nude hose) was to

7. Skirts aren’t as short: The heyday of the miniskirt is long since

improve the tone of the leg. Now that most women tan their legs

gone. With much less leg shown, so there isn’t much need for

and “tan in a bottle” is abundant, this function of hosiery became no

hosiery which improves the appearance of the leg.

longer necessary.

8. That annoying “swishing” sound: It’s certainly not the primary

4. Women gained control over the mass marketed female images

reason hosiery went kaput, but according to the ladies in my

and fashion industry: What women wore and what was deemed

informal poll, it is a contributing factor. The swish-swish-swish

fashionable used to be dictated exclusively by men. If men thought

with every step was often a source of embarrassment.

legs looked better in hose, then women are going to have to wear hose. Now they being independent, they themselves decide what they wear.

5. We’re comfortable showing bare skin: For a time, hosiery basically served to censor a woman’s bare leg. In other words, it was more than a little bit naughty (and in poor taste) to show off a bare leg; now that that taboo is long gone, yet another function of hosiery is gone

9. They look bad with open-toed shoes: much later open toe stockings came from normal stocking doesn’t go harmony with open-toed shoes.

10. Americans have gotten slovenly: Earlier people used to get them dressed up more. Men wore hats and kept their shoes shined. Women wore gloves and were rarely seen outside the home without makeup on. The change from well-groomed

6. Razor blade improvements: Vast improvements in the comfort ease

and “dolled up” to today’s state of shabbiness was a gradual

and effectiveness of modern razors definitely has had an impact.

transition. The hippie counter culture was the first to make

Women’s razor blades of today actually provide a smooth finish

strides in this area. For whatever reason, this casualness just

without carving your legs like a turkey. The need for hosiery to mask

got more and more casual.

stocking "acquired the force of a manifesto … no longer a symbol of slavery, it announced the liberation of the dominatrix" In the twenty-first century, the stocking has come to symbolize “a superior kind of woman, bold enough to exploit her assets … a new concept which object' obsolete”. First Lady Michelle Obama has a penchant for stepping out barelegged, making it acceptable for almost all of us to do the same even for formal occasions. The types of stockings, their shapes, pattern, fabric, fit, color & material had also emerged during each fashion timeline. The true definition of stockings reveals from the 1920s and it ends in the late 80s but continues to be in fashion till now incorporation design alterations.

Patterned stockings

has made the notion of the 'woman as sex

Open toe stockings

1990s was a symbol of masculine desire as the

Gathered stockings

Ankle length stockings

19 9 0 ’ S

Christian Dior Haute Couture A/W 2009/2010 Collection by John Galliano Paris, France. (Source : zimbio)

21 C E N T U R Y STOCKINGS ST

The non-slip gel on the bottom of Kate’s feet

 Kate Middleton nude

Designers launched a transparent

transparent stocking become a

stockings for all skin colors for

Trend - 2011

everyday wear. The transparent stockings are made based on research by the lack of production of stockings for those of you who have dark skin .

CONCLUSION By the late 70’s, the synthetic fabrics disappeared from the runways. But they were embraced by the mainstream, at least for a while. Then their artificial, shiny look began to appear tacky as people returned to wearing natural fabric. Today we may see (or feel) less nylon in our clothes, but its presence, mostly in the form of plastic, is established in our kitchens, bathrooms and offices. And while Phyllis Diller’s legacy lives on as nylon remains an essential ingredient for our reasonably priced stockings, tights, and kneehighs today, when it comes to the flesh-toned pantyhose business, it has taken a tumble in the past couple decades as women are more likely to go bare-legged. But that DuPont is hard at work creating the next revolutionary material to make them less disposable and more earthfriendly.