Beautician painting a product onto a ladies leg to simulate stockings.
"Silktona" Ref
a product
used to
make a ladies leg look like she is wearing.
Aristoc Run-Proof Nylons
Brettles Town& Country Stretch Nylons (1960's)
Where the name "Nylon" came from:-
It is often thought that Nylon was derived from New York &
London ,
in recognition for the part plated by a development team in London ,
however I
have not found any reference to this UK team.www.chemheritage.org
say the name was developed from the word "Norun" , this was
dismissed
because nylon stocking did run , Spelling it backward "nuron" in there
opinion sounded like a nerve tonic,"Nylon" and also "nylon" were
considered, these could be pronounced in different ways, eventually out
of over 300 suggestion the word "Nylon" was adopted.
Nylon stocking advert
Bear Brand Advert
Kayser advert
Over the years there has been a few inventions to help ladies with a few problems associated with wearing hosiery like these stocking guards to stop splashes of water marking the legs as you walk on wet pavements.
Elbeo Rondo (1970's)
Berkshire Nylons
Aristoc nylons stockings
Berkshire 20 denier micro mesh stockings
Berkshire 15 denier plain knit stockings
Pretty Polly run resist stockings
Silver Bow Non Run stockings
Charnos Sheer Luster
M&S Black Motive
Morley Sheer Stretch 15D
Marks and Spencers
GayTime by Elite
GayTime by E
Pretty Polly
Aristoc
Cannon Nylons
claussnen
Berkshire
Wolsey
Sheer nylon Stocking
The nylon stocking was set to revolutionize ladies hosiery, for the first time a pair of stocking would be very sheer, strong and not affected by water. The first nylon stocking was made in America by Dupoint. In late 1939 DuPoint went into full production of nylon stocking, setting up a plant in Seaford, Delaware to make the nylon . By the 15th of May 1940 in New York the first nylons stocking when on sale, selling over 72, 000 pairs in the first day alone, This was after Du Point ran a small trial in a department store in Wilmington, Delaware on 27 October 1939 to test the market it was a huge success with ladies coming from miles around to buy the new nylons, the store selling out in hours. The total sales for the first year are estimated to be around 64 millions pairs. With the new nylon stocking Du Point captured 30% of hosiery market. Nylon was the biggest money spinner Du Point has ever had. On 30 th of March 1939 Dupont made an agreement with ICI (Imperial Chemical company ) for the exclusive rights to produce nylon in the UK , ICI and Courtaulds together set up a third company called British Nylon Spinners ltd (BNS). ICI then transferred is exclusive rights over to BNS in January 1940 to manufacture and distribution of Nylon yarn in the UK. How Nylon was developedHow Nylon was developed
Like
many great
invention, nylon was a by-product of the work started
back in 1926 in the Du Point laboratories. In 1927 the monthly research
budget was $20,000. Dr. Wallace Hume Caruthers joined Du Point in 1928
as head of organic chemistry research at its laboratory in Wilmington
Delaware.
Nylons: The official launchDuponts trade stand. Two ladies having a tug of war with a pair if the new nylon stockings to prove how strong they are. |
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Nylon stockings in the war years.
America enters the Second World War on 7th December 1941) within two months the U.S. government forms the War Production Board (WPB), to regulate the production and allocation of materials, Nylon came under the control of the board the amount of fiber used in civilian clothing was now restricted so by 1943 it was nearly impossible to obtain nylon stocking in the USA.Britain and Germany had been at war for eight months before the first nylons went on sale in America. Germany was trying with success at that time to cut Britain off from America where a lot of essential supplies for Britain came from using its “U” boats fleet. This battle for the Atlantic initially claimed heavy loss of life and shipping a average of 22,000 tons of ships each month. Only essential items were brought shipped over hosiery or nylons was not considered to be a essential item so they were not imported.
The ladies of Britain had to make do and mend a phrase which would become all too familiar as the war progressed they were not going to see nylon stocking in any great numbers until 1951. By 23 January 1941 British nylon spinners had it's first production plant in operation at Coventry it's output of nylon gong to Government contracts, A second plant Stowmarket was also confined to government production mainly Nylon for parachute fabric.
Germany had also developed a man made fiber in total secret called Perlon in 1938 this was also made into stocking in 1938 as ladies stocking was a great way to test this new fiber and show it off, again production was diverted to the German war effort.
The black market and nylons
An illegal black market soon sprung up supplying goods which were not commonly available or on rationing including stockings, it is very unclear how all the stocking found there way onto the black market.
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Very
occasionally sub standard stocking would go on sale
without the need to buy them with valuable coupons these would have
been rayon
and cotton.  |
Another was where a silk mill had a contract to make glider tow rope and with a little false accounting managed to make a large quantity of yarn disappear, subsequently making this yarn up into nylon stocking, other cases included rayon stockings been sold as "Nylons". The documentation for these along with other examples is held at the smithsonian.org
Nylons were now almost imposable to get hold of legally.
Initially ladies would resort to wearing the hosiery they already had store away for special occasion for before the war, these been silk stockings , cotton lisle or rayon, By 1941 clothing rationing had come into effect, Stockings were rationed like all clothing (except second-hand cloths) a lady required 2 clothing coupons to buy 1 pair of stocking out of her total allocation of 66 coupons per year (1941) by the end the allocation had fallen down to 36 per year.
Ladies
joining one of the armed forces then things were slightly
different as you would be issued with a uniform which would include 3
pairs of cotton lisle stockings and two suspender belts/corset, it's
probable with time that the female service personnel would sneak in
there own hosiery and undergarments but this was against regulations if
possible try to find the better quality rayon stockings.
With the build up a American troops in preparation for the invasion of
Europe a small number of nylon stocking were brought into the UK by
these GI’s It was still a very small number
compared to the potential demand these would have been given out to
their girl friends. There may even have been a small number of nylons
made
during the war years from nylon waist for proper gander
purposes it very
difficult to be certain about this.
Resourceful Ladies 
During the war ladies were becoming very resourcefully and one of the things they did if they did not have any “Nylons” then they would try and give the appearance of weaning hosiery simply because then a lady would not feel that she was correctly dress when going out if they were not wearing hosiery.
To achieve the effect of wearing stocking many ladies resorted to carefully draw a seem up her leg with a eye brow pencil or something similar to give the effect of wearing stockings, occasionally they would even try to colour there legs with gravy browning, by now ladies were very inventive and developed different formulas and combination with other house hold products to produce the desired effect, if it rained when she was wearing this then there would be a streaky mess down her leg.
A lady having a seam drawn down the back of her legs to look like is wearing stockings.
A multitude of products were also marketed towards the end of the war for colouring your legs to look like they were wearing stockings. Max Factor brought out a cream around this time to simulate stockings which was applied in a similar way to foundation today, even Pathe News made a news real showing this cream been applied by a lady to her legs , cosmetic were also rationed in war time so the Max factor cream might also have been hard to come by.
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Another way to simulate a seam of a stocking was have a line tattooed on the back of there legs, this was more often done by wife of seamen, who were used to seeing tattoos on there husbands as a long tradition with seamen. Today a few ladies still decide to have a tattoo seam done.
For the ladies who had a pair of nylons to wear the worst thing that could happen was when she got a ladder or run in them as nylons were so precious products were marketed to help her minimize the damage by sealing the thread. One such product was called Ladstick manufactured by Griffith & Associates Ltd of Bristol, most likely made in the later half of the 40's.
Instruction are printed on the back of the packet telling the lady to moisten the tip of the stick in her mouth and rub it onto the top and bottom of the run, it also says that the substance used is not harmful for her. It's the same principle which was used more recently with nail varnish.
Nylon stockings on sale again after the war in limited numbers at first.
Production of nylon yarn for stocking began in the UK again in December 1946 this production of yarn was controlled as it was destined for the exported market to earn valuable money for the country, going to only to a few hosiery knitters on a preferred list, Aristoc been one of them along with I. R Morley's because of it's large number of contact these companies had abroad to market the nylons efficiently. This was possibly the height of the black market for stocking as supplies could also be sent in from America along with a few "falling off the back of lorries" in the UK, this still very was a illegal trade.
In the USA the production of nylon stocking started again in 1946 it took a little while before the production was satisfying demand and in several cities including Pittsburgh fights broke out when 40,000 ladies queued up for 13,000 pairs. Production of nylon for stocking also started up again here in Britain in December 1946 this output when to just a few hosiery knitters the stocking they made were exclusively for export in would not be until 1951when ladies could buy them without using clothing coupons just because clothing was rationed did not mean you could buy any in the shops.
These are a pair of "Nylons" made I would say some time between 1946 and by Brettles "Gilda "nylons stocking made under war time regulation with cc41 mark, it's difficult to say if they wear for the home market or export which every they are a very nice pair and i am sure a lot of ladies would have given a lot to wear them.
Brettles Nylons
Brettles Nylons
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Clothing Book (Clothing coupons) UK government
To buy clothing in war time you need to use clothing coupons this included stocking. |
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Pretty Polly 1940's fully fashions nylon seamed stockings
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Nylon stocking in the 1950's
DuPont wanted the word nylon to
enter the English vocabulary as a
synonym for stocking so they did not register it, by 1950 DuPont now
issues
the first license for the production of nylon fiber to more companies
outside
the UK also while they went onto developing nylon for other purposes.
This opened up the hosiery market with other hosiery companies
now producing
nylon stocking.
A pair
of ff
nylons from the 1950 you can
see how sheer they are.
Hose (nylon) mending pack
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It was also reported that a managing director of a large hosiery company passed comment that all nylon stocking wear the same the main difference was just in the packing and shade, this was because all the nylon yarn was bought from the same ( British Nylon Spinners ltd and made on the same machines from America. If this is a true quotation then it would not be long before change happened and a significant difference immured between nylon brands.
1950's fully fashions seamed stockings
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What you you really notice with stocking made in this period is how sheer they are compared even to some hosiery today, of course this comes at a price they are very fragile and prone to run.
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Elite have designed a very colourful and attractive packet for these stocking , which suggest more the occasion that they.
Nylon stocking in the 1960's
The new generation of seam free stockings RHT (reinforced heel and toe).
Sales of fully fashioned seamed nylon stockings flourished for the next few years until the introduction of the circular stocking knitting machine in 1959. One of the first was installed in Aristoc Langley mill. For the first time a nylon stocking could be made without a seam, the machine was Italian. Competitors Pretty Polly also introduced the first ever non-run seam free the same year, the same time Allen Gant Sr. of Glen Raven Mills USA introduced the first panty hose this for a time was not a great success at that time (see the next page).
Pair of 1960's seamless stockings
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Lady Angela Seamless Stockings
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Gay-time Nylons
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One of the problems which sheer nylon stocking have is they run, Manufactures by changing the knitting pattern have solved this to bring out the "guaranteed run resist" stocking like these Gay time.
Nylon stocking from the 1970's
M & S Black Motive Stockings
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M & S Black Motive Stockings
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By
the early to mid 90's the sales of stockings had
now declined
very dramatically possibly to there lowest point. The role of
stocking had changes from every day
wear to sexy evening attire. You would imagine the story
of stocking ends here about 60 years after the first every
nylon stocking entered the shop it does not fully fashion
seamed
Nylons stocking or 'nylons' are still been made and worn
today,
Another pair of stocking from Marks and Spencers dating from the I included these purely because it shows how the marketing had changed for stocking
Stocking in general are today seeing a steady increase, and whist they may never get back to the levels they were once with the addition of other fibers many ladies are starting to wear them again, in a way it's a never ending story.
Marks and Spencer Super Sheer Stockings
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Marks and Spencers Luxury Stockings
These are relatively new luxury stockings, they have a high Lycra content. The illusion on the packet shows them been wore more for evening wear, they feel very silky to wear and as you can see a shine or sheen to them. |
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Stockings from 2000
Stocking today are now making a strong come back.
Back in the mid 1980 when I was responsible for buying hosiery for a large retail outlet tight or pantyhose out sold stocking in a ration of 8:1 stocking were looked upon then as more bed room wear for ladies.Today the situation is slightly different, you only have to look on the hosiery displays to see the stocking are now taking up over 30% of the space.
Even with the recent articles appearing in the media proclaiming that stocking are on the way out is not strictly true.
Ladies are now starting to wear stocking again even for every day wear.
Traditional seamed nylon stockings are making a coming back.
Traditional seamed stockings or "nylons" as they are affectionately call are making a slight come back today with a number of lades now deciding to wear them over modern stocking or even pantyhose..When you start looking around high street hosiery departments you will find seamed stocking however real nylon stocking are a lot harder to locate many hight street shop do not stock real seamed nylons stockings, you will need to try a more specialist suppliers the Internet makes this task a lot easier.
Jacquelyn wears fully fashioned nylon stockingsThe stocking which Jacquelyn is wearing in the photo (right) taken in 2008 they are available today, they are 100% nylon fully fashioned with a contrast seamed at the back, made on the original knitting machine dating from the 1950 in the traditional 1950's way made flat then stocked together to form the seam.
You can see many
more photos of Jacquelyn wearing nylon stockings by visiting her web
site http://www.myspace.com/dackiedoo
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Again these stocking which Jacquelyn is wearing (
left) are ff nylons in a nude shade with a black contrast seam at the
back, what makes these stocking slightly different from the previous
pair as you can see from this
photo is that the welt which is also in black.
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Wedding Hosiery
Today the hosiery industry produces small ranges of hosiery for wedding, if you look back at some old wedding photos you notice that with white or cream dresses ladies it is very likely a lady will put more thought into this one outfit than any other one she wear, trying to get every thing just perfect not just the dress this will also including the accessories like shoes and hosiery ,some will often combining modem and tradition like wearing white or cream stocking with a traditional garter
Bridal hosiery:- these are a nice
example
of bridle hosiery, a pair of Charnos
bridal hold up stockings, 10 Denier luxurious deep lace top Hold-Up
stockings, with flat lock seams, sheer toe and run guard.
86% Nylon, 14% Lycra taking away the need to wear
a traditional suspender belts
, these
holdups have a deep lace top band which making them ever so
slightly special.
Diamond Garter in Luxury Guipure Lace,
Today these decoration garters are worn above the knee , the elastic is not strong enough to hold a pair of stocking securely all day the bride will some times lift up her dress just to show she's wearing a real garter a tradition which hopefully will not die out.
