Happy National Nylon Stocking Day! Each year on May 15, we recognize the stylish variety and color available today.
Many may not remember ever hearing the term “nylon stockings.” Varying in color, design, and transparency, a nylon stocking (also known as hose) is a close-fitting, variously elastic garment worn the same as socks or tights.
Stockings worn before the 1890s were made of woven cloth such as cotton, linen, wool, or silk. Before the 1920s, women’s stockings were worn for warmth.
As hemlines of women’s dresses rose in the 1920s, women began to wear stockings over their exposed legs. These 1920s stockings were sheer, made first of silk or rayon, followed by nylon after 1940.
Chemical company DuPont’s introduction of nylon in 1939 began a high demand for stockings in the United States. As nylon stockings were inexpensive, durable, and shear, up to 4 million pairs would be purchased each day.
WWII and Beyond
On February 11, 1942, as the United States entered World War II, American chemicals company DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (commonly known as DuPont)ceased production of nylon stockings.
Instead, they had switched their focus to the manufacture of parachutes, airplane cords and rope. Because of this, it created a mass shortage followed by a black market for stockings.
At the end of World War II, DuPont resumed production of the stockings but could not meet the demand leading to nylon riots in American stores. In time, DuPont was able to increase its output.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the first pantyhose made its appearance. Film and theater productions had stockings sewn to the briefs of actresses and dancers.
These were even seen in popular films, most notably in the 1955 American Technicolor Hollywood musical comedy romance film 'Daddy Long Legs'. Unlike stockings, pantyhose did not require a garter belt to hold the stockings up.
In 1959, pantyhose were introduced, providing a convenient alternative to stockings which led to a decline in their sales.
In 1970, for the first time, sales of pantyhose in the United States exceeded stocking sales and have remained the same ever since.
In 1987, there was a slight decline in sales in pantyhose due to the newly invented hold-ups. However, they remain the most purchased kind of hosiery.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Do you wear nylons? What’s your style? Share using #NylonStockingDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
Within their research, National Day Calendar® was unable to find the origin of National Stocking Day.
#NylonStockingDay
@dupontco
@nichecinema
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