Uncle Sam needs your Stockings !

Stockings for the war effort

Yep - Uncle Sam had a hankering for fully fashioned stockings after all. But not for wearing - no - for converting into powder bags which were used to propel missile projectiles in US Navy Guns.How romantic is that !?  In 1942, depots appeared everywhere appealing to women to dump their used stockings to help against the enemy !

Uncle sam needs your stockings !

Vintage Stockings Re-visited

Just updated an old post on Vintage Stockings - History and Archive Film

Enjoy !

On Buying Vintage Stockings - What is Denier and Gauge?

Denier? Gauge? If you love to wear vintage stockings, but you're confused about all those terms from days gone by, read on! After all, there is more to buying a stocking than the heel to toe measurement.


Denier refers to the thickness of the nylon thread. The lower the denier, the more sheer and fragile the stocking. 30 and 20 denier are multifilament and are therefore stronger. 15 denier is a single thread, which is very sheer.

Gauge refers to the number of stitches per 1 1/2 inches. The more stitches, the better the the fabric because it is denser and has more stretch.

Certain combination of denier and gauge work especially well. Each produces a particular weight and type of stocking intended for various uses.

30 denier 45 gauge stockings are sheer looking but practical for everyday use. This combination is great for women who walk a great deal in the course of a day.

30 denier 51 or 54 gauge stockings are not sheerer than 45's, but are made from a finer fabric that is stronger and longer wearing.

20 denier 51 or 54 gauge stockings are slightly more sheer than 30 denier, but still strong enough for everyday wear. This weight has a slightly more crepe-y texture and a duller finish.

15 denier 51 or 54 gauge stockings are very sheer and are considered a dressy stocking. These stockings are somewhat fragile and need to be worn with care. 15 deniers won't take the wear and tear that 30 deniers will.

15 denier 60 gauge stockings are one of the finest and most expensive stockings made. They are less fragile that 51 gauge, because they are more closely woven with finer stitches.

Vintage Stockings - an image and film history

1920's hosiery ad - illustrated by Coles Phillips.

Vintage Stockings History and Archive films
The story of how hosiery developed into such a uniquely feminine piece of apparel is largely to do with the developments in fiber.

During the late 1800's, the fibers used in hosiery changed over from woolen to cotton. By the early 1920's, women's stockings were almost exclusively made from silk.

 In the 1930's, Stocking sales began to rise dramatically and new synthetic fibers were appearing regularly.

Then Wallace Carothers from Dupont, invented Nylon, and womens legs were never the same again.
Believe it or not, Nylon was first used for such boring items as fishing line, toothbrush bristles! DuPont claimed its new fiber was "as strong as steel and as fine as a spider's web,"
Nylon stockings were first demonstrated to the American public at the 1939 New York World's Fair ! During World War Two, american GIs charmed their way across Europe with pairs of much sought after Nylons from the USA.

Bob Hope joked that the soldiers had more access to nylons than most women he knew back home.
During the war, women were encouraged to donate their used silk stockings to the war effort.Not for parachutes, but for missiles! At the end of the war, famously in the city of Pittsburgh, 40,000 plus women stood out all night in heavy rain, to be in line for the first commerially available nylons to the average american woman. Seamless stockings arrived in the 1950's, and nylon became even more luxurious with the invention of Spandex.

Denier - it's meaning
A unit of weight for measuring the fineness of threads of silk, rayon, nylon, etc. Bet you didnt know that !

Vintage Stocking Films - Glamourdaze on YouTube









Vintage Stocking Adverts

Some images courtesy of Ho Hose

Vintage Fashion Stockings Film

An old vintage fully fashioned stockings commercial for a german hosiery manufacturer in the late 1930's.