Fully fashioned, seamless, FF, RHT, Cuban heel, flat knit, mesh, keyhole, micromesh - nylon stocking terminology can seem a little confusing at first. Instead of having to read endless vintage how to books, here is a useful guide to buying vintage nylon stockings.
Did you know that the 15th of May is National Nylon Stocking Day? Wear your vintage nylon stockings with pride!
Stockings are a timeless fashion staple that can add a certain level of sophistication to any outfit. They are perfect for formal events such as weddings, anniversaries or black tie occasions, but also add a touch of elegance to everyday looks. Stockings come in all kinds of styles from sheer and opaque to lace-top or with classic film-noir back seams. With the variety available, you are sure to find a pair that suits your style and needs!
A fully-fashioned ('FF') stocking is knitted on a traditional flat bed machine into flat sheets of nylon cut to the exact shape of a leg (to include a shaped foot, narrow ankle and shaped calf) and sewn together at the back to form a tube and creating a distinctive seam in the process. Because it is a join, the seam therefore exists for practical reasons as opposed to being purely decorative, or 'mock seam'. Fully fashioned stockings are most often knitted of 15 denier nylon yarn with no stretch and always have a top welt that is formed by doubling over the fabric and sewing it back on to itself. A finishing keyhole (loop) always features in the middle of the seam at the back of the welt as a consequence of this manufacturing process. Fully fashioned stockings will appear quite long when taken out of their packaging but the volume of the leg will reduce this overall length when worn. For the wearer it is essential to purchase stockings in the correct leg length as pure nylon does not stretch. The thicker the calf and the thigh area, the more length will be taken up and this needs to be taken into account in addition to foot size when determining which stocking size will provide the best fit. This essential advice for the buyer is rarely covered by vintage how to books.
A genuine fully fashioned nylon stocking will feature a keyhole loop, compression stitching, a genuine seam and a reinforced heel formed with additional layers of nylon.
An RHT stocking is made of nylon, just like a fully-fashioned stocking but exhibits several major differences. The RHT has no keyhole, no fancy heel style and most importantly, no seam, (although seamed RHTs are available where the seam is purely decorative as mentioned above). RHT stockings have been in existence since the 1940’s when Hanes began marketing “no-seam stockings” with reinforced heel and toe produced on circular knitting machines where the leg shape could be achieved by tightening the stitches over a conical mould. They were slow to gain popularity as ladies of the day thought that the absence of a visible seam made them appear to be bare-legged and at that time they considered it undignified for a respectable lady to be seen without stockings. Many actually preferred the more modern seam-free look and by the beginning of the 1960's the popularity of the seamless RHT stocking eventually overtook that of the fully fashioned seamed nylons.
Just three of the many popular stocking heel types - Point, Cuban and Havana.
Beautifully sheer nylon stockings
Although the history of hosiery dates back to ancient times, knitted stockings first came into fashion in Tudor England. The world’s first knitting machine was invented in 1589 by William Lee, for the purpose of making stockings. Over the centuries, successive inventors manufactured improved versions of the knitting machine and in 1864 William Cotton patented a flat machine in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England that was able to automatically drop and add stitches. This meant that the knitted fabric could now be shaped and tailored to follow the contours of the leg.
Until the early 20th century stockings were manufactured from wool, cotton or silk prior to the introduction of rayon in the 1920’s as a cheaper alternative to silk.
The next major development in the hosiery industry was the birth of the nylon market which resulted from Du Pont’s introduction of Nylon at the World Fair in New York in 1939. This new Nylon stocking fabric was a revelation – just as sheer and glossy as silk and rayon but much harder wearing and without the sensitivity to getting wet. The first non stretch fully fashioned stockings appeared in New York stores on May 15, 1940, and over 72,000 pairs were sold on the first day alone. Unfortunately these extremely popular seamed nylon stockings were only available for a relatively short period due as the US entered World War 2 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour at the end of 1941 after which the War Production Board immediately announced that Du Pont’s nylon manufacturing would be used exclusively for war materials production. The scarcity of nylon stocking fabric led many women to brown their legs and to apply an imaginary seam with an eyebrow pencil to emulate the look. Some cosmetic companies such as Helena Rubinstein even marketed “liquid stockings” for that very purpose.
Article written by Emma Benitez. BA (Hons) in Fashion and Dress History, incurable vintage aficionado and owner of Nylon Nostalgia.
Advice as good now at it was 70 years ago.