1900

1960

1969

1990’s

2008

2009

2011

1959

1935

1920

1937

May 15,1940

1930’s

1990’s

A newCIRCULARKNITTINGMACHINE

IS INVENTEDthat could make

stockingsin one piece.

DUPONT PATENTS

his polymer filament DISCOVERY.

JULLIAN HILL AND WALLACE CARUTHERS,

scientists at DuPont discover apolymer filament that resembles silk.

1939

Women’s fashions continue tocreate demand for stockings as

HEMLINES CONTINUE TO RISE TO

BELOW THE KNEE, silk being the luxury option.

Silk trading from Japanto US is halted due to

INTERNATIONAL TENSION.

DuPont synthetic fibersare introduced at the

NY WORLD’S FAIR and became known as

“NYLON.”

SALES OFWOMEN'S HOSIERY

as a whole rose2.3 percent to reach$3.3 BILLION,

according to The Wall StreetJournal. Much is due to the rising popularity of opaque

tights, which are gainingvisibility on high-end

fashion runways.

Pantyhose sales start falling,as woman begin to prefer the

“BARE-LEGGED” FASHION.

Pantyhose are no longerrequired in many workplaces as

part of the female dress code. ALTERNATIVE STYLES

such as fishnets, patternsand colors, opaque tights, low-rise, footless shape

wear and pantyhose for men begin to trend.

1980LEGWARMERS

are invented by KD Dance to keep dancers' legs warm until they've

performed an adequate warm-up routine.

KATE MIDDLETON,the Duchess of Cambridge

SETS A TREND FOR SHEER PANTYHOSE.

Legwarmers andleggings are surging in

popularity upon therelease of the film

"FLASHDANCE."

1983

Nylon and Lycra are combined to create PANTYHOSE

which quickly replaced stockings as hemlinesrose through the 70’s.

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1598

1696

Lee makes his first pair of knitted silkstockings and gives them to the QUEEN OF ENGLAND.

1952SEAMLESS

STOCKINGS AREINTRODUCED

and a new circular knittingmachine eliminates the need

for a seam up the back of the stocking.

1942

HEMLINES RISE DUE TO THE

INTRODUCTIONOF THE

MINI-SKIRTpopularized by Twiggy,

creating a demand for new stocking solutions,

mainly tights.

1589REVEREND WILLIAM LEEinvents the first knitting “machine”

and made stockings eventually much easier to produce. Materials are mostlyWOOL, LINEN & COTTON.

Although under the threat of death fortaking sock machines out of England, twoEnglish frame-work knitters bought an old

hosiery frame, disassembled it and SMUGGLED IT TO AMERICA

and began a new thriving textilebusiness in New England.

Most stockings arenow made of

WOOL, COTTON OR SILK.

WOMEN’S HEMLINES RISE

and the need forfashionable women’s

legwear increases.

First nylon stockings areintroduced in New York stores and 72,000 PAIRS ARE SOLD

ON THE FIRST DAY, replacing the need for silk stockings.

Japanese silk market collapses.US enters WW2 and nylon

production is focused on making PARACHUTES, ROPES,

AND TENTSfor the war e�ort. Nylon

Stockings are scarce and become currency in the black market.

1865The New England

TEXTILE INDUSTRYheads south to be

CLOSER TO COTTON.

DUPONTINVENTS

LYCRA (SPANDEX).

1945

WW2 ENDS and nylon stockings

are back on the market.

FOOT TRAFFICDEVELOPS

PERFECT PAIR,tights with cotton panty and

nylon/spandex legs for ultimate fit and comfort.

THE HISTORY OF HOSIERYA timeline of events depicting the evolution of legwear fashionand style as we know it today.