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Hello All:

I was wondering if your Mom was a stockings gal like mine was…and if this was a strong influence in your love of fine hosiery.

My Mom wore her first pair of silk stockings in 1934 at the age of 14. She told me what an important milestone this was for her. I’m sure this was why she gave in to my longing to wear real stockings at a very young age. During the 1950s, she always wore FFNs…often with a dark seam. I was allowed to watch her putting on her stockings as she explained the finer points of technique to me; particularly how to achieve straight seams. This led my best friend and me to draw lines up the back of our legs with ballpoint pen at about the age of 5. Of course, I instigated this!

Mom was always at the forefront of fashion in her younger days. She tried black RH&Ts when they came out in 1957, and switched from seams to seamless in late 1960…never to return to seams.

She tried pantyhose when they first came out but found them hot and uncomfortable, so she stayed with gartered stockings. That, of course, didn’t stop her from trying to get me to wear pantyhose in the late 1960s when I was in high school. But I was able to resist…after all, how could she expect me to wear them when she didn’t wear them herself?

I had a brief fling with pantyhose from late 1969 to 1973 while I was in college; in an attempt to “fit in” with the other kids. But I returned to stockings for college graduation and never went back to pantyhose. My Mom understood perfectly. What Mom didn’t understand was my love of seamed stockings. She felt they were out of style and couldn’t understand why I would ever want to wear them. We battled over my wearing black FFNs which she thought made me look “cheap”. Her style sense was rooted in the 1950s when only nuns and ladies of ill repute wore black stockings with seams.

Mom stuck to her trusty panty girdle and Hanes 415 RH&Ts until she was 85. At that point, she switched to sheer knee hi’s which were easier for her to put on. I don’t ever remember my mom wearing sox. She would even wear stockings under Bermuda shorts on a coolish summer day.

So it’s no surprise that I turned into a stockings gal like my Mom!

Did your Mom have a similar influence on you?

Karen

My mother wore stockings but she was not one to dress up often.  She worked in a factory came home, watched some television and went to bed to follow the same path the next day.  I cleaned the house and did much of the cooking.  My mom would dress up for church or something similar but she did not have much of an influence on me.  I’d say my best friends mother was the stockings lady in my life.  She did the wash and cleaned house in seamed stockings.  I remember that well in the late 1950’s.  I would borrow my moms stockings and underthings and my girl friends and I would pretend we were grown ups.  We were nine or ten years old at the time.

Where we lived, around the south east side of Chicago there were plenty of hosiery and foundation garment shops.  They were like taverns and every neighborhood had one.  You did not have to go to Michigan and Randolph to see people nicely dressed back in those days.  The ladies in the old Capone areas always looked snazzy and sharp.  I do recall open heel and toe slingback block heel shoes and seamed stockings as a young girl.  That look always made me tingle inside.  When RH&T hosiery became popular those same shoes and slide type sandals were often worn.  Pumps it seamed were popular on Sundays for church.  So, I’d say it was the school girls and ladies of the city of Chicago that additionally sparked my attention to stockings as a young teenager.  Another very popular look for high school girls was RH&T stockings and white canvas lace tie shoes.  The look was not “”The Look” until these little shoes were somewhat beat up and worn.  New shoes had to be broken in and dingy.  I was an only daughter but all my south side sisters were a big influence on me when it came to stockings and dress.  What a wonderful time to grow up in.

Susan

mine wore open girdles and mainly the same pretty polly tan ones with hold up tops. why those hold up types with suspenders on girdles i dont know. When i was 15 or 16 i saw her in different coloured ones, smoke grey and dark tan ones, and both times found these were more standard or traditional stockings. Once she had been she had been performing with a choir and all had to wear same clothes. Saw her taking them off when i went past her bedroom. The other time she was going for works meal with my dad and saw her putting on the dark tan ones.

I saw mum in stockings alot but seeing odd crossed legged flash.  But about 15 I got first of seeing her in underwear and less accidently.   I went into her room to get mugs to wash thinking she was in the bathroom.  She was in girdle and putting stockings on standing by the bed.  She was topless and didn’t cover up.  She handed me a plate to wash up and made some small talk as she then went to put other stocking on.

Yes I got aroused but hid it.  I left her to do washing up.  That was kne of the first times I noticed her in that context

I had other memorable experiences as I got older and I started me love affair with nylons.  I bought some on occasions knowing she would wear them on days out with me.

With that I got brave and bought her a bra suspender set when we were charity shopping.  Two days later she told me she was wearing them and showed me them.  Cream sheer ones with tan rht nylons. It was a magical moment.

Great topic and wonderful memories.

Ironically, my mother was not a fancy lady; more working class and rarely dressed up.  I think she might have worn more when she was younger as she grew up in the 1950s when nylons were at the height of their popularity however she also grew up dirt poor which probably made it more difficult.  She had me at age 40, born in 1972 so I think by this time, even though pantyhose were still quite popular, she rarely wore any kind of nylons.  This always made me wonder where my love of stockings came from.  Perhaps there was someone in my early childhood who did wear stockings but I tend to think it was due to my abusive upbringing.  My father was an alcoholic and an abusive man at a time when women didn’t have nearly the rights they do today.  My very young years were spent in this environment; my mother left him when I was just two years old.  I think my love of nylons is rooted in my love of femininity developed during that time because women were not abusive or mean.  I remember from a very early age loving the ladies who had the pretty makeup, nice dresses and these shiny and silky looking nylons on their legs!

My mother was such a pretty lady and in the rare occasion she did dress up I remember being so proud of her.  She was a true lady no matter what she wore but when she did dress up she was beautiful.  I’ll never forget one time putting my dirty clothes in the hamper, opening the lid to find a pair of he pantyhose on top.  I remember just feeling the fabric; it was so silky that I just wanted to steal them and play with them forever!  My mother was an amazing woman and while my love of nylons was not attributed to her my love of strong women was.  My mother was the strongest woman I knew and even today I love strong women, including Mrs Ratrob.

My mum usually wore nude RHTs with an open girdle when she was younger (I think she only wore black for mourning) but I can’t remember seeing her in seamed stockings… Her mother wore seams but with rather thick stockings.

Born 1975 I was a mumy child. I needed   their closeness. Especially when I got ill. In this early days I came in contact with her rht stockings. The feeling of these special material stays in my mind. It disappeared when she switched to hold ups in the 80′ s.

years later when i stroll through a Flea market my girlfriend and I found some 60’s rht. We bought them because of the sentimental memories. GF tasted it and so we get back to those stockings and girdle things. But more for a Carneval party.

Years later by cleaning up grandmas house we found a lot of ffs. Some specials with fancy heels and others with dark seams. At that time my now wife tried and wore them occasionally. Also on marriage and honeymoon days back in 2012.

Years gone by and with birth of the child  my wife picked up a lot of kilos, she feels uncomfortable in public with stockings. But this is another story.

Most of our stockings slumber in the wardrobe now.

Back to topic. I think my mum was a stocking gal in the early years. Enough that I as a men adore to see women in stockings.

My mum and both my elder sisters wore and as far as I’m aware my mum still wears stockings on a daily basis. I don’t ever really recall seeing tights being worn or lying about drying in our house as we grew up.
She seemed to always wear a lot of navy or tan stockings, and occasionally black or patterned ones during the 80’s these days a lot more black or opaque stockings and still certainly wears navy ones.

was the norm in our house and probably got a lot to answer for especially when it comes to my love of being dressing and wearing hosiery.

Growing up in the early sixties, all the women would wear stockings including my mother.  I’m convinced that early concentrated exposure resulted in my lifelong obsession with nylon stockings.

Do Women Realize The Difference Between Plain Knit And Mesh Nylon Stockings?

One of our members submitted this to us…

I was curious, especially for those ladies who are old enough to have grown up wearing gartered nylon stockings. Originally, all nylon stockings were flat (plain) knit and seamed and then even with circular knitting machines the stockings were still plain knit. That is the variety that makes the stockings shine and feel so slippery and make that “shick-shick-shick” sound under a tight skirt and a zipping sound when a lady sits and crosses her legs. Sadly only around two of the original “Reading” machines exist today that are capable of making such hosiery, one machine is in England, the other in France! A real shame when there were once nearly 600 stocking manufacturers!

Mesh stockings made of a rougher nylon came about in the early 70’s and these did not shine and felt pebbly or rough to the touch, like sandpaper! They made the popular Hanes sheers until 1992 but sadly the market dried up when stockings went out of fashion. The only stockings you can get today, many are mesh, others though nicely knit contain lycra which isn’t as good as the old fashioned vintage sheers.

When you ladies bought nylon stockings did you seek out the smooth plain knit stockings or just grab anything in your size off the rack? Did you realize the difference between those shiny, silky, zippy nylons and the scratchy ones or didn’t it matter? I would think silky beats scratchy any day, but time after time I’ve had girlfriends who more often than not bought the cheap scratchy ones! Why is that??

Some of our members respond…

Hello All:

Susan’s memory of the boys in high school waiting at the bottom of the stairs sure brings back memories for me! What innocent fun we all had back in the mid to late 60s. And for you guys who were standing there, we girls knew very well why you were there…and we loved it! Well, at least most of us did!

Regarding plain knit and mesh nylons, it’s all in the knitting method, as someone else pointed out. Mesh nylons were introduced in the early to mid 1950s and became popular due to their ability to resist runs better than plain knit nylons. Sometimes they were called “kant-runs”. Classic mesh and micromesh stockings don’t run when snagged (like plain knits do), they develop a hole. Micromesh stockings quickly became popular with teenagers because they were far more durable than plain knits, particularly given the abuse a teen gives to her stockings.

When I first started wearing nylons in 1961, my Mom bought me teenage stretch stockings which were always mesh knit. When my legs filled out enough to wear adult stockings, she bought me only 15 denier micromesh for school as I was pretty hard on nylons. But around 1966, I convinced her that flat knit 20 denier Hanes Walking Sheers were even more durable than the micromesh 15s so she got me those. The 20 denier walking sheers became the staple of my hosiery wardrobe for the rest of high school. Being “premium” nylons, they also came in graduated lengths. I was always a tall kid, and as hemlines rose, my Mom felt it was worth spending a bit more on long length stockings for me to keep the tops out of view.

Believe me, most of us girls knew the difference between plain knits and micromesh. Cheap micromesh stockings felt like sandpaper on your legs and they made an even louder rasping sound when you crossed your legs than plain knits did. As someone mentioned, Triumph, and other premium stocking manufacturers made mesh stockings that were silky to the touch. I have some of these now and they are quite nice. But we girls had no knowledge of these in the 1960s.

Before I was allowed to wear nylons, I used to sneak runny old pairs of my Mom’s plain knit FFs and wear them in bed. When I received my first pair of teen stretch seamless for my 10th birthday, I hated the rough scratchy feel they had and the fact that they didn’t have that glossy sheen. To me, they were “baby nylons” and I was quite disappointed in them. By the time I was 13, and had filled out enough to wear adult nylons, I coaxed my Mom into buying me some flat knit RH&Ts, but I was only allowed to wear them to church. For school, it was strictly micromesh. Even my Mom saved her flat knits for dress once she switched to seamless hose around 1960…she wore micromesh for every day.

One other point…mesh and plain knit nylons were the same price during the 1960s. Cheap plain knits were available alongside cheap micromesh…both sometimes selling for as little as 29 cents a pair. As a comparison, Hanes stockings retailed at $1.50 a pair and were “fair traded” meaning it was not allowed to discount them. So whether a gal bought cheap, intermediate or premium priced stockings in the 1960s, they were all available as either plain knit or mesh. But most chose the mesh due to their hard-wearing characteristics.

I remember going to buy nylons in Filene’s Basement in Boston with my Mom back then. The spiel from the hosiery saleslady was always the same…size? seams or seamless? Mesh or plain knit? Color? Then she would grab a box of three or four pairs and put her hand in one stocking to show you the color.

Oh to go back then…

Karen

I remember way back when I was in high school, as I’ve stated before, loved to admire the girls covered legs. And if I was very fortunate, catch a peek of the pettipants, or welt, or both. At the time, I never really analyzed it too much. But I knew that I liked the girls wearing the more linear, or flat knit, hosiery, than the more crisscross, or mesh, pattern of hosiery. I also noted that the more ‘affluent’ girls tended to wear the flat knit hosiery. So I suppose that the flat knit was more expensive. But I remember treasuring the flat knit hosiery over the mesh type.

It’s interesting that my memory can be jogged in this way by reading the forum posts. It brings back so many memories I lived through during my adolescent years. And it’s truly amazing that are so many kindred spirits out there that have experienced, or are able to relate to, the same feelings I have during these ‘growing up’ years.

Even now, after all these years, and all the admiring of the diaphaneous covering on women’s legs, I still can’t totally understand Why? Is it a sexual thing? Is it a fetish aimed at the shine and sheen appearance of the hosiery? In my case, it isn’t that, because I always imagine the items on the woman’s leg and thigh.

I’m going off on a tangent, but as I was typing my post, so many thoughts and images were traveling through my pea brain.

There’s a key out there somewhere, to this lock of the reasons for the origin and methodology for these thoughts and feelings a person has inside. But I’ll be damned if I can find it! Maybe it’s for the best!

I think part of that allure you are talking about Rowlf is whatever the physical leg type of a female had the eye catching ability was increased ten fold when those same legs were covered in sheer stockings. Bobby socks or knee high socks sure as hell did nothing for a high school guy as far a female leg appeal went. Put a real wall flower that would normally wear socks into a pair of glassine RH&T stockings and show her how to toe dangle a penny loafer and a goddess has been created. Bare skin is flat and has and shows no dimension,depth or muscle structure. Look at body builders that color and oil their skin to bring out the muscular structure and cuts. This makes the body appear in high definition with three dimensions. When that wall flower slips into a leg covering that has color, especially a darker color and that covering shines it brings out the physical detail of the legs. It makes those God given curves just “POP”! Every visual muscle becomes alive! Close your eyes and remember a girl with great calves in stockings. What did you see when walking behind her? Watching those muscles flex under her stockings was like watching a three d movie and it was poetry in motion. The stockings made the legs a show piece of depth and visual movement. How hot did a slim ankle appear adorned in a shiny stocking. An eye catcher, right? Regardless of shape or size because every man had different taste but back in our days a doll in sexy glassine stockings could melt a heart with that new found way to show off her legs. Just like an a hot paint job on a car it brings out the structure and curves. Bare legs and primer coat need help to sell what they naturally hold so hosiery and glossy paint were invented. This make any sense?

Susan

You learn something new everyday. I never quite new why some of the vintage stockings I bought Mrs Ratrob were silky and shiny and some felt so rough. I had noticed that I didn’t care for the mesh stockings and now I can understand why. I once bought her a couple pair of RHT’s in a wonderful hot pink color but was so disappointed at how rough they felt. I loved the color but hated the feel.

What a wonderful resource here for us nylon freaks