Seamed Stockings

Lovers of vintage nylons must be getting all mad stacking up their collections of vintage nylons as their favorite item of fashion would be no longer available within just a handful of years. Nylon fabric which was referred to as Fiber 66 was created by Du Pont scientist Wallace Carothers back in 1939. The following year, when nylons were up for sale, women were intoxicated by its sheer fashion statement that they end up buying almost 70 million pairs. The rage came to an end at the start of World War II.

In 1941, women’s nylons manufacturing stopped and was replaced by the making of tents, parachutes and nylon ropes. At this time, during the ‘Stocking Panic’ phase, black market started to sell a pair of nylons at a ridiculously enormous 2000% gain. Nylons that were previously sold for $1 were now available at a price of $20 or more. This did not lead to vintage nylons’ demise, however.

After the war, Du Pont was able to once again manufacture women’s nylons and the black market ended. But Du Pont had to tackle problems such as reconverting the factories from making wartime products to making stockings. This took a while and women’s patience was stretched thin as they would wait in line in department stores, only to be turned down as the store ran out of nylons. This period of time was called the ‘Nylon Riots’ which lasted from 1945 to 1946 where well-mannered women would get into scuffles over the coveted nylons. Du Pont gradually was able to increase production to meet the high demands.

Today, there are a few places online where you can purchase vintage nylons. You can visit, Ho-Hose, Old Nylons, Glorious Vintage, Alexis 4 U, Isabella’s vintage, Sleek n Chic, Enchanted Oldies Vintage, and 50’s Clothes. These online stones offer products that are wrapped in original packagings which would be a wonderful addition to your collection. Keep in mind that the costs of vintage nylons are always a little bit higher than that of the contemporary nylons. As many of these nylons are thigh highs, you may need to include garter belts in order to hold them up. With the news of future unavailability of these vintage nylons, being the nylon enthusiast that you are, you may want to start buying a new pair. Keep your collection of vintage nylons stocked up so that when irreversible snags occur in the ones you are wearing now, you will always have a new pair stocked up for the rainy days.