Nothing but Seamed Stockings

[Sunny]

I've tried all types, and my garter straps are always as short as I can get. All the brands I've tried so far none of them do stockings any smaller than the ones I've already bought. I think I am doomed. Modern lycra stockings fit me fine, but I can't find any with a seam that fit me.

Do ebay. The smaller sizes are CHEAP there since not many women can wear them. Pick up a range of sizes, even, and figure out what'll work.

I have a problem with a few pairs of fully fashioned stockings I've bought recently and I was hoping somebody could shed some light on this. I am a size 10 in stockings and most of them fit fine but some of them basically just go past my knees! They are wearable with the garter belts stretched to the maximum but I know they should go up to the thigh. They fit on the foot perfectly but seem to be really short in length despite the fact that I'm not blessed with long legs. Should I try size 10.5? Has anybody else had this problem?

I have long legs, heavy thighs (which take up extra length), and wear 10.5 most of the time. They're the perfect length for all three vintage girdles I wear. Who's to say how high stockings should go up, unless I'm wearing a mini skirt? With my garter belt, yes, it seems I should have longer stockings. When I get around to it I want to try some 11's again, or maybe some Longs in either size.

I've had some size 10's that fit great, expect for being too short; I've had some size 11's that were shorter than 10.5, although the foot was a little big. There IS variation in sizes. If you can find 10 Longs, that might be great for you as well. I personally think that 10.5 regular would be a decent approximation, but it's up to you. I used the stocking fit charts as a guide when I first started shopping, but I think they'd put me in size 11 Long, which will not work with my girdles. I'd have to use a short-strapped garter belt. Your particular stocking need might vary with what you're using to hold them up.

It's about FIT, not about size. I couldn't care less what size are printed on my welt, as long as my stockings fit.

 

[Smuterella]

in terms of vintage-style rather than vintage - whats a good every day natural colour stocking, i am sure I am paying over the odds for mine...

 

[Lady Day]

I've tried all types, and my garter straps are always as short as I can get. All the brands I've tried so far none of them do stockings any smaller than the ones I've already bought. I think I am doomed. Modern lycra stockings fit me fine, but I can't find any with a seam that fit me.

eBay had tons of petite stockings. Scrutinize the seller on measuring the welt and the foot. and the calf and thigh. Youll generally get a stretch of 1-2" of the nylon from day wear.

From the pics you have posted, you seem like an ideal body type for petite vintage FFs. Good luck!

LD

 

[MegamiOrchard]

I know we can't link to certain sellers on the bay, but there is a woman I buy from (she is here in Australia) that sells among other things original vintage stockings from the 50s and 60s. Not sure where she gets them, but I can vouch for authenticity and great service.

 

[Deleted member 3716]

today i'm wearing black seamed stockings in work.
i'm not sure why, but it feels a bit "funny".
i never really wear black stockings at all, i usually wear natural coloured, but it was all i had this morning!
anyway, do you think black stockings are purely for evening wear?[huh]
i'm sorry if this has already been discussed on this thread, but there were a lot of pages to get through...

 

[KittyT]

today i'm wearing black seamed stockings in work.
i'm not sure why, but it feels a bit "funny".
i never really wear black stockings at all, i usually wear natural coloured, but it was all i had this morning!
anyway, do you think black stockings are purely for evening wear?[huh]
i'm sorry if this has already been discussed on this thread, but there were a lot of pages to get through...

Not black stockings, no, but black seamed stockings yes. Definitely dressy. Back in the day, ladies never would have worn black stockings during the day. They were a luxury.

 

[Deleted member 3716]

Not black stockings, no, but black seamed stockings yes. Definitely dressy. Back in the day, ladies never would have worn black stockings during the day. They were a luxury.

well that makes sense.
it feels wrong

 

[KittyT]

well that makes sense.
it feels wrong

Obviously there are no hard and fast rules, though, when it comes to personal preference

 

[LizzieMaine]

Real black tended to be a hard color to find in the stores and catalogs during the era -- the darkest shade Sears offered in the late thirties, for example, was "Smoke," a sort of warm taupey grey.

I don't recall seeing sheer black hosiery becoming really common for everyday wear until the late '80s-early '90s.

 

[phyllis1753]

FWIW, my observations seem to suggest that black stockings went out of fashion in the 20s as hemlines rose to the knee and women wanted sheerer looking hose. By the 40s, black ( or other darker colors) was relegated to the older, "mature", woman or those younger women who observed a period of mourning and they usually weren't very sheer hose. I'm basing this on my collection of Sears and Lane Bryant catalogs of the time. LB offered black hose but LB was usually aimed at that "mature" market. The only pictures I've seen of women wearing sheer black stockings were of the Bettie Page variety so it may have given black a somewhat unlady-like reputation . Lizziemaine is right that the color started to reappear in the 80s and later. Cheers!

 

[Laughing Magpie]

I just finished watching several Silent films from the late 1910 to mid 1920s, and black stockings seemed very common as daywear (they weren't sheer though), even being worn with a nurse's uniform. So I agree, if you go further back you'll find black was a common daytime colour.

Jen

 

[phyllis1753]

Well, OK. I come to FL thinking vintage styles of the 40s (1943-47 are my favorites) and sheer black hose really wouldn't "go" for daywear. Just my mind-set I'm 55 so I grew up with stricter dress codes in the 50s and 60s. I got out of it in the late 60s but I still tend to think in terms of what was "proper". Anyway, it think it's great to incorporate vintage fashions into your personal style but black seamed hose might, still, be a bit too racy and intense for the workplace. After hours, though, seems (no pun) like anything goes.

 

[Deleted member 3716]

yes, i think i felt a bit "racy" or something
not that anyone else noticed.
i could come in here in a wrestling mask and and a leotard and no one would bat an eyelid!

 

[Lady Day]

Black stockings/seams, were always reserved for after five. If you want some color in your stockings Im sure you can find some tan stockings with contrasting seams. They came in all sorts of colors, and those are fine for day wear.

LD

 

[Candied violets]

I have a question about stockings. I've read a good many of everybody's informative posts and I have learned a great deal but I am wondering about something.

Is it possible to get FF reproductions without the Cuban/Havana/French/Manhattan or what have you heels? I want to try FF stockings because they are truly vintage and seem to be better fitted but first and foremost I like feeling that I look my best and I just don't like the look of the darker heels peeping up from my shoes.

If that isn't possible, what type of stockings should I get? It sounds like the RHT type do not fit very well. Pantyhose I know puts me firmly into the 60's which is not what I am intending, but how about modern stockings? When did they appear? I'm more vintage inspired than true 100% time period appropriate vintage as I like to take from a variety of eras but I would like to be able to wear my stockings on a daily basis as well as to meet-ups and special events.

 

[NoirDame]

Welcome to Fedora Lounge!!!

Yes, it is possible to get these from a number of places. You can get them with contrast seams, black seams or seams that are the same color as the whole stocking.

I ordered my dead stock vintage stockings from Stocking Showcase. You can search their site by your stocking size and see all the options. (Mine happen to have a cuban heel, but I like them that way). Be sure to buy the right size. I bought too small a foot size, and while I can still wear my stockings, they don't fit right on the foot and I'm paranoid about running the toes (I give myself a pedicure before wearing them, put on lotion, use cotton gloves and I also wear a modern nylon 'footie' over my toes to be on the safe side.)

http://www.stockingshowcase.com/detail.asp?product_id=F128
There is also a pair called black seamed No run stockings that I won't link because it's got panties in the picture.

http://www.stockingshowcase.com/detail.asp?product_id=F145

Here's a sizing chart:
http://www.stockingshowcase.com/sizing.asp


If you read through the thread, you'll find lots of suggestions on where to shop.

If you're like me, you'll wear them once and never want to go back to pantyhose again! If you need help finding a girdle to keep them up, there is a thread here where you can get advice and read up on different types:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3738

 

[phyllis1753]

I just finished watching several Silent films from the late 1910 to mid 1920s, and black stockings seemed very common as daywear (they weren't sheer though), even being worn with a nurse's uniform. So I agree, if you go further back you'll find black was a common daytime colour.

Jen

A little fftopic: but I'm a historian of sorts and what I've read thus far is that heavy black hose was "concealing" which tied into Victorian morality issues. Legs were to be hidden, etc. Young women of the 20s wanted to break with that and demanded sheerer, flesh colored, hose.

BTW, if you read the ad copy in a Sears catalog from the late 30s and into the 40s, they seem to suggest that the stockings were woven seamless and the seam was added on . "Seam effect back" are the words used so they really weren't FF but "seamed stockings" which seem to be what modern recreations are today. Magnolia still makes 'em FF Cheers!

 

[LizzieMaine]

BTW, if you read the ad copy in a Sears catalog from the late 30s and into the 40s, they seem to suggest that the stockings were woven seamless and the seam was added on . "Seam effect back" are the words used so they really weren't FF but "seamed stockings" which seem to be what modern recreations are today. Magnolia still makes 'em FF Cheers!

Exactly -- "Seam Effect" stockings were cheap hose trying to pass themselves off as the more expensive full-fashioned variety. Sears did sell proper FFs in their Royal Purple line, but their utility hose were usually either seamless or seam-effect.

You can easily tell the difference by looking for the keyhole loop at the top of the welt -- sometimes you can also tell by the absence of "fashion marks," the little dots that are visible on either side of the seam for about an inch or so. Any seamed stocking without fashion marks isn't a proper FF stocking, but some seam effect stockings did use "mock" fashion marks, so be careful!

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

Ok so I just got my stockings and other undergarments. Alas, I think my stockins are too small. They don't appear to be quite long enough and are a little snugger than I thought they'd be. They were a Medium/Large. Yikes. What now?

PLUS I don't think I lined the back seam up very well. How can you tell if it's crooked? Any suggestions on how to get it even?

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

I didn't know where else to post it....

and still not feel semi-embaressed. What can I say? I am a Lo- wannabe