Nothing but Seamed Stockings

[Puzzicato]

I saw a woman the other day who was wearing a stunning mod outfit - trapeze-shaped swing mini in a Mondrian inspired print and kitten heeled shoes. And she was wearing seamed stockings with the seams running down the front. She looked amazing! I know nothing about 60s fashion, so does anyone know if wearing the seams at the front was a common thing, or was it her inspired decision?

 

[crwritt]

I saw a woman the other day who was wearing a stunning mod outfit - trapeze-shaped swing mini in a Mondrian inspired print and kitten heeled shoes. And she was wearing seamed stockings with the seams running down the front. She looked amazing! I know nothing about 60s fashion, so does anyone know if wearing the seams at the front was a common thing, or was it her inspired decision?

No, I've never heard of that. Stockings in the 60's were often fishnet, or some lacy crochet, sometimes with vertical stripes. Plain pantyhose had just started to become popular.You would not find seamed pantyhose.
I think if she was wearing something like this:

she had completely modern stockings on.

http://www.seamedtights.co.uk/news/front-seam-tights-are-the-new-back-seam

 

[Puzzicato]

That's exactly what it looked like! Thanks! It did look fabulous, even if it wasn't period-correct.

 

[Miss sofia]

Okay, so I'm wearing seamed stockings for the very first time today (yippee!) but I had difficulty getting them on straight. They're a tad off-center at the moment.lol is there a trick to this?

I pretty much tend to do what Sheeplady does, having a hand mirror to check your back seams can help too.

 

[zombi]

Has anyone gotten stockings from Magnolia? Their size chart isn't working, so I was wondering about general sizing...

 

[LolitaHaze]

I order from Magnolia. I am a vintage 10.5 in stockings and get the medium 3975 stockings. I wear a size 8 shoe (both in vtg and modern) which is a 10inch insole. Don't know if this will help any.

 

[Louise Anne]

Stocking bargains can be easily overlooked!

I expect most of you will already know this just in case you do not I thought it's worth bring this to your attention:-

Yesterday I was looking through a large box of NOS stocking in a vintage market, most pairs said "seamless" which were the latest craze once these were of little interest to me even been at £2 per pair, however I did find two packets of Aristc which just said Full Fashioned on the packet which was a clue but not definitive in itself, becuse they look 1960 or earlier and did not say seamed lead me to think that they could well be.
At home I discovered that I was right in thinking they could be seamed as they turned out to be fully fashioned seamed nylons.
I paid £3 a little more than the other packet but that could just have been because they were Aristc not just becuse they were seamed and maybe even the dealer did not realize.
Vintage seamed stocking are not always marked on the packet as been seamed by the manufacture because seamed stocking were just normal for the day and not worth make a point about.

 

[AdrianLvsRocky]

For making the seams straight, I try to make sure when I "runch them up" (before I put them on) I try to make sure that the seam is "straight" or directly on center with the rest of the seam. Then when I put them on, I go very slowly and twist or turn as needed to get them straight. I wear surgical gloves (so I do not get runs from my hands or nails), so if they seem a little off after I pull them on, I can twist them slightly. I wear 6-clip garter belts, and I do the back one first, and then the front one, before I do the side.

If you have a partner or a roommate, having someone help you put them on is helpful.

To help keep them straight, a trick I learned here, is to use hair spray. Spray right down the seam after you put them on, and then lightly all over your leg. It seems to help.

I've just come across this post while searching for something else and I have to say - what a wonderful tip for keeping your seams straight! I guess it kind of sticks them to your legs? Will definitely be trying this. Thank you!

 

[Miss sofia]

I swear by that method too. I actually saw Tempest Storm putting on her seamed nylons by runching them up like Sheeplady said, in an old Bettie Page film and it certainly does work a treat. I haven't tried the hairspray, although i definately will do so. I always put on hand cream, let in sink in for a bit, then put on my nylons, although i have used gloves before, when putting on some ultra fine vintage beauties!

Using a hand mirror is a big help too.

 

[C-dot]

The hairspray method sounds interesting, but is it difficult to wash the it out of the stockings after?

Fastening the back garter first and then tightening it works for me.

 

[Miss sofia]

I do that too, it also helps if you have nylons with the keyhole bit at the top so you can clip your back garter onto that and get it straight.

I actually cheated today and wore some tights with a back-seam, what a total nightmare they were to get straight. Why i do this to myself i don't know!

 

[Jannie]

Wouldn't hair spray make your legs feel sticky...?
In my experience a girdle or garter belt with six garters keeps the seams straight—and at the same time it allows the stockings the freedom to flexibly adapt to your movements.

 

[bunnyb.gal]

I was just looking at the Jockey website and they have back seamed tights! http://www.jockey.com/en-US/Catalog...tName=Hosiery&SilhouetteName=Hosiery&List=143
http://www.jockey.com/products/Backseam-Tight I think $10 is a pretty good price...

Look at the price of these now, whoa...bargain if you're small/tall!

 

[Louise Anne]

I do that too, it also helps if you have nylons with the keyhole bit at the top so you can clip your back garter onto that and get it straight.

I actually cheated today and wore some tights with a back-seam, what a total nightmare they were to get straight. Why i do this to myself i don't know!

What you wearing tights!

 

[Miss Sabrina Fairchild]

I honestly thought I couldn't buy "proper" vintage stockings because of my size (I put on a bunch of weight thanks to medication I am on) but I was pleasantly surprised and I now have my very own pair of GIO seamed nylons and I don't think I have ever felt as glamorous as when I put them on. Now I am totally hooked. Can I ask (in other peoples experiences) how many wears you generally get out of a pair?

 

[LizzieMaine]

It depends on a lot of factors -- sheerness, fabric, where I'm wearing them, and the mood of my cat. I very rarely wear 15 denier stockings because they just aren't practical -- I can usually only get three or four wearings out of them before something happens. They'll get snagged on something at work, or I'll trip and fall on the sidewalk, or my cat will decide I need to be climbed like a tree, and that's all she wrote.

On the other hand, "service weight" stockings last indefinitely -- they'll wear a hole thru the toe or heel before they'll run. Even if the cat decides to use my thigh as a scratching post, the worst they'll do is get a hole, which I can either stitch up or prevent from running with nail polish or fray-stop. I have service-weights I've owned for five or six years that are still perfectly wearable.

Rayon stockings don't usually last long enough for me finish putting them on. Doesn't matter how careful I am, nine times out of ten they pop to pieces the moment I try to wear them. They deteriorate very badly with age, and usually even new-old-stock stockings will have holes in them right out of the box.

 

[Louise Anne]

It depends on a lot of factors --

Yes I agree ,I would also like to know if ladies back in time had the same issues with there stocking as crops up in this thread now and again.
With stocking a lot depends upon the size and ever one seams to be different in not only hight.

 

[LizzieMaine]

If you read between the lines in advertising of the time you see that women of the Era were just as frustrated by the short life of hosiery as we are. Lux soap flakes built an entire campaign around the idea of washing your stockings immediately after taking them off at night "because perspiration acids weaken the delicate fibers and cause runs."

That being said, though, I don't think traditional full-fashioned stockings are more prone to damage than modern hose -- exactly the opposite, in fact. Because of the use of spandex in modern stockings, the fibers are constantly under tension -- and if a snag or tiny hole develops it'll nearly always immediately pop into a run. That's often not the case with non-stretch stockings -- you're just as likely to end up with a little hole or snag you can repair easily as you are with a run up the whole length of the stocking.

 

[Miss Sabrina Fairchild]

On the other hand, "service weight" stockings last indefinitely -- they'll wear a hole thru the toe or heel before they'll run. Even if the cat decides to use my thigh as a scratching post, the worst they'll do is get a hole, which I can either stitch up or prevent from running with nail polish or fray-stop. I have service-weights I've owned for five or six years that are still perfectly wearable

Thanks so much for that info - I am still quite new to this. I haven't seen anything above 15 denier when it comes to stockings...where do you buy the service weight stockings? I had a quick search and didn't find much. Is it something you can only find as vintage/dead stock?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I don't think anybody repros service weight -- they were intended for daily wear by housewives and others who did a lot of active work over the course of the day: no sane woman would haul her washing around or carry ashes out of the cellar in dress-sheer hose. But they do turn up as old stock if you keep looking.

Service-weight stockings are 60 denier and up -- they're much less sheer than the usual 15 denier dress hose, but they aren't opaque. They often have a shiny finish, but you can sometimes find them with a dull look that's less conspicuous on the leg. They aren't glamorous at all, but they're very practical if you wear stockings every day for everyday chores.

There's also "walking sheer," or 30 denier, which were intended for ordinary daytime wear by office workers and the like. These are nice middle ground between the two extremes -- they aren't as wearproof as service weight but are much more durable than dress sheers while still having a sheer look.