Nothing but Seamed Stockings

[Miss Moonlight]

I see this thread hasn't been posted in for some time. It's awful what Facebook's done to forums. :/ Anyway, I wonder if anyone knows of a good daytime stocking that they can recommend from experience? I'm in the process of building a daytime wardrobe, and I'd like to have a somewhat sturdier stocking to wear with dresses and either oxfords or peeptoe shoes.

I don't want cotton stockings, as I live in San Diego, and the need for them is very rare. I might find some eventually, but for now, I just want seamed, daytime stockings. Thanks in advance!

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think your best bet might be to look for "walking sheer" or "service weight" stockings on eBay. They often don't go for the money that sheerer styles do. I find that a 70-denier service weight stocking will stand up to just about anything, and often the toes will wear out before I get runs.

These are less comfortable to wear in warm climates than sheerer styles, though, so that's a consideration.

If strict period authenticity is not necessary, the "Supp-Hose" brand of support stockings were made with seams well into the 1970s, and very often show up as dead stock on eBay. These are not sheer, but neither are they opaque. They're definitely not something for dressy wear, but they're very good to wear if you're on your feet working all day, and go well with work dresses and oxfords.

I don't know of any repro company that makes real service weight stockings today, so pretty much all you're going to find is old stock.

Stay away from rayon stockings, whether new or old stock. They don't last, they bag, and old stock ones will often be full of holes without ever having been taken out of the box because the fabric isn't stable.

 

[EstherWeis]

I don't know of any repro company that makes real service weight stockings today, so pretty much all you're going to find is old stock.

I just heard of this company, and apparently they even make them on 1940's machines.

http://www.whatkatiedid.com/en_gb/products/104/hosiery/retro-seamed-stockings

 

[Miss Moonlight]

I think your best bet might be to look for "walking sheer" or "service weight" stockings on eBay. They often don't go for the money that sheerer styles do. I find that a 70-denier service weight stocking will stand up to just about anything, and often the toes will wear out before I get runs.~snip~ Stay away from rayon stockings, whether new or old stock. They don't last, they bag, and old stock ones will often be full of holes without ever having been taken out of the box because the fabric isn't stable.

Thank you, Lizzie, for the advice! I will search for those on ebay.

I just heard of this company, and apparently they even make them on 1940's machines.

http://www.whatkatiedid.com/en_gb/products/104/hosiery/retro-seamed-stockings

What Katie Did does make great stockings, I have some. But I think I'd destroy them wearing them for housework and trips to the store in the car. I save them for evenings out or the like. They're a thinner, less supportive stocking, though lovely.

I did come across a day stocking that Dita has designed. No seams, but I might give them a go. And then I found she also makes a seamed daytime stocking. Same url for each.
http://www.secretsinlace.com/produc...ecrets-in-lace/Dita_Von_Teese_Nylon_Stockings


But I also don't know anyone who's used them yet.

 

[lolly_loisides]

........
I did come across a day stocking that Dita has designed. No seams, but I might give them a go. And then I found she also makes a seamed daytime stocking. Same url for each.
http://www.secretsinlace.com/produc...ecrets-in-lace/Dita_Von_Teese_Nylon_Stockings


But I also don't know anyone who's used them yet.

I've bought Pamela Mann seamed tights & stockings & were happy with them (given the price) I see they are cheaper than the Dita day stockings (but postage to the US might end up being more expensive). Anyway, here's the link to the website https://pamelamann.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=jive

edit - This is the company I bought the seamed tights from (they also sell seamed stockings). Free delivery if you spend over $40US. https://www.thetightspot.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=jive

 

[Miss Moonlight]

Thank you, I appreciate it!

 

[St. Louis]

Reviving this thread to ask about summer stockings. To the best of your knowledge, is it true that ladies did not go bare-legged in the summer? I know there's a lot of talk about leg make-up during the war, but I see very few advertisements for that in the (many) 1930s and 1940s magazines I have at home. Sears and Spiegel catalogs show it after the early years of the war, but again, something tells me this was not really a common trend, certainly not for women over 30.

Here in St. Louis the summer weather gets pretty hot: nineties into the low hundreds and very high humidity. Even my best efforts at authenticity fail me at those times. I quail at girdles and stockings. I'm also not convinced that women wore cotton anklets with anything other than sportswear.

My grandmother, who raised her kids in the middle of WWII (near the German border of France) wore black stockings every day of her life.

Not sure where I'm going with this; it's mostly a question, especially for those of you ladies who wear 30s and 40s most of the time. What are your thoughts

 

[LizzieMaine]

Rolled stockings were very common on summer days. The thing to do was take a length of elastic webbing and make a round garter out of it, and then roll the top half of the stocking into it, ending just below the knee. This also allowed you to dispense with the girdle or garter belt. My grandmother did this to the end of her days.

It wasn't simply a matter of decorum, either. Wearing closed leather shoes without socks was uncomfortable and unsanitary, and the little "footie" socks that are available today were not available then. You either needed to wear rolled stockings, lastex-topped knee lengths, or bobby socks or your feet would end up a blistered smelly mess. And your shoes would grow mold inside.

You'd see plenty of women in the summer going bare-legged, wearing cotton dresses and ankle socks with low-heeled light-colored oxfords (sometimes with mesh inserts) or saddle shoes. The socks weren't always white, either -- colored socks to match the dress were not uncommon. Dig up the "Everyday Women Of The Golden Era" thread and you may find some examples. Home movie footage from the 1939 World's Fair also offers glmpses.

Another thing worth noting is that nylon is the worst thing you can wear in the summer. Silk was far more tolerable, but fine cotton lisle stockings were even more so if you insisted on full leg coverage. Some of these were pretty close to being sheer, and they were much cooler to wear than any kind of nylon hosiery.

 

[St. Louis]

Thanks! That is very helpful, as always. I assume my grandmother must have used rolled garters. I just cannot picture her wearing any kind of corset or other appliance.

By sheerest coincidence (no pun) I received a 1942 needlework magazine in today's mail. Lo and behold, they showed a pattern for "footlets," i.e., knitted shoe liners. The primary purpose was evidently to protect silk hose from wear inside shoes, but since this was a summer issue, the instructions mentioned that the footlets could also be worn without hose. I would love to try knitting up a pair, but the instrux call for a gauge of 10 sts to the inch, and I've never been able to achieve anything that tiny, even on 0000-size needles.

 

[Rockapin-up]

I see this thread hasn't been posted in for some time. It's awful what Facebook's done to forums. :/ Anyway, I wonder if anyone knows of a good daytime stocking that they can recommend from experience? I'm in the process of building a daytime wardrobe, and I'd like to have a somewhat sturdier stocking to wear with dresses and either oxfords or peeptoe shoes.

I don't want cotton stockings, as I live in San Diego, and the need for them is very rare. I might find some eventually, but for now, I just want seamed, daytime stockings. Thanks in advance!

I wear the following to the office with no problem. I do work in air conditioning but have wandered out and about on my lunch break, but if it's too hot I usually stay in because unless I'm wearing pantyhose, I would have to deal with chub rub (chafing) when wearing stockings.

I wear these : https://www.whatkatiedid.com/en_gb/product/1116/fully-fashioned-stockings-point-french-heel

These : https://www.whatkatiedid.com/en_gb/product/1366/seamed-stockings-contrast-nude-with-black-seam

These :http://www.justfigures.com/hoisery/stockings-1/backseam-1/gio_cuban_stockings_new.html

Purchased from this shop but I got the sizing off as they only came half way up my thigh and I prefer it to sit higher, but they are pretty sturdy vintage nylons : https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThrowbackNylon/items

And these https://www.secretsinlace.com/produ...Nylon-Full-Fashioned-Stocking/Nylon_Stockings

 

[Grant Fan]

Trying to revive this once again, I am looking for some good cotton seamed stocking, with Cuban heels. They are for ww2 reenacting so the more authentic the better. They need to be fully fashioned and because my whole unit will need them vintage isn't going to work. The picture is from a book of exactly what was worn by WACs at the time. Please also know we are wearing them for warmth