Oh the Stigma with wearing seamed fully fashioned stockings!

[KittyT]

Does anyone here wear the FF white stockings? In my travels I've found some FF white stockings, some sheer and some more opaque and wondered if anyone wears the white ones.

I've never worn white stockings, FF or not. I just don't like the way they look!

 

[BonnieJean]

I'm thinking that the white stockings were worn by nurses.
My legs are white enough, so I'd pass on white FF stockings.

 

[Viviene]

Since I know the person I purchased them from I know they were not a nurse. There might have been another reason they chose the white but I don't know what it was. Thanks a bunch for your thoughts everyone.

 

[BonnieJean]

Viviene,
Could they of been worn with a wedding dress? I'm curious to know where white FF stockings would of been worn? Maybe there was a trend "back then" where white stockings would of been appropriate. If they're all cotton, then they could go back a bit farther...

 

[Shearer]

Funny, I just noticed several pairs of white RHT stockings on eBay recently. I stopped to look at them, but couldn't even think of anything to wear them with. Like BonnieJean said, I don't think my legs need to look any whiter than they are

I looked them up again and just for reference, the makers are Alberts, Mannings, Reyolds and Harlane.

One of the Alberts pair from Paris is actually quite pretty... non-RHT sheer white Parisian Lace... oh-la-la

 

[Viviene]

The one pair has cotton tops and cotton reinforced heels and toes. The other pair are very, very sheer. I also have a pair of very sheer knee high hose with elastic bands at the top. I imagine those would have been worn with pants.

 

[Sunny]

I think they could've been worn with light spring and summer dresses. My mother very occasionally, and more often in the 1980s and 1990s, wears sheer white hose with her nicest church dresses. Because they soil easily they may be saved for nicer occasions, just as black and other dark colors were often utilitarian and even conservative.

 

[princessofcandl]

FYI... We had to wear "whites" for Sorority rituals like inductions and such. The "whites" were white semi-formal attire, white shoes, and white hosery even if you were wearing a suit. I, being wise and older than most of my sisters, always bought a few packages at a time because white hose have gotten challenging to find. Especially in thigh highs and stockings which I prefer. I have a couple of pair in the closet right now to wear to alum rituals.

 

[ShooShooBaby]

the last time i wore white hose was for a "madeline" costume at the bookstore i worked at. i have been holding onto those suckers for SIX years now and have yet to find another use for them! lol

come to think of it, i haven't seen vintage pics of non-nurse women wearing white stockings ever. maybe they were a costume/wedding/special occasion thing then, too?

 

[Sunny]

*nods* It does sound they were more semi-formal, then. They might also be hard to recognize in black-and-white or sepia-toned photographs. It'd be worthwhile paying attention in the future, I suppose.

 

[princessofcandl]

*nods* It does sound they were more semi-formal, then. They might also be hard to recognize in black-and-white or sepia-toned photographs. It'd be worthwhile paying attention in the future, I suppose.

Heyyyyy.... I was in college 5 years ago! Don't make me sound older than I already am. hahahahahahaaa

 

[Sunny]

Heyyyyy.... I was in college 5 years ago! Don't make me sound older than I already am. hahahahahahaaa

I didn't mean that. But something like that sounds like a tradition that has held on for a long time. It's part of the "evidence" in looking for the answer to a question. Movies aren't going to come out and say, "Make sure you wear your white stockings to the wedding/tea/church service because everyone does it." We have to dig around for indications, in this case, that white stockings weren't worn just by nurses.

 

[Helen Troy]

I have no idea about white stockings in the past, but I do know that a shiny, sheer pair can look quite nice with light summer dresses. I have been known to wear that, I didn't know it was "unheard of".

When I was a little girl, nothing said "party" or "occasion" like wearing white pantyhose with my dress. It was an almost ritualistic part of "nice clothes."

 

[Emblaze]

I think the woman in this picture is wearing white stockings. I have a print of a slightly different version of the pic (It's the same pose, but from a different angle), and her stockings certainly seem white in that one. It's not as clear in this pic, so you'll have to take my word for it!

 

[Helen Troy]

I agree, that stockings look really white. And, to judge by this picture, wearing white stockings makes handsome marine nuts about you! So they are good for something, after all.

 

[phyllis1753]

Ahhh, Helen? The man is a SAILOR not a Marine. My dad was in the Navy during the war. I wouldn't want to tell you what he would have said about that error. According to him, anyway, Marines were called many things by sailors (and vice versa), not all of them complementary. Of course, it was good natured rivalry between young men and a way of blowing off steam. My money says the stockings are white. Standard color for nurses at that time.

Cheers!
Phyllis

 

[Sweet Leilani]

I had nothing but positive experiences wearing seamed stockings at Reading this weekend. Many older gentlemen stopped me and commented how nice it was to see them. I even had one older man tell me that my seams weren't straight (even though they were)- and then he said that since he hadn't said that in so long, he just wanted to tell someone! lol

I was lucky enough to have found a pair of deadstock vintage FF hose in my size and even though the temperatures were pushing 90, they were as comfortable as can be. I must have walked for miles over the course of the day, but my seams stayed straight and I didn't get even a tiny snag.

 

[BonnieJean]

My money says the stockings are white. Standard color for nurses at that time.

I was just going to ask if the lady was a nurse!
It sure looks like it.

 

[phyllis1753]

The photo was taken by Life photographer Alfred Eisenstadt on VJ day (Aug. 14. 1945). It has become iconic for the sense of feeling of release that the war was over. The woman has been identified as a nurse, one Edith Shain. The sailor has never been positively identified tho' many men have claimed the honor.

 

[Helen Troy]

Ahhh, Helen? The man is a SAILOR not a Marine. My dad was in the Navy during the war. I wouldn't want to tell you what he would have said about that error. According to him, anyway, Marines were called many things by sailors (and vice versa), not all of them complementary. Of course, it was good natured rivalry between young men and a way of blowing off steam.

Potato, potao. No, just kidding. Now that you mentioned it, I remember hearing something about that. Sailor it is, then. But what is the difference, who are sailors and who are marines? I am guessing, (wikipedia was not clear,) that marines serve in United States Marine Corps, and the sailors serve in the United States Navy. But other than that, what is the difference? What is the reason for having two different branches for naval warfare? And why does not the phrase "Hello there, marine" sound as good as "hello there, sailor? Ok, I will stop this fftopic: rambling now. But I would really like to know, it is fun to learn new things!