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Steve, of Stocking Showcase is back with a history lesson in vintage stockings... Reinforced heel and toe (RHT) and seamed stockings were both widely made and worn after 1945 and into the 1950’s and later. In an effort to increase sales and interest, the mills had embellished the seamed stocking into the style called “Blackfoot” and “Fancyfoot”. Remember, the full fashioned stocking had a seam running down the length of the leg to the “fully reinforced foot”. The toe, heel and bottom of the foot was a darker shade (and thicker nylon) than the leg. The characteristic of the “blackfoot” stocking was to use a black nylon to weave this “fully reinforced foot”. The next innovation on this design was to embellish it with fancy outlines and patterns woven around the heel and along the foot. This became quite imaginative as designs later adorned the heel and side of stocking as well. In our inventory we hold one of the widest range of styles available anywhere. You can view our detailed pictures to see some of the handiwork and wide range of designs. Some of the ornate objects found on the ankle and leg include: stars and planets, birds, hearts, flowers, arrows just to name a few. We refer to these as “Fancyfoot” stockings for obvious reasons. The more common design was a repeating pattern of boxes, squares or arrow heads (referred to as necklaces, diamonds or racetracks or similar names) that outlined the ‘blackfoot’. Keep in mind, the design was actually WOVEN in the stocking, not added (as in modern appliques are)! The complexity and precision of this operation is astonishing. The results were beautiful. This is why these command a high interest for collectors of these fashions of that era. These represent some of the rarest styles of the era and command high prices. Fashion in the 1960’s brought us hot pants then miniskirts. The ‘Mesh’ weave was introduced around this time. The big attraction to this style of weave is that the nylons would last much, much longer because they did not run or ladder as easily as the ‘flat knit’ cousin. If you caught a nail on the leg, the weave would ‘lock in place’ and prevent a run. Variations of this weave were known as ‘Cantrun’ or ‘Kantrun’. Appearance-wise, this style did not have the ‘shine’ that flat knit nylons had and was not as silky to the touch. If you had to wear nylons with miniskirts, you obviously had a problem: the stockings were not long enough! More leg was showing and a ‘proper lady’ would never allow her garters to show! This brought on a style of stockings that would take care of this dilemma: the “Tall Girl” stocking. Designed to a much, much longer length, they instantly appealed to the long legged gals who were ‘in-fashion’ in a miniskirt. Now your garters would not extend below the skirt. Another fashion emergency has been dealt with! It was not much later that the entire stocking industry was dealt the ‘death blow’……the invention of PANTYHOSE! You can find out more at Steve's site: The History of Stockings.
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