Wednesday Medley

I'm linking up today with Terri @ Your Friend From Florida for her always fun Wednesday Medley.

NATIONAL NYLON STOCKING DAY – May 15

NATIONAL NYLON STOCKING DAY

National Nylon Stocking Day is observed across the country each year on May 15.

Many may not remember ever hearing the term “nylon stockings.” Varying in color, design, and transparency, a nylon stocking (also known as hose) is a close-fitting, variously elastic garment worn the same as socks or tights.

Stockings worn before the 1890s were made of woven cloth such as cotton, linen, wool or silk.   Before the 1920s, women’s stockings were worn for warmth.  As hemlines of women’s dresses rose in the 1920s, women began to wear stockings over their exposed legs.  These 1920s stockings were sheer, made first of silk or rayon, followed by nylon after 1940.

Chemical company DuPont’s introduction of nylon in 1939 began a high demand for stockings in the United States.  As nylon stockings were inexpensive, durable and shear, up to 4 million pairs would be purchased each day.

On February 11, 1942, as America entered World War II, DuPont ceased production of nylon stockings and switching their focus to the manufacture of parachutes, airplane cords and rope.  This created a mass shortage followed by a black market for stockings.  At the end of World War II, DuPont resumed production of the stockings but could not meet the demand leading to nylon riots in American stores. In time, DuPont was able to increase its output.

In the 1940s and 1950s, the first pantyhose made its appearance.  Film and theater productions had stockings sewn to the briefs of actresses and dancers, as seen in popular films such as Daddy Long Legs. Unlike stockings, pantyhose did not require a garter belt to hold the stockings up.

Pantyhose were introduced in 1959, providing a convenient alternative to stockings which led to a decline in their sales.  In 1970, for the first time, United States sales of pantyhose exceeded stocking sales and has remained the same ever since.   In 1987, there was a slight decline in sales in pantyhose due to the newly invented hold-ups. However, they remain the most purchased kind of hosiery.

Everything above this line is from the National Day Calendar site.

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1.  Do you (men don't have to answer) ever wear stockings today?  Not if I can help it. I think I might have a pair or two stashed in the back of a drawer just in case, but I don't know would make me wear them. I didn't even wear them for our daughter's wedding.

2.  Terri can remember her mom wearing hose with the seam in the back.  Do you have any memories of those?  None at all.  During the war, when stockings were scarce, women would draw a line on their legs to simulate wearing stockings!  How far would you go to superficially fake something today?  I can't think of a thing I'd bother faking.

3.  Women actually rioted after WWII because Dupont couldn't keep up with the demand for nylon stockings!  Is there anything today you would riot for if the supply dried up (other than basic food and water needs)?  Books. Toilet paper.

4.  Pantyhose were first called Panty Legs.  I'm sure we all have worn pantyhose at one time or another (again, men don't have to answer). Do you still have a pair or three in a drawer?  Oops! Got ahead of you on that one. I already confessed I do. Do you wear them?  Nope.

5.  This is also National Chocolate Chip Day.  Perhaps chocolate is something to riot for if we ran out?  That would depend on the day and my mood. Some days a girl's just gotta have some chocolate. Joe's favorite cookie is chocolate chip.  What is yours?  Chocolate chip. Specifically, Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies.

6.  Please share something with us about your week.  There hasn't been anything much going on that is worthy of mention. It's been quiet. And wet. And cold. I'm looking forward to the temperatures warming up in the next few days and to having the weekend off...even though the forecast has changed and they are now predicting more rain. Sigh. I am never going to get any yard work done or get my raised beds ready for planting.