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Nothing but Seamed Stockings

pigeon toe

One Too Many
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1,328
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los angeles, ca
LizzieMaine said:
The tattoos looked pretty convincing -- but I had to wonder what they looked like when she was wearing shorts...

That's exactly what I think when I see those tattoos! I won't judge someone for their tattoos, considering I love the art form, but that one is kind of impractical since you have to choose your wardrobe around it.
 

TheKitschGoth

A-List Customer
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407
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Brighton, UK
pigeon toe said:
That's exactly what I think when I see those tattoos! I won't judge someone for their tattoos, considering I love the art form, but that one is kind of impractical since you have to choose your wardrobe around it.

Yeah, and say you found a gorgeous pair of seamed stockings that you wanted to wear, how silly would you look with two seams?
 

r lush

New in Town
Messages
33
Location
Seattle
I work with a gal who had tattooed seams on her legs, very cute actually! I haven't seen the top of hers, but I have seen ones with little tattooed bows to cap them off. I would do it but I just love wearing stockings and don't want to have a double seams on my legs.

Anyhow flys and all that smuged eyeliner must have been driving the gals crazy. When they finaly introduced nylon stockings back on the market there were actual riots...

--------------------------------------------------
from wikipedia...

"The nylon riots refer to a series of disturbances at American stores created by a nylon stocking shortage.

Nylon was first introduced around 1939 and was rapidly in extremely high demand in the US, with up to 4 million pairs of stockings bought in one day. The riots occurred between August 1945 and March 1946, when Du Pont shifted its manufacturing from wartime material to nylon stockings, at the same time launching a promotional campaign. In one of the worst disturbances, in Pittsburgh, 40,000 women queued up for 13,000 pairs of stockings, leading to fights breaking out. It took several months before Du Pont was able to ramp up production to meet demand."
 

Fleur De Guerre

Call Me a Cab
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2,056
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Walton on Thames, UK
I have friends with stocking seam tattoos, they all have little toppers - butterflies, bows, that sort of thing. They all have other tattoos too (you have to be pretty serious about tattoos to get stocking seams I think) and when they wear shorts/swimming costumes etc it simply looks like a girl with a tattoo on the back of her legs, not like she is wearing seamed stockings!
 

Tourbillion

Practically Family
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667
Location
Los Angeles
All the girls I know with tattoo seams have full sleeves as well, so tattoos on the legs aren't a big deal for them.

lol

As for black stockings for day, it seems old fashioned to me (as in WWI era or earlier). I have 20's and 30's photos of ladies with black rolled stockings, but they are opaque. Every Victorian girl probably wore black or white stockings every day. Thick ones, maybe wool or cotton, sometimes silk. I've seen a million photos of this.

I have vintage lightweight cotton stockings, but they are nude.

Sheer black stockings like the ones from Magnolia Hosiery scream evening to me, but I might do them for a dressy day look if I wore black.
 

mysterygal

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2,667
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Washington
Sheer black stockings like the ones from Magnolia Hosiery scream evening to me, but I might do them for a dressy day look if I wore black.[/QUOTE]

I think it also depends on the outfit you're wearing. I tend to wear sheer black stockings more during the winter months than say, spring and summer time, which I tend to opt for a lighter color stocking for the day.
 

Tourbillion

Practically Family
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667
Location
Los Angeles
A little bird told me that ladies sometimes wore black shoes and stockings, even with their wedding dresses around 1920. And it wasn't "something blue" either, the gown was white lace!

It seems odd today, but black shoes (or boots) and stockings were a uniform until about then. They would be wore with any color, even white. Nude stockings seem so 1920's and on to me.

Anyway, I have an ad for RIT stocking dye from 1946. The shades (not shown in ad) are mist brown, sun beige, butternut or desert sand. They are to dye stockings from nylon to lisle. I think of stockings from 1946 as being silk or rayon, but apparantly not. Also, I guess you wouldn't need any special stocking dye to dye your stockings black, as regular black RIT would do the trick!
 

GOK

One Too Many
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1,308
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Raxacoricofallapatorius
After reading this thread, I just went through some old movies and all the ladies I saw were wearing natural coloured stockings for daytime.

On a personal level, I prefer black stockings. Mostly because I have chunky legs and frankly, anything that is going to make my pins look slimmer is fine by me! For everyday wear, I usually go for seamed tulle stockings (I wish you could get them with RHTs too though) as they are almost indestructible but for evenings (as in going out, not lounging indoors!), it has to be proper FFs or something equally swanky.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone with tattooed seams. I love/have tattoos but I'm not sure I'd want to go that far. [huh] Each to her own though.
 

missjo

Practically Family
Messages
509
Location
amsterdam
As my style is centered around the wartime woman in the netherlands Nylon is a big NO NO to me.
There was no nylon about in europe till 45, according to most women i speak they couldnt get hold of it till much later.
So I mostly wear cotton, perlon or other synthetic silk stockings, of course all with a seam.
And yes, like a proper housewife I repair them!

Heres what my foot looks like;
stockings3.jpg


I like portraying the more common woman at events and during my daily life, too many people have been bitten by the glamour bug and walk around like hollywood moviestars, even at wartime events.

When I go to parties I wear my best stockings, although inside my shoes, out of sight they are usually a patchwork of reperations.

Women (especially the younger ones) did paint their legs, they used all sorts of stuff to do that.
A eyepencil could make the seam.

The most fashionable colour of the day was 'rust' and the seam usually was the same colour.
Wearing stockings with a very obvious seam (like the black ones on modern stockings) wasnt that common, seams were nessesity not something to look sexy with.
The seam shouldnt stand out.
 

pigeon toe

One Too Many
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1,328
Location
los angeles, ca
Fancy or Unusual Seamed Stockings

Lately I've been browsing Ebay for vintage seamed stockings, and I've come across some pretty unusual pairs.

One pair was a pretty peach color, seamed, with small rhinestones above the ankles. Another two pairs were nude, with either a dark red or dark green toe and heel, with a matching colored seam. I've come across that style before, except only with a navy blue seam. The red and green ones are just stunning!

I would post links, but since these are active auctions, I'm guessing that's a no-no.

So my question is, were these types of stockings at all common in their day? I can't imagine the average woman traipsing around doing errands with rhinestone encrusted stockings! But since these are truly vintage, who did wear them?
 

jitterbugdoll

Call Me a Cab
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2,042
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Soon to be not-so-sunny Boston
Stockings like so were around during the 1950s, but were reserved for dressy wear. You do see very unusual colors (even earlier too, in the 1930s-40s) and designs--flocking, rhinestones, etc., but for everyday wear, the basic fully fashioned stocking or RHT was queen :)
 

MissHuff

A-List Customer
Messages
330
Location
Providence, Rhode Island
I would LOVE to have different colored seams on my stockings to go with different outfits lol. I'm such a seam whore sometimes but always as an added detail to an outfit still very proper lol.
 

fortworthgal

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2,646
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Panther City
I would think it would have been reserved for special occasions. I do have several original WWII photos of women wearing nude stockings with black backseams, which most people will tell you were not around until the 50s. Obviously they were being worn, but probably just not overly common and not for everyday.

I'd reserve the colored seams and decorated stockings for evenings or special occasions, but if you like them, why not wear them?
 

pigeon toe

One Too Many
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1,328
Location
los angeles, ca
I had no idea stockings like those existed until now. I would love to see more varieties of "fancy" stockings, but I only see them on Ebay once in a blue moon. Unfortunately, the ones with the colored seams are a size and a half too large! Otherwise I would love to have some to coordinate with my outfits.

Do any of you ladies have any unusual stockings?
 

crystalface

One of the Regulars
Messages
119
Location
San Francisco
MissHuff said:
I would LOVE to have different colored seams on my stockings to go with different outfits lol. I'm such a seam whore sometimes but always as an added detail to an outfit still very proper lol.
I prefer the term seam enthusiast. :p

I'd also loooove to have seams that matched the color of my outfit. :eek:
 

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