What a crew!! I really enjoyed reading the many aspects of hosiery wearing from the past and present, even the guys versions :lol:
We weren't allowed to wear nylons at school and I had enough problems with ankle socks. They always seemed to stretch or develop huge holes in the heels!!!! I was always glad I had learned to darn in the nBrownies and
the wooden darning "mushroom" was never far away. So I was glad to be rid of those ankle socks for every day wear.
The "stocking" thing was an ngoing "nightmare" situation most of the time. I earned very little at British Railways in l957 and it seemed I was forever looking for cheaper priced stockings. Sometimes I would head down to the Bull Ring Market to find some "seconds". Some of those were a good deal and some of them had ladders in them when you bought them from those spivs.
My Mother used to buy some of her stockings from the Market in Newtown close to where she worked. She, like most women laddered them at an alarming rate. She used to keep loads of them in various states, under a cushion on a chair in her bedroom. I was always in there looking for match-ups to replace my usually laddered and snagged stockings. Naturally, I was forbidden to touch these.
There were all different heel types with seams and sometimes very racy looking black patterned heels, etc...couldn't have those because they would be recognized. l5 denier were the most desired type... 30 denier maybe, but not really!!!!!! My old supervisor at work used to wear the lisle type. Most young girls shuddered because mostly only "spinsters"
and grannies wore those.
My mother was totally oblivious to the fact that I might want to wear nylons at the weekends also. Then there was the matter of shade matchup.......not a great thing to be sitting on the bus going to the Youth Club dance only to find that in a different light each stocking was a different shade
It always seemed daft to me that even though everyone knew these items of clothing were prone to destruction almost from the moment you put them on, that's if you didn't sometimes ruin them whilst putting them on......fingernails ripping them followed by curses as you destroyed the newly donned nylons just before going out
for a special evening, that not much was done to improve them. I could never see men putting up with such a product.
We women all seemed to have little cards of cotton with various shades of nylon thread in order to make hasty repairs at home and in our handbags, plus nail polish to help save the blooming things. Some women were better at this than others...I sadly wasn't!!! Usually, the nail polish was bright red and stuck to my legs thus promoting odd comments usually from men at work and don't ask about the darning situation!.
Then along came the stockings that weren't supposed to ladder...Polly something..... I think. I used to buy mine from Dorothy Perkins. There was always a question of size, somewhat like shoes...I used to wear the size that was the most common and, therefore, sold out first Of course they did ladder eventually. I was so glad when tights came on the market and I remember some girls from London who lived in the same house as me in Toronto showed me them and taught me the three legged idea. :roll: :roll:
