The evolution of tights: from men's clothing to sewn-together stockings

While some items of clothing gradually evolved, others walked around the bush. Tights, for example, were originally more like leggings, and then for a long time separate stockings. The full version was invented entirely by accident. However, like the Russian name of the thing. I’ll tell you about all this today!

"Ancestors" of tights

The first stockings were made in Ancient Greece in the 6th century BC, as evidenced by archaeological excavations and images on ancient bas-reliefs. At that time they were knitted from fine wool, but later this technology was forgotten and then restored again only in the 13th century. At that time, silk, velvet or woolen stockings were worn by men, fashionable noble gentlemen at the courts of the French and Spanish kings.

It is believed that women's stockings came into fashion thanks to Queen Elizabeth I of England.She often wore them, even though at that time women's legs were constantly hidden under long, full skirts. During the reign of Elizabeth I, in 1589, the first knitting machine was made for the production of hosiery from wool and silk. Stockings knitted on it turned out to be thinner, and therefore they became very popular.

Stocking boom

This is a turning point in the history of hosiery. Long trousers have firmly entered men's fashion, but stockings have gone into oblivion. They were replaced by short socks. Women's skirts became shorter and the need for stockings increased greatly.

The first industrial knitting machine was invented by William Cotton in 1868, and stockings began to be mass produced. At the same time, “artificial silk” and viscose were created. Things began to be made from it in 1910. Viscose linen was a little more transparent and smoother, similar to silk, but was cheaper.

Nylon from DuPont

In 1935, a group of scientists from the American company DuPont tried to invent a material with the properties of silk. This is how the world's first high-strength synthetic fiber - nylon - appeared. Its strength was appreciated by stocking manufacturers, and in 1939 they released the first batch of nylon stockings, which immediately gained wild popularity. The slogan of the day was that they had “the strength of steel and the fineness of spider web.”

In May 1940, 4 million pairs of stockings were sold! It was a real boom.

The birth of tights

The item owes its appearance to the American celebrity, actress, singer and dancer Ann Miller. Back then, stockings were sewn onto underwear so that one could dance freely. If they tore, then it became a real problem.That’s why Ann Miller personally asked the tights manufacturer to come up with and make something for her that could be easily taken off and just as easily put on. Thus, in the 1940s, tights were born.

The Second World War suspended their production, because all raw materials were sent to the needs of the army. These items of women's wardrobe instantly became scarce. After the war, demand grew sky-high, and huge queues for tights in stores were a common occurrence.

Meanwhile, technology did not stand still. The products have acquired different colors and densities. In the 50s, the first seamless tights appeared.

Lycra and miniskirts

A significant event of those times was the invention of the miniskirt, which was invented by British designer Mary Quant. From that moment on, tights became firmly established in the wardrobes of all women, regardless of age and social status.

At the same time, the DuPont concern invented the elastic fiber spandex (elastane), which is now known to everyone under the name “lycra”. With the advent of new material, tights began to fit the leg better, and their appearance changed and became prettier. However, lycra was not immediately used in the manufacture of tights; it was originally created to improve the quality of women's underwear.

Why exactly "tights"

World fashion came to the USSR from Czechoslovakia in the early 60s. The name “kalhoty” was borrowed from the Czechs. Translated, it literally means “pants.” Although in Soviet GOST for a long time tights were called “stocking leggings”.

In the 60s in the USSR they were truly expensive. Already in the 70s, products from the GDR appeared. They were noticeably cheaper, but still not everyone could afford them.Women took care of their tights, wore them to the point of holes and then darned them.

Own production in the USSR was launched at the Brest Hosiery Factory. However, the first tights were only in nude shades. They were bought and painted independently at home.