Can you imagine a time where women live in a world of fashion devoid of stockings, tights, or pantyhose. Granted this wasn’t always issue, but there was a time when the tights and stockings were far from the comfortable, form fitting, versatile ones we can go out and buy today. Stockings have endured a long and strange life that began over 400 years ago in Europe. Here are some interesting and fun facts about stockings that you may not know.

• Men in tights. That’s right, it was men who first coveted this leg hugging fashion. Somewhere around the mid 1500’s stockings were knitted from materials like wool, silk, and cotton and were mainly worn by our male counterparts while women still were a little out of the loop.

• Women did begin to wear panty hose eventually but for a long period of time silk tights remained something that only well to do women were able to afford and wear.

• The major movement in the history of stocking, at least in women’s fashion, began as the hem lines of dresses lifted from basically the floor to the ankle. Once women began to show more skin stocking began to become more popular.

• Even though women in the early 1900’s did wear stockings, it was seldom as a fashion statement. Instead, women’s stockings were worn much like we wear bras and panties, that is, they were only worn as part of an extensive undergarment set.

• In the 1930 and 1940’s when the political and social climate of the world began to change, not always for the best, the hem line seemed to get hirer and higher. This is probably the reason why by 1930’s tights were become a wardrobe staple for many women.

• The being era of stocking for women marked a time when there were more sizes that just the A B C’s that we find in our department stores. Stockings were made from materials that were not as elastic as the nylon we have nowadays. This meant that stocking were often, baggy, didn’t fit right, needed to be held up, and came in a variety of sizes. This is also why there are seams down the back of the leg.

• Stocking were mainly made from silk or rayon, which is actually artificial silk, this made stockings expensive leaving women with only a few pairs. Since they were not as easily obtained as they are today, many women were forced to "darn" or sew their stocking when they were damaged or ripped.

• During World War II tights were expensive and the material was rare (many materials used to make tights were used for military purposes) Since the hemline was around the knee about this time, many women felt they needed to have panty hose to complete their outfit. What did they do? Women who couldn’t afford or find pantyhose would use eye liner to draw a line up the back of their legs that would resemble the seam found on stockings.

• Think that the ever increasing popularity of tights with designs and prints on them is something new? Think again. Women during the 1940’s often painted different themes and motifs on their tights to personalize them.