Editing Stocking (section)

==History==
[[File:NMA.0028271, Fashion Photo by Erik Liljeroth 1954.jpg|thumb|alt=A woman stretching a sheer stocking with her hands to inspect it|Examining the quality of nylon stockings, [[Malmö]] clothing factory, Sweden, 1954]]
[[File:Stockings for sale in south korea - 2007-6-9.jpg|thumb|alt=A display showing various stockings suspended on legs|Stockings on display for sale in [[South Korea]]]]
Historically, even though the word ''sock'' is at least as ancient in origin, what men normally wore in the medieval period were referred to as hose.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyundressed.com/2008/12/history-of-socks-and-stockings.html|title=History of Socks and Stockings|website=History Undressed|access-date=2016-03-08}}</ref><ref>Oxford English Dictionary, quotations{{clarify|date=March 2013}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=March 2013}} <!-- The cited source is a book review, not the book itself. The review is not a reliable source.  -->

The word ''stock'' used to refer to the bottom "stump" part of the body, and by [[analogy]] the word was used to refer to the one-piece covering of the lower trunk and limbs of the 15th century—essentially [[tights]] consisting of the ''upper-stocks'' (later to be worn separately as knee breeches) and ''nether-stocks'' (later to be worn separately as ''stockings''). (See [[Hose (clothing)|Hose]].)

In 1560, the merchant [[Thomas Gresham]] tried to buy silk hose ("sylke howsse") for [[Elizabeth I]] in Antwerp, but not finding any, instead sent her measurements to Spain for 20 pairs to be made.<ref>G. Dyfnallt Owen, ''Calendar of the manuscripts of the Marquess of Bath, preserved at Longleat'', 5 (London: HMSO, 1980), p. 159.</ref>

Before the 1590s, stockings were knitted by hand or constructed from woven cloth. Knitted stockings were preferred because of their flexibility. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-05-09 |title=A Revolution in Stockings {{!}} Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |url=https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2014/05/09/a-revolution-in-stockings/ |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=www.cooperhewitt.org |language=en-US}}</ref> The first [[knitting machine]]s were for making stockings.<ref>{{cite book|title=Elizabethan England|first=Kathy|last=Elgin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tlH7xI1M4GwC&pg=PA49|page=49|year=2005|publisher=Facts On File, Incorporated|isbn=978-0-8160-5946-1}}</ref> The stockings themselves were made of cotton, [[linen]], [[wool]] or [[silk]]. A polished cotton called [[Cotton|lisle]] was common, as were those made in the town of [[Balbriggan]].

Before the 1920s, stockings, if worn, were worn for warmth. In the 1920s, as [[hemline]]s of dresses rose and central heating was not widespread, women began to wear flesh-colored stockings  to cover their exposed legs. Those stockings were sheer, first made of silk or [[rayon]] (then known as "artificial silk") and after 1940 of [[nylon]].

[[File:KronenbergStockings.JPG|thumb|alt=Yellow box in which stockings were sold|left|Kronenberg brand stocking from mid-20th century]]
The introduction of nylon in 1939 by chemical company [[DuPont]] began a high demand for stockings in the United States with up to 4 million pairs being purchased in one day. [[Fully fashioned stockings|Nylon stockings]] were cheap, durable, and sheer compared to their cotton and silk counterparts. When America entered [[World War II]], DuPont ceased production of nylon stockings and retooled their factories to produce parachutes, airplane cords, and rope. This led to a shortage and the creation of a [[black market]] for stockings. At the end of the war DuPont announced that the company would return to producing stockings, but could not meet demand. This led to a series of disturbances in American stores known as the [[nylon riots]] until DuPont was able to increase production.<ref name="Nylonstory">{{cite book |title=Nylon: The Story of a Fashion Revolution |first=Susannah |last=Handley |publisher=Johns Hopkins Univ. Press |year=1999 |page=48 |isbn= 0-8018-6325-2}}</ref>

A precursor of [[pantyhose]] made an appearance in the 1940s and 1950s, when film and theater productions had stockings sewn to the briefs of actresses and dancers, according to actress-singer-dancer [[Ann Miller]]<ref>{{cite video|people=Robert Osborne (Host)|date=1997-08-20|title=Private Screenings: Ann Miller|medium=Television production|publisher=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref> and seen in popular films such as [[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|''Daddy Long Legs'']]. Today, stockings are commonly made using [[knitting|knitted]] wool, silk, cotton or nylon (see [[hosiery]]). The introduction of commercial pantyhose in 1959 gave an alternative to stockings, and the use of stockings declined dramatically. A main reason for this was the trend towards higher hemlines on dresses (see [[minidress]]). In 1970, U.S. sales of pantyhose exceeded stockings for the first time, and has remained this way ever since.<ref>{{cite book|last=Christensen|first=C. Roland|title=Business Policy: Text and Cases|publisher=R.D. Irwin|year=1982|isbn=0-256-02626-2|page=161}}</ref> Beginning in 1987, sales of pantyhose started a slight decline due to the newly invented hold-ups, but still remain the most sold kind of hosiery.