Editing Bodystocking

{{Short description|One-piece, skin-tight garment made of knitted or stretch material}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
[[File:Fishnet bodystocking - open crotch visible from the rear.jpg|thumb|Bodystocking]]

A '''bodystocking'''  or '''body stocking''' is a one-piece [[skin-tight garment]] that covers the torso, legs and sometimes the arms of the wearer. It is a [[foundation garment]] or an article of [[lingerie]] usually made from a [[sheer fabric]] similar to that used for [[stockings]] or [[pantyhose]], or from [[fishnet]], [[lace]] or an opaque material, or a variation of these materials.<ref name="voices">{{Cite web|url=http://voices.yahoo.com/bodystockings-sexy-lingerie-many-occasions-695889.html|title=Bodystockings: Sexy Lingerie for Many Occasions |website=Yahoo Voices |first1=Victoria |last1=Sanders |date=Dec 10, 2007 |accessdate=26 October 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140619123326/http://voices.yahoo.com/bodystockings-sexy-lingerie-many-occasions-695889.html|archivedate=19 June 2014}}</ref> A bodystocking differs from a [[unitard]], which is worn as an outfit or article of clothing, and a [[leotard]], which is used as a practice garment or performance costume for [[acrobatics|acrobats]], [[gymnasts]] and other similar performers. Designed to be revealed, but not to be too revealing, bodystockings may be worn as undergarments by performers such as [[belly dancer]]s and [[exotic dancer]]s.

== Description ==

Oftentimes bodystockings are made of sheer fabric and are worn with or without undergarments such as a [[Brassiere|bra]].<ref name="voices" /> Bodystockings normally come in only two sizes, especially when they use stretch material. A body stocking may be worn for the smooth line it gives or because it cannot become untucked from trousers or a skirt. When worn as underwear, it is usually not worn with other underwear. It may be worn with [[panties]] for extra coverage or a bra for extra support. [[Sheer fabric|Sheer]] body stockings are too revealing to be worn alone.

Opaque bodystockings can be worn in place of [[tights]] and a blouse. Bodystockings also come in fishnet, lace and [[satin]], the latter which may just consist of the top portion of the bodystocking, allowing it to be worn underneath a suit jacket to serve as a blouse. These types of bodystockings are also made sheer, enabling the wearer to wear a more revealing outfit coupled with sheer coverage for line smoothing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/26/magazine/this-spring-s-under-statements.html |url-access=subscription |title=This Spring's Under-statements |date=February 26, 1989 |first1=Bernadine |last1=Morris  |work=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=2012-10-16 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005021955/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/26/magazine/this-spring-s-under-statements.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |archive-date= 2013-10-05}}</ref>

Bodystockings are put on through the neck, in a similar technique to putting on a pair of tights: the body and arm sections are rolled down and then the legs are scrunched up like stockings; one would put one foot in and pull the stocking part up, and then the same on the other leg; from the waist, the bodystocking is pulled up over the torso to the chest, and then the arms are scrunched up and put on in same way as the legs; and the garment is then adjusted as required, and any ribbons and fasteners tied.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.funkybodystockings.co.uk/How-to-Wear-a-Bodystocking_ep_44-1.html |title=How to Wear a Bodystocking |website=Funky BodyStockings |access-date=2014-03-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423203921/http://www.funkybodystockings.co.uk/How-to-Wear-a-Bodystocking_ep_44-1.html |archive-date= 2014-04-23 }}</ref>

Due to its design, and its close-fitting and one-piece aspect, the wearer may have to remove the bodystocking  for [[excretion]], but crotchless bodystockings are also available. If a bodystocking is a foundation garment, any over clothing will also need to be removed.

== History ==

It is unclear when the first bodystocking was made or when it was first worn.

The first notable occasion was when American actress [[Adah Isaacs Menken]] wore one in 1861 in the play ''Mazeppa'', based on [[Lord Byron|Byron]]'s "[[Mazeppa (Byron)|Mazeppa]]", in which she played a [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] man who was tied nude to the back of a wild horse by his enemies. In the scene Menken wore a flesh coloured bodystocking to preserve her [[modesty]] while giving the illusion of [[nudity]]. The practice created controversy.<ref name="Brooks">Brooks, Daphne A. “Lady Menken’s Secret: Adah Isaacs Menken, Actress Biographies and the Race for Sensation.” ''Legacy'', Volume 15. Number 1. (1998): pages 68-77.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://miyalingerie.com/blogs/news/a-history-of-bodystockings |title=History of Bodystockings |publisher=Funky Bodystockings |accessdate=2013-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730211134/https://miyalingerie.com/blogs/news/a-history-of-bodystockings|archive-date=2013-07-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A body stocking was used in a [[tableau vivant]] style short film ''The Birth of the Pearl'' (1901),<ref>Produced by [[Frederick S. Armitage]] for the [[American Mutoscope and Biograph Company]]</ref> which featured an unnamed long-haired young model wearing a flesh-coloured body stocking in a direct frontal pose<ref name=sexinfilms1>{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmsite.org/sexinfilms1.html|title=Sex in Cinema: Pre-1920s Greatest and Most Influential Erotic / Sexual Films and Scenes|website=www.filmsite.org}}</ref> and provided a provocative view of the female body.<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awmi10/d21.html American Women]</ref>

Other problematic roles which have sometimes been facilitated by wearing a flesh-coloured body-stocking are those of [[Eve]] in Biblical dramas and [[Lady Godiva]] in carnivals.

== Gallery ==

<gallery>
File:Fishnet bodystocking.jpg|Alternate angle from model in main image
File:Fishnet bodystocking as it might be worn under a dress.jpg|Fishnet bodystocking as it might be worn under a dress
File:Simple sweater dress with with turtleneck - pose 1.jpg|A bodystocking worn under a dress
</gallery>

== See also ==

* [[Bodysuit]]
* [[Zentai]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

{{Commonscategory|Bodystockings}}
{{Hosiery}}
{{Lingerie}}

[[Category:20th-century fashion]]
[[Category:21st-century fashion]]
[[Category:Fetish clothing]]
[[Category:Lingerie]]
[[Category:One-piece suits]]
[[Category:Sportswear]]