vintage

“For many years I have been a fan of high-fidelity, simply because I am a music lover. What has this to do with stockings, you ask? Read on… and no, it’s nothing about stuffing FFs in the rear ports of your speakers.

“Up until say 1983, EVERY hi-fi nut owned a turntable, and then CDs came in. Record companies immediately began to wind down vinyl LP production and release their catalogue on CDs. The press predicted turntables would be dead in two years!

“Read a hi-fi mag now. It’s full of exotic turntables, sources of vinyl records, etc. While Mr Average uses a CD, true aficionados cling to their turntables, and many companies have been forced to release NEW record players. The general perception is that at the normal ‘music center’ end, CDs are best, but when one gets into an esoteric territory, analogue reproduction still rules.

“So can you see a parallel? In 1950 ALL women, from the hot-dog salesgirl to the Duchess wore stockings. Today the hot dog girl goes barelegged, but stockings are the preserve of the ‘special woman’, either because she is an aristocrat, or a woman of normal aspirations who possesses taste and discrimination. Rather than being a normal item of clothing like shoes, sweaters or knickers, stockings have become esoteric, and this is giving them a new lease of life! Hats, girdles and high heels are following a similar path. So don’t despair… stockings haven’t, and never will, vanish. They’ve just become more special!”

“There are two fatal flaws in this argument: (i) those who loved and mourned the demise of vinyl and the turntable in the 1980s kept their vinyl records and cherished them; stockings are not so durable – they are a disposable consumer good with a relatively brief service life. (ii) The music recording industry and the consumer electronics industry were both around to facilitate the (very, very modest) gramophone revival of which the earlier correspondent speaks. It is highly unlikely that the hosiery industry as we understand it today will last much longer.

“As the revolution (not too strong a word) continues in women’s dress, hosiery makers will either collapse or enter new markets instead. I would like to remind this august board that ‘hosiery’ also means ‘socks’. That, I suspect, is where the real and sustainable growth markets lie. Should some nostalgic fashion house attempt, circa 2020, to reintroduce the classic ’40s/’50s look, it will not be with stockings, for the machines to make them will long have been scrapped, or even tights. I am sorry to sound so pessimistic, but that is my heartfelt and considered opinion. I can only hope for some kind of miracle to reverse the irreversible, even at this late hour. God only knows what that could be.”

“Everyone said CDs would wipe out vinyl. Now vinyl sales are actually growing at an astonishing rate, not only in the dance scene but also from commercial bands – due to the fact that CDs have no warmth or character.

“I think all this talk about nylons disappearing is just panic talk. There will always be a demand, although it will be a minority market with manufacturers who care about what they’re doing (Pretty Polly lost my custom when they discontinued their seamed nylons so I’m not concerned about them!)

“By the way, PP never really were that serious about stockings – it always pissed me off that the packaging on their seamed nylons mentioned a ‘cuban’ heel when the stockings had a ‘point’ heel.”

“I don’t want to have a true parallel involving stockings, because then that would mean that hardly any woman would be wearing stockings. There truly are very few vinyl junkies and only obscure independent shops selling vinyl; can you imagine the same with stockings? It would be IMPOSSIBLE to ask/cajole your beloved to wear stockings because it would be that much harder to just FIND them!”

“Wow, I never realized my hi-fi/stocking comparison would attract so much interest! I do accept the point that it is not a perfect analogy, for the reasons pointed out above. However, I hold to my original point, that fashion is very much ‘circular’… skirt lengths are a good example. The mini has died and come back more times than Dracula!

“Right at the moment we are in a time of low popularity for hosiery in general, but like all things, stockings come and go. The advantage for stocking lovers as opposed to, say, glove-lovers or mini-skirt lovers is that even when ‘out of trend’ you can still see hosiery, simply because many women are FORCED to wear it, for their jobs, etc. And many of those women wear proper stockings, simply because they have less disadvantages than pantyhose.

“There ARE reasons for seeing less of ‘the garments’ today than previously. The popularity of slacks and pants is one, the reaction against formal dress another (these fashions too go in circles I find), and there is another reason specifically relating to stockings:

“Simply, (and this IS my area of expertise) they are getting harder to detect. If twenty women pass you, all with knee-length or longer skirts, all wearing hosiery, how are you to KNOW they aren’t wearing stockings and suspenders? In days past, the stockings would slip down and you might see the welts, or they would wrinkle in a certain way, or even (joy of joys) the suspender would come adrift and you could see the women adjusting it! Today, the better quality stockings are less detectable

“I have not kept specific figures like some, but I don’t recall ANY year when one could go to the central business district of a town and NEVER see hosiery being worn by a good percentage of the women that passed. At the moment, the proportion of bare legged women is higher… but go to any ‘swish’ function, or even stand near the door and watch, and you’ll see enough hosiery to satisfy your wildest dreams.

“Essentially, if you want to feast your eyes on nylon covered legs, walking round a shopping centre won’t cut it. Stockings are, and always have been, ‘formal’ dress. Instead, try sitting outside any high-class hotel in the evening, or take your sandwich lunch on a bench in the part of town where the office blocks are. This was as true 15 years ago as today!

“In the meantime, stockings have a delightful exclusivity, and those of us with stocking wearing partners, wives or girlfriends can enjoy the same delight as those that own an expensive restored vintage car, or, dare I say it, a Linn Sondek turntable!”