Did you realize that women's stockings have been around for hundreds of years? It is generally agreed that they were extremely popular going back all the way to the early 16th century but there are some that say they go all the way back to ancient Egypt. These early stockings were not really stockings at all but more like the forerunners of panty hose as they were all together one garment. What we are covering in this article are actual stockings that end at the upper thigh and are usually held up by garter belts.

The first stockings that were made in the early 16th century were very think and not very elastic at all and were handmade by knitting. With the advent of the fabric industry becoming more diverse with the introduction of different fabrics like wool, nylon, cotton, and silk the stockings began to be made from more different blends. Towards the end of the century William Lee who was a member of the clergy came up with the first knitting machine which resulted in the mass production of hosiery, especially those made of cotton. These early stockings were made for function, not sexiness.

In the 1920s, after the First World War it became very popular to wear shorter skirts and with the appearance of these shorter fashions came the reemergence of stockings made of silk as well as garters. During the Second World War seamed stockings became all the rage with a hand sewn seam at the back of the stocking. The introduction of nylon also occurred during this time period and due to the fact that it was much less expensive than silk it quickly became a leader in the market, overtaking silk and making purchases of silk stockings decrease.

Modern stockings today still retain many of the same characteristics of the stockings of days gone by such as the seam in back. Still there are also big changes in today's stockings over those of yesterday and these changes are not just in the rainbow of colors available.

Even though panty hose became very popular in the 1960s they aren't exactly what one would call sexy and they also are not very sturdy since they snag very easily. Stockings on the other hand exude sexiness and are loved by women and men alike, what man isn't turned on by a woman in a sexy pair of stockings? I know I love to see my wife in them.

BlueWaterArticles.com: - A Brief History Of Women s Stockings And How They Have Evolved

About the Author

Gregg Hall is an author living with his beautiful wife and family in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about lingerie as well as stockings at http://www.finelingeriestore.com