2009 marks 50 years since the invention of the pantyhose. An article in Smithsonian commemorates the occasion by telling the story of how these “Panti-Legs” turned into a fashion sensation. And it all started with a pregnant woman on a train.
Allen Gant Sr.’s wife, Ethel Boone Gant, told her husband that she was not going on any more business trips with him until after their baby was born. She was tired of trying to fit into a garter belt in order to hold up her stockings, and she couldn’t possibly be seen in public without her hosiery. Gant was inspired by this complaint and asked her what she thought of attaching a pair of panties to her stockings. She sewed up some examples, tried them on, and agreed that he needed to find a way to create them.
First dubbed “Panti-Legs”, the product went on sale in 1959; however, it didn’t become popular until the mid-sixties when miniskirts were invented. Women that wanted to wear a miniskirt needed longer stockings. And as soon as Twiggy started flaunting the combo, pantyhose became the rage. In the seventies and eighties, women started filtering into the workplace, which escalated sales even more. Today, pantyhose are becoming less popular as people are continuing to wear more casual clothes. However, an estimated 1.4 billion pairs of pantyhose were sold in 2008, so clearly this household item is not going away anytime soon. Check out some hosiery options (like the ones above) at Lingerie Diva.
What do you think? Please comment on whether or not you use pantyhose and why.
