How did the origins of the seamless stocking begin. Did women put pressure on hosiery manufacturers to come up with an alternative/more practical stocking to the original seamed ones or did some bright spark work away on trying to find a way of making stockings without a seam first of all, hoping to corner a market?
As far as I know it was a case of someone developing technology that improved the manufacturing. Up until the seamless stocking, all nylons were woven on a flat knitting machine, which meant that each stocking had to be hand-sewn, which is in fact where the seam comes from. This introduced significant cost into the manufacturing process in terms of the human labour, and also meant that the yield was not 100% because handling the stockings increased the chances of damage.
It was when some bright spark invented the circular knitting machine that the seamless stocking became a reality. The appeal to the market was lower cost, and I imagine some ladies preferred the seamless look. I have seen some old ads on TV that promoted the seamless stocking when it first came out and these certainly emphasised the smother seamless look.
What did they list as the supposed advantages of seamless stockings? “No more being stared at by men… “?
I think the advantage touted was that ladies would need to spend a lot less time making sure their streams remained straight. I can appreciate that from the female point of view. I remember when my wife was my girlfriend back in the early ’80s, she spent significant amounts of time glancing over her shoulders and adjusting seams.
Personally I find the sight of a lady adjusting her seams to be one of the most erotic experiences in the world, but there you go. We lost it due to technological progress!
Seamless stockings are much better than seamless tights. I prefer them to seamed stockings anyway because my lady friends don’t have to be so self-conscious of whether heir seams are straight or not.
