History and Sales of Tights

History of Tights

Back in the 1920’s the fashionable height of a woman’s hemline began to rise sufficiently to show more and more leg and the sheer hosiery that covered those legs, typically stockings, made of silk or artificial silk (known today as rayon ) and after 1939 with nylon . Hence womens hosiery in general often being referred to as nylons.

In 1959, Allen Gant Sr. of Glen Raven Mills, USA introduced tights and in 1965 the same company introduced a seam-free version of tights, neatly coinciding with the introduction of the miniskirt. Timing was perfect for a booming market. The popularity of the miniskirt had made it unfashionable to show the tops of ladies stockings and the new seamless tights offered the perfect solution to dress the legs. By the end of the decade tights had almost completely replaced stockings as the hosiery of choice. During the same period hosiery manufacturers started adding spandex or elastane to give tights a superior stretch capability compared to crimping nylon alone. Later Lycra would be come widely used for the same purpose.
During the 1990’s tights seemed to go almost completely out of fashion as women no longer wore tights unless it was required by dress code or office standards. A notable exception to this trend was the wearing of fashion tights such as fishnet or pattern tights usually for social occasions.
However by 2005 the wearing of tights for both business and in particular fashion purposes has begun to increase significantly, once again bringing hosiery back into vogue, especially in the form of heavy denier opaque tights and multiple shades of black tights replacing flesh coloured tan tights.

Sales of Tights

After the Second World War tights were not on the market so stockings were the only fashionable leg covering for women. When tights arrived on he market in the 1960’s sales took off as women discovered the benefits and fit of pantyhose. However towards the end of the 20th century sales of tights had started to fall by as much as 10% per annum, mainly attributed to the increased prominence of trousers in ladies fashion. Casual wear, “dress down” days and the rise and rise of the trouser “power suit” were also significant contributory factors to the decline in sales. The UK market for women’s tights decreased from £400m in 2000 to below £300m in 2004.
Since 2005 sales in tights and other hosiery has been recovering, mainly due to the increase in popularity of skirts, dresses and shorts in fashion. More and more younger women are wearing brightly coloured, fishnet or patterned tights as a fashion statement. In addition the rise of internet retail has helped the hosiery industry immensely as tights do not need to be tried on and can be delivered to consumers easily and cheaply through the post.