1) Stockings were first mentioned in the 4^th and the 5^th centuries BC. They were invented in Ancient Greece and were made from thin wool. At that period stockings were worn by women. However, by the 1^st century AD the craft of making stockings was forgotten.  

2) Europeans started wearing stockings in the Middle Ages. During the Reconquista in the 13^th century the Spanish warriors adopted this piece of clothing from the Arabs. However, this time they were considered as men’s garments solely. 

3) Women started wearing stockings in the 18^th century. Marquise de Pompadour, who was the chief mistress of Louis XV, introduced the fashion. At that time the price of lacy stockings was almost equal to the annual income of an average nobleman.

4) Women started demonstrating their stockings only in the 1920s. Due to the WWI, they had to work hard and it was more convenient to wear shorter skirts. 

5) In the 1920s it became very popular to have suntanned skin. As a result the demand for skin color stockings increased. 

6) In the 1920s and the 1930s there were day and evening stockings. The former were very simple, while the latter were decorated with prints, embroidery or were painted by hand. 

7) To prevent stockings from sliding down, they were worn with special garters around the leg. Therewerealsospecialgarterbelts. 

8) In the early 1930s, the production of rayon stockings was launched as an alternative to silk stockings.

9) In 1939 DuPont introduced the first nylon stockings, which marked a real revolution in the production of women’s garments. Silk and rayon stockings were soon displaced from the market. In the US, 64 million pairs of nylon stockings were sold only in 1940. 

10) During the WWII, nylon became a material of strategic importance in the US, and the production of nylon stockings stopped. As a result, American women invented some tricks. They would draw straight lines on the back of their legs with a pencil or would apply a light brown spray to simulate the look of nylon stockings. 

11)  In 1959 the production of Lycra stockings was launched. 

12) The 1960s witnessed a mass production of tights, which were patented in the US in 1959. Due to the growing popularity of miniskirts, the demand for stockings decreased very quickly. By the early 1970s, tights overtook them in sales.

Nowadays stockings have become popular again. They are the best addition to any dress. Here you can find a wide range of dresses. Although they are not as convenient as tights, they look so appealing, that women use them as an ideal instrument of seduction.