Pantyhose — or stockings or nylons or tights, which are not exactly the same things but are often used interchangeably — are one of those items of dress that seems innocuous and unimportant, but is actually a giant generational, occupational and cultural lightning rod. For women of a certain age, they are simply a part of girding yourself for the world; for others, they are a symbol of old-fashioned female repression and outmoded gender rules. Indeed, if you ever want to start a lively discussion during a lull in a dinner party, bring up the question of pantyhose. Even when they are invisible or skin-tone, no one is neutral on the subject.
The story of pantyhose runs in the Gant family. Since the late Allen Gant Sr. Three generations of women have now experienced waist-to-toe stockings, and few would be surprised to discover that a man invented pantyhose. According to Allen Gant Jr. It was nothing personal, just a matter of comfort. Managing her stockings and garter belt over her expanding belly was becoming difficult, and being a proper lady, she would not be seen in public without her hosiery. The year was and if you were a woman, a night on the town meant either squeezing into a girdle or slipping on a garter belt.