During WWII Women Painted Their Legs to Mimic Stockings Due to Shortage Of Nylon

The nylon stockings were first introduced in 1935 by Wallace Carothers. And they were introduced in the public in 1939 at the World’s Fair. It was marketed as a fabric made from “carbon, water, and air.” Cheap and durable, better in appearance than silk. And it soon became the material of choice for manufacturing women’s stockings.

In 1941, the Britain government and the US government introduced clothes rationing to preserve resources for World War II troops. Nylon stockings were some of the first products to go. They were all the rage at that time. The largest nylon manufacturer in the United States, DuPont used nylon in the production of nylon parachutes, cords, and ropes instead of stockings. The stockings black market flourished and the price hiked. In the meantime, women were instructed not to abandon stands of the dress. “Make Do and Mend’ became the motto. When mending old stockings failed, women painted dark stripes on their legs to mimic stockings. Gravy browning was a popular paint. This wartime look was termed “Glamor Hose.”

After the war when the production was resumed, over 40,000 women queued for 13,000 pairs of stockings in Pittsburg. Fight and protest also broke out and they were termed as the ‘Nylon Riots’.

#1 A shoe store offering a service by painting stockings on women’s legs during the clothing rationing of World War II.

The sign reads 'No More Ladders - We paint your stockings on your legs.'

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#2 A Max Factor beautician paints a seam on a woman’s leg to help create the illusion of stockings during a WWII in UK. May 1940.

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#3 A beautician painting stockings with gravy juice. May 1940.

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#4 Shop of mending of mesh stockings in Paris during WWII.

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#5 Crowds of women are buying silk stockings at Gimbels Department store in anticipation of a wartime silk shortage, New York. 1941

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#6 Men buying stockings for their wives and girlfriends during World War II.

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#7 Women applying liquid stockings during World War II, 1941

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#8 A woman applying liquid stockings, 1941.

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#9 A woman helping another woman with the liquid stockings, 1941.

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#10 Woman applying liquid stockings in her room during World War II.

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#11 Another woman applying liquid stockings during World War II, 1941.

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#12 A woman helping another woman with the liquid stockings during WWII

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#13 A staff of 20 girls working full time to repair the old stockings. January 1941

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#14 Mending their stocking at training and reception Depot for ATS girls in Aldermaston, Berkshire. April 1941.

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#15 Customers have their legs painted at a store in Croydon, so they can save their coupons which would otherwise be used for stockings.

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#16 Girls at the Finnermore wood camp huts are here seen knitting sea stockings and jerseys for the crews of wartime convoys. May 1941.

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#17 A woman in the United Kingdom paints her legs with dark paint so that it appears as though she is wearing stockings.

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#18 Customers have their legs painted at a store in Croydon, so they can save their coupons which would otherwise be used for stockings.

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#19 A beautician at the newly-opened Bare Leg Beauty Bar at Kennard’s store in Croydon paints stockings onto a customer’s skin.

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#20 Old silk stockings collected by the WVS are used by airmen under their own socks as a additional means of keeping warm, and are also used to keep bandages clean. 25 September 1941.

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#21 Some of the women who rushed to a Croydon store to take advantage of a coupon-free sub-standard stockings offer.

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#22 Members of the Radio City Rockettes modelling Legstick, make up to replicate stockings designed to combat wartime shortages, circa 1942.

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#23 Women knitting stockings and scarves for German soldiers in WW II, 1942.

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#24 Servicewomen look at a design of artificial silk-plated stocking, called 731, specially designed for servicewomen at a fashion show at Kennards of Croydon. 22nd September 1943.

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#25 A woman painting the appearance of silk stockings onto another woman.

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