One of the key elements for lovers of vintage pin-ups, glamour and risque photography are legs, especially when adored with fully fashioned nylon stockings. As one of the great Parisian photographers of the genre said to me many years ago "...the model MUST be wearing stockings AND a garter belt...without the two it is not possible to make a seductive photograph." His photographs, published in Paris~Hollywood magazine in the 1960s, attested to his passion for hosiery and garters and enhanced my appreciation for stockinged legs.
What follows are a sampling of scans from a collection of fully fashioned stockings I bought and sold about 15 years ago. Fully fashioned stockings hold a particular fetish for many men and women. They can be identified by these distinctive features: i) a reenforced band ("welt") at the top (often decorative) to support the garter belt clasps ii) a "keyhole" design at the back of the band iii) a line or "seam" at the back usually in a darker color to stand out and iv) a dark colored heel and sole, often referred to as a "cuban heel". Sometimes, in addition, an extravagant design element would be added at the heel/ankle area, no doubt a style to be worn on that special night out!
(above) Stocking box, circa early 1940s with pin-up illustration
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