# Am I a Weirdo? NYLONS! Introduced in 1940! Yay! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487 "2010-05-14T23:21:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boilercake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@boilercake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boilercake)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/1 "2010-05-14T23:21:41Z")
Per ABC News tonight. Apparently it was the norm for ALL ladies, even young ones, to wear nylons back in olden times. These days, I would never expect a young women (frankly circa \<50) to sport nude/flesh/natural or whatever is analagous to 40’s nylons (fwiw I work in an office where there are two guys [one is me] and ten women). If I were to innocently notice a 20-year-old buzzing around with something similar it would strike me as way peculiar (outside of band/flag/dance stuff). What was so wrong with a lady’s natural leg appearance back then that is was the norm to expect her to cover it up with a nylon? ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/2 "2010-05-14T23:26:44Z")
I heard someone talk about my cousin’s wife a couple of years ago. “She didn’t wear nylons. To a _funeral_”! ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/3 "2010-05-14T23:33:22Z")
I think they do emphasise the contours of the leg, because of the way the light strikes them. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/4 "2010-05-14T23:35:23Z")
If all the gals would go back to wearing stockings and garter belts, there would be no need for Viagra. That, and it was just the style of the times. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/5 "2010-05-14T23:40:39Z")
If you think a nylon covered anything up, you have the wrong notion of nylons. Granted, you could get them darker and thicker. But mostly, they were sheer. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/6 "2010-05-14T23:41:24Z")
Wait, so what’s the difference between nylons and pantyhose? Because I’ve dated women who had pantyhose collections that could fill a suitcase. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/7 "2010-05-14T23:53:45Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Wait, so what’s the difference between nylons and pantyhose? Because I’ve dated women who had pantyhose collections that could fill a suitcase. Ever tried to finger-fuck a gal wearing pantyhose? ---
**Author:** ![boilercake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@boilercake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boilercake)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/8 "2010-05-15T00:04:31Z")
eh, mebbe I am a weirdo, but christ I can recognize the beauty of a woman’s leg without some synthetic fabric stretched over it… ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/9 "2010-05-15T00:04:58Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Ever tried to finger-fuck a gal wearing pantyhose? Does your Mom count as a girl? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/10 "2010-05-15T00:05:40Z")
Nylons = pantyhose without the panty. Just the leg portion, like you’d see someone wearing with a garter belt (if you’re lucky). ---
**Author:** ![SylverOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SylverOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SylverOne)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/11 "2010-05-15T00:07:27Z")
Up 'til last year, the bank I work for required them when wearing skirts, dresses, or even capri pants. Thankfully, someone drug the dress code into this century and changed the policy. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/12 "2010-05-15T00:22:51Z")
Pardon my confusion. If nylons differ from pantyhose because one is worn with a garterbelt, then how do nylons differ from stockings? Or are they synonymous? Are nylons and pantyhose made of the same material? And is it just my weird town, or am I missing the OP’s question–there are plenty of women who wear some sort of sheer/skin-toned leggings of some sort under dresses and skirts. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/13 "2010-05-15T00:29:29Z")
I think this is more suited for IMHO than GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/14 "2010-05-15T00:40:07Z")
I wasn’t allowed to wear nylons until I was sixteen. Until then it was either long stockings or tights. It was a sad Sunday the first time I wore them to church and discovered that the thingies that fastened the nylons onto the garter belt hurt my legs when sat on them. And, yes, to appear at any dignified social occasion without one’s legs clad in nylons was considered bad form. At that time we all wore girdles as well, whether we needed them or not. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/15 "2010-05-15T00:40:28Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Pardon my confusion. > > If nylons differ from pantyhose because one is worn with a garterbelt, then how do nylons differ from stockings? Or are they synonymous? Are nylons and pantyhose made of the same material? I once had a near identical conversation with an intern, until I realized it was bordering on inappropriate. “So what’s a nylon? Then what’s a stocking? Then what are pantyhose? So what are tights?” Surprisingly it too involved the phrase, “Ever tried to finger-fuck a gal wearing pantyhose?” ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/16 "2010-05-15T00:41:53Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Nylons = pantyhose without the panty. Just the leg portion, like you’d see someone wearing with a garter belt (if you’re lucky). I thought those were stockings. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/17 "2010-05-15T00:45:12Z")
I never got why people thought they were so hot. For me personally nothing feels hotter than bare legs. And I have awesome gams. I don’t want to cover them up with anything. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/18 "2010-05-15T00:49:08Z")
Nylons = stockings. Originally they were made of silk, then later nylon. Pantyhose = nylons/stockings which include a panty I just call them all stockings, but some people might make a distinction. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/19 "2010-05-15T00:50:55Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > I heard someone talk about my cousin’s wife a couple of years ago. “She didn’t wear nylons. To a _funeral_”! That’s right up there with wearing flip flops to a funeral that doesn’t involve a burial at sea. A social don’t. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487/20 "2010-05-15T01:22:32Z")
Remember, the 1940s were closer to… [this neat scene at the Jersey Shore](http://www.shorpy.com/node/8138?size=_original) …than we are to the 1940s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-weirdo-nylons-introduced-in-1940-yay/539487.md?page=2)