Cast an eye over any catwalk show or celebrity magazine and you will no doubt see at least one person wearing a pair of
pink fishnets. They seem to have become the accessory that everyone wants to wear recently, but why? After all, they can seem a bit shocking and risqué, as they both conceal and reveal the leg at the same time, and are not seen as a functional item in the same way that a pair of black opaque tights would be. Dare we say it, fishnets are seen to be quite sexy and are often associated with the bedroom nowadays, but was this always the case?
Origin of the Word Fishnet
Originally ‘fishnet’ was a term used to cover all fabrics that were loosely woven, but this definition has recently been tightened up and changed to ‘a type of material that looks like net’. Seeing as most women did not show their legs in public until the end of the Victorian era (as it was frowned upon), it makes sense that The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first use of the words ‘fishnet stockings’ to the year 1933 although fashion historian Valerie Steele states in her essay ‘Holes for the Soles’ that the term fishnet was used as far back as the early 1800s.
There is also evidence of the word ‘fishnet clothing’ being used in one of Aesop’s Fables in the 1900s, and they are referenced in a way which actually sounds very similar to the way they would be described today! In case you are not familiar with Aesop’s story ‘The Peasant’s Wise Daughter’, it is a story in which the king says to the Peasant’s daughter: ‘Come to me not clothed, not naked and not riding and I will marry you’. The clever daughter of the Peasant then wraps herself in a ‘fisherman’s net’ thereby solving the King’s riddle and winning his hand in marriage.
Early History of the Fishnet Stocking
This idea of wrapping the naked body in fishnet seemed to catch on with ladies at the time, who quickly saw that fishnet was a great way to emphasize the curves of their bodies, while still being covered (to a point). There is a widespread mistaken belief that the popularity of the fishnet stocking was driven by the showgirls of the Moulin Rouge in the early 1900s but if you look at photographs from this period you can see a lot of
legs in stockings but they were either black or striped stockings worn to highlight the leg and catch the eye. They actually rose to prominence in the 1920s when ladies’ hemlines rose from on the floor to just below the knee.
They became popular with showgirls at the time as they realised that with the use of fishnets they could play a trick on admiring men! When you are wearing fishnet stockings, from a distance it can look like you are just wearing plain tights, but as soon as people got closer or any light was shone on the leg (from a spotlight on the stage, for example) suddenly the ladies flesh shone through. They were also a more practical choice for showgirls as the standard rayon and silk stockings of the time didn’t allow for the large range of motions that the showgirls needed to make – and nylon stockings hadn’t been invented yet!
Fishnets continued to be seen as a bit of an ‘out there’ fashion choice in the 1940s and 1950s as they were worn by such pin-ups as Gypsy Rose Lee, Jayne Mansfield, and Bettie Page. Quite often they would pair them with bikini tops and sheer fabrics, which led to them being featured in many centrefolds!
From Mini Skirts to Punk Rockers
Fishnet tights continued to be popular in the 1960s with the explosion in popularity of the mini skirt, as a lot of women felt that wearing a fishnet stocking or tight allowed them to take control over exactly how much leg they were showing. Then in the 1970s, everything changed for the fishnet, as the punks adopted it as their legwear of choice and rocked it up by ripping large holes in them, imbuing them with wild and untamed sexuality. They also paired them with safety pins, patched denim jackets and lots of PVC as a way of challenging the idea of ‘conventional’ women’s clothing.
It was in the 1980s really, that fishnets really came into their own, when fashion and pop icon Madonna adopted fishnet material as her go-to material of choice! She didn’t limit herself to just stockings or tights though, she went all out with fishnet bodysuits, tops, and even gloves! If you look at any of her iconic pictures of the day, you will spot at least one fishnet item in there!
Modern Day
Fishnet material became so commonplace in the 1980s, that by the end of the 1990s, nearly every couture designer had jumped on the bandwagon and used it in their collection. The ‘humble’ fishnet stocking was transformed into high fashion with such pieces as loosely knit dresses and even gowns. This use of fishnet stockings on the catwalks of the major fashion capitals of the world has driven them to be accepted into mainstream fashion in a way that they haven’t been before, and you can currently find fishnet on the high street in a wide range of guises – from garments based on the ripped look of the punks in the 1970s, to the more conservative layered jumpers of the 1990s.
At Fashion Legs, we sell the widest range of
hold ups in the UK, including sheer, opaque and the aforementioned fishnets. To find out more about our range of stockings and hold ups, please give us a call on
01928 508 888 (in the UK),
+44 1928 508 888 (Internationally) or write an email to
[email protected]
