WOMEN’S HOSIERY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 November 1941, Page 2

WOMEN’S HOSIERY

WHAT WILL IT BE. USA INDUSTRY SEETHES WITH SECRETS. The hosiery industry in the United States is seething with secrets. Beyond question a revolution in hosiery fashions is brewing as a result of broken trade relations with Japan. But exactly what kind of stockings will be concocted, to replace the silk ones to which we have become so accustomed, is the question every woman is asking. Sheerness, for the last twenty years, has been the top-flight fashion story in women’s stockings. But fashion is as flexible as she is dictatorial. If Japan will not send us silk, if nylon cannot, for months to come take care of more than 20 per cent of the hosiery business, if rayon yarn requires more developing before it can produce anything to rival the gossamer beauty of a silk stocking—then sheerness will go out of style, at least foi’ the time being. Some other fashion interest will take its place. And here are a few guesses as to what that quirk of popular taste may be, states an American paper.

It Could Be Colour. It could turn out to be colour. We might find ourselves succumbing to the lure of rich wines, dark greens, lustrous golden browns—even to bright glowing hues such as vermillion and high-keyed mauve. Perhaps we’ll take delight in matching these to the colours of our suits and dresses. This idea of co-ordinating coloured hose with one’s costumes has been gaining public interest since last spring. And new one will add to the scene an alluring line of coloured stockings made from cotton lisle' These will be dyed in the same rich colours as those which have already appeared in silk. Cotton, which is coming to the fore shortly to help fill the gap left by silk, may not be capable of great sheerness, but it takes colour beautifully. More Socks and Anklets. Both cotton and woollen knee socks and anklets for college girls are appearing in shades which can be matched up or harmonised with sweaters and dresses. Another trend might be a greater interest in the texture of stockings. Extensive experiments are now being made along the line of manufacturing cotton lisle stockings that will coordinate in texture as well as in coloui with fabrics. One manufacturer advocates tweedy knits to go with tweeds and finely-ribbed stockings to go with twilled fabrics.

Many New Varieties. Fitting appropriately into a new texture interest scheme would be the lace meshes and novelty knit cotton lisles with which we have long been familiar. This year will see many new varieties. Ever since 1939 the United States Government itself, through its Department of Agriculture, has been experimenting with the manufacture of cotton stockings. Its experts have originated oVer 150 constructions. Some of the large hosiery mills are now putting cn the market a few of the Government designs in lace mesh. Gotham claims that theirs are lacey enough to give the appearance of extreme sheerFor a few months there will be a great many “experiments” introduced upon the market. For a while we will still have silk. The Office of Production Management’s order, allocating all raw silk for Government use, left the factories with enough processed silk to last for a couple of months. This silk will be combined, on a 50-50 basis, with other yarns to make a “hybrid” stocking, the welt and foot of which will be of rayon or cotton and the leg of silk. The same thing will be done with nylon to make available supplies of that coal, air and water magic last longer. Just what effect it will have on the hosiery industry when the new du Pont plant at Martinsville, Pa„ goes into operation at the end of the year is anybody's guess. But this event is expected to increase greatly the supply of nylon. Very secret experiments are now afoot for the interweaving of various fibres. What may develop from these experiments is another subject for speculation. Stockings of mixed fibre content will be tagged with the names of their ingredients mentioned in order of their predominance, such as rayonsilk, meaning more rayon than silk; nylon-rayon, meaning more nylon than rayon. As regards rayon, such rayon as America can produce now is being heavily drawn upon for defence purposes, yet long-range plans have been formulated for the acceleration of its production and for the development of rayon yarn for hosiery. It may be that the “freezing” of silk will serve to halve the time it would otherwise have taken to perfect rayon to a point where it can take the place of silk and, along with nylon, make the United States completely independent of Japanese silk.