Dear Lady Unmentionable: How to wash hosiery

Im just wondering the best way to wash and store stockings and tights? any advice greatly appreciated

- Renee (via the Playful Promises Facebook)

As ladies, we all know how wonderful stockings and tights make us look and feel, but, we also know how annoying they can be to take care of! One slip or lack of concentration can lead to a ladder or hole and no matter what anyone says – that is never a good look!

Nylon and silk stockings and tights are both delicate and require a bit more TLC than some other hosiery; however, we all know it’s worth it ;)

Firstly, nylon hosiery CAN be machine washed, but only using a cold water setting.  Plus, they absolutely must be washed on their own – so machine washing can cause more trouble than it’s worth!

The best way to care for nylon and silk tights and stockings is definitely hand washing! Sorry, I know this seems a bore, but if you want perfect looking pins, sacrifices must be made (you should be treating all your lovely lingerie the same way, but I won’t judge you.. much).

Before you even begin washing your hosiery, check your nails! Make sure to file away any jagged edges, also remove any rings. You don’t want your precious tights to get caught and ladder or rip!

Now, fill your sink with lukewarm water and add half a cup of mild laundry powder (you can even use colourless shampoo if you don’t have any washing powder to hand!).

Turn your stockings or tights inside out and allow soaking for five minutes, remembering to wash similar colours together.

Now wash the products carefully, avoiding rubbing and pulling as you will stretch the hosiery making it unwearable.

Rinse, rinse and rinse again in cool water to get all the soap out and then gently squeeze the water out of the tights or stockings from the top down to the toe.

Once all the excess water has been removed, place the tights or stockings over a towel rail or something similar to air dry. Keep hosiery out of direct sunlight as the colours will fade.

When you wear your stockings or tights, avoid anything that they could snag on like corners of desks and tables or wooden seats and always carry a little bottle of clear nail varnish with you to dab on a hole or ladder as soon as you notice it!

As for storing your stockings and tights, either fold them nicely (even better if you have the original packaging) and keep in a drawer or hang up on a padded hanger. Rolling them up into a ball will cause them to become misshapen!

 Shop hosiery at Playful Promises

Memento Mori: Victorian Mourning Lingerie

Queen Victoria in mourning

Mourning the death of a loved one is certainly a difficult period for all involved. Today death and mourning is very private, however in the Victorian period mourning was a very public affair. Mourning attire was a very important factor in this overt grieving process, and this included the lingerie that the women had to wear.

Queen Victoria reformed the mourning rituals after the loss of her Mother, and nine months later the loss of her beloved husband, Prince Albert. The entire country was propelled into a state of national mourning, and the entire Royal Household lead the way in mourning fashions and trends; men, women and children.

Queen Victoria in mourning attire

This very extreme and public display of mourning revolutionised how the Victorians were to mourn loved ones, and even lingerie was affected by this change of trend.

Women would mourn the death of a family member for at least 4 weeks. The death of a parent would result in mourning for at least a year and the death of a husband required at least two years of mourning.

Black lace fans, mourning accessories

Women were the leaders of a household's mourning drill.  It was the woman who as the social representatives of their husbands showed the world how sorrowed the family was by wearing clothes and following little rules that reflected this.

In 1865 Henry Mayhew the social historian remarked that women;

‘had to put aside all their ordinary clothes and wear nothing but black, in the appropriate materials and with particular accessories, for the first stages of mourning.'

Often this meant that women would dye their clothes black, anything visible would have been black. As much as possible, undergarments that touched the skin were not dyed to avoid the dye wearing off on the skin. However, black ribbon, lace and trims would be added wherever possible.

Black petticoats

Funeral lingerie consisted of petticoats made of silk and stuft. Stockings would also have been made from silk, cashmere or balbriggan. Balbriggan was lightweight knitted cotton, elasticised, so ideal for underwear, but just like nylon stockings today it laddered easily. If possible these were purchased in black or dyed at home.

Black corsets were worn; sometimes this may have been inset with white lace for mourning. Wealthy women with the means to invest in mourning attire and mourning lingerie may well have purchased fine white cambric funeral lingerie threaded with black satin and a matching corset.

Black embroidered stockings

The new trends of extreme mourning attire also meant that all women’s fashionable treasured possessions were tucked away until after a considerable amount of grieving time passed. As much as today, lingerie would have been a small devilish treat for oneself, and ladies who could afford white broderie anglaise would purchase pieces of lingerie in white with black ribbon detailing as a guilty pleasure.

Victorian Funeral fashions

Ladies, and gentleman, would go to considerable expense on the caps, cuffs and collars which were visible but would have also adorned their undergarments. Often women wore muslin or cotton under-vests with collars and cuffs that would show beyond the outer garments.

Caps, cuffs and collars would be made from lawn; the name comes from the town Laon in the North of France. Lawn is a type of linen, often used by the clergy. Cotton and fine muslin were alternatives for the less affluent. Cuffs were required to be nine inches long. The cuff would never overlap, it would meet at the wrist and fasten with buttons on the edges. Cuffs were often referred to as weepers, as these were used to dry tears.

Ladies would match the lace design of their cuffs to their handkerchiefs. Usually made from cambric or cotton, handkerchiefs were another indulgence women in mourning could obtain.

Victorian Mourning Accessories

The wealthier ladies would also have ready, black kidskin gloves and very affluent women were allowed black animal pelts, however it needed to be evenly black. Sealskin, sheared beaver and astrakhan (newborn Persian lamb) were the choice pelt of the era.

Women who could not afford mourning attire were shunned. The writer Puckle reflected that

‘This is a time for display, not for borrowing, and who knows better than a widow that a score of coldly criticising eyes are watching events through broken venetian blinds and dirty Nottingham lace curtains…one is wondering where the money comes from to pay for the luxury of grief…’

Mourning today is short and discreet, something done behind closed doors. It has become a private affair just as sex has become a very public affair. Sex was unmentionable in Victorian society, and yet death held no mystery at all. The more public it was the more impressive you became.

How to wear stockings...

I've had the most amazing time away in the tropics, somewhere hot is always a must for me, although it did mean I missed the debauchery that was Playful Promises' new Boutique Launch party..

We've had a question regarding how to wear stockings

“I really want to start wearing suspenders and stocking on a daily basis , however they always seem to show and don't seem to be high enough on the leg.”

Stockings Grandiose

 Dear Stockings Grandiose,

Wearing stockings is almost a lost art-form. Today hold-ups have taken over the sales of stockings and garter belts are just not as popular as they use to be

If you plan to wear stockings on a daily basis then here is a little information for you;

Firstly when you buy stockings look for serious brands. Playful Promises recommends Cervin stockings. Cervin have four or five stocking sizes and these are calculated by height and weight of the wearer.

I truly believe that purchasing a more expensive brand of stockings will achieve better results, as they will fit you perfectly around your calves and thighs and importantly will be the correct length for your leg.

The best stockings are often silk stockings, nylon stockings or even vintage stockings, however these can be very delicate!

I like to buy seamed stockings, it elongates your leg and fits your calf and leg beautifully, Cervin make wonderful seamed stockings that are dramatic, peferct for me!

Also when purchasing stockings to wear with a garter belt look for a wider welt. A Welt is the top part of the stocking which will be fastened to your suspender belt clips. I look for a strong, thick and wide welt so that my stockings last longer but also are easier to fasten to the clip and are not so likely to puncture a hole and ladder the stocking.

I highly recommend a good metal clip on your garter belt or suspender belt. Not only will it make you feel stricter, but they make for a saucier soiree. Most suspender belts will have a cheap plastic clip. This is really disappointing, although I understand that suspender belts are no longer used for daily wearing and are more reserved for the boudoir.

Plastic clips can snap, but worst of all they do not have the best grip on your stockings, so after a few hours wear they stocking can slip out leading to embarrassing situations...

When choosing a garter belt think about how many suspender straps you would like. If you want to wear stockings for more than just antics in the bedroom you should consider four or more straps for best hold-up results and security. The best results are usually belts with twelve suspender straps. But at this point you'll need to ask another question...

Briefs under or above the suspender belt?

Aside from this rather important debatable point, I recommend three straps for each leg. These are the most easily purchased suspender belts with metal clips. Brands such as Kiss Me Deadly and What Katie Did are the best brands to purchase a metal clipped belt from.