Glossary

body stockings

Or body tights, for coverage all over, not just on the legs.

denier

Unit of weight by which the fineness of silk, rayon or nylon yarn is measured, based on 1g per 9000m of yarn. The lower the number, the finer the yarn. Generally tights go from 5 denier (very fine) up to 100-120 denier for opaque tights.

elastane

A man made elastic fibre which can stretch and recover. LYCRA™ is a specific example made by DuPont

fishnet

Think of a net you'd put fish in. You might not think you'd want to put your leg in one but go on, give it a try!

garter belt

See suspenders

hose

Socks, in a manner of speaking.

ladder

OH NO! A ladder is where the fibre in the tights (or stocking, if you must) breaks or more usually is broken by being caught on something, affecting the structural integrity of the garment and causing a hole. Depending on how the weave or knit is made up this can cause a hole which runs up the leg.
Although the initial break may have affected both horizontal and vertical fibres, the sudden lack of support from the vertical fibres will be the most noticable. The horizontal fibres which are left may give the appearance of a ladder. Run resistant tights may attempt to prevent ladders by using stronger fibres and/or a weave which localises any damage to fibres rather than allowing a run or ladder to form at an embarassing moment.

leggings

Very, very, thick footless tights. Kind of.

LYCRA™

LYCRA™ is a registered trademark of DuPont for its brand of elastane fiber. Only DuPont makes LYCRA™

LYCRA™ is never found in garments by itself, instead it is weaved or knitted in with other fabrics such as cotton, nylon, etc. to provide a comfortable and flexible fit to the particular garment.

For a whole feast of information on LYCRA™, visit the official DuPont site.

mantyhose

Pantyhose for men. These appear to have been developed by a company which is entirely missing the point. Men who want to keep warm will wear a layer of thermal underwear or other insulated clothing. Men who want to wear tights want to wear women's tights because they're women's. Go figure. (Apparently this is a bit of an over simplification!)

nylon

Synthetic (polyamide) fibre widely used in garment and other manufacturing.

nylons

Tights. See the History section on the home page for more.

pantyhose

Tights. The name is mostly used by people who call trousers "pants". Such people should almost never be trusted.

sheer

Of very thin or transparent texture. The more sheer the item is, the thiner and more see through.

stay-ups

Stockings which don't need a suspender belt. Instead they use a band which grips the leg at the top of the stocking. Beware that sometimes they don't "stay up", often at entirely inappropriate moments

stockings

Thing you hang up at Christmas. Also very long, thin socks or tights with the tops cut off, depending on how you look at them.
Visit Stockings HQ if you must...

suspenders

Depending on where (and when) you are, this could mean a number of different things:

A belt for keeping up stockings. The belt goes around the waist and then has between two (often), three (better) or more hanging straps per leg and often possibly the worst imaginable design of plastic clip to attach to the stocking - metal clips are much better if you wanted something that wouldn't unclip at an inconvenient moment.
USA - Supports for trousers. In the UK these are called braces.
Typically there is a single clip which attaches to the back of the trousers then after a short single bit of fabric they fork in two to go over the shoulders and then down to clips on the front of the trousers. Buttons are were and often still are used instead of clips and are the more gentlemanly approach. Buttons also don't damage the fabric of the trouser waistband as clips may. If you're wearing braces you don't need a belt and the trousers usually hang better.
Historical - Straps which go round the calf or thereabouts to hold up socks. Largely superceeded by the invention of elastane and other stretchy fibres which allow socks to keep themselves up.

suspender tights

Unlike stockings and a suspender belt, these are an "all in one" item but otherwise similar in concept. Some of the sexiness of stockings but with "improved ventilation" compared to tights.