Bodystocking
A bodystocking or body stocking is a one-piece
Description
Oftentimes bodystockings are made of sheer fabric and are worn with or without undergarments such as a
Opaque bodystockings can be worn in place of tights and a blouse. Bodystockings also come in fishnet, lace and satin, the latter which may just consist of the top portion of the bodystocking, allowing it to be worn underneath a suit jacket to serve as a blouse. These types of bodystockings are also made sheer, enabling the wearer to wear a more revealing outfit coupled with sheer coverage for line smoothing.[2]
Bodystockings are put on through the neck, in a similar technique to putting on a pair of tights: the body and arm sections are rolled down and then the legs are scrunched up like stockings; one would put one foot in and pull the stocking part up, and then the same on the other leg; from the waist, the bodystocking is pulled up over the torso to the chest, and then the arms are scrunched up and put on in same way as the legs; and the garment is then adjusted as required, and any ribbons and fasteners tied.[3]
Due to its design, and its close-fitting and one-piece aspect, the wearer may have to remove the bodystocking for excretion, but crotchless bodystockings are also available. If a bodystocking is a foundation garment, any over clothing will also need to be removed.
History
It is unclear when the first bodystocking was made or when it was first worn.
The first notable occasion was when American actress
A body stocking was used in a tableau vivant style short film The Birth of the Pearl (1901),[6] which featured an unnamed long-haired young model wearing a flesh-coloured body stocking in a direct frontal pose[7] and provided a provocative view of the female body.[8]
Other problematic roles which have sometimes been facilitated by wearing a flesh-coloured body-stocking are those of Eve in Biblical dramas and Lady Godiva in carnivals.
Gallery
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Alternate angle from model in main image
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Fishnet bodystocking as it might be worn under a dress
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A bodystocking worn under a dress
See also
References
- ^ a b "Bodystockings: Sexy Lingerie for Many Occasions". Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ "February 26, 1989, New York Times article". The New York Times. 26 February 1989. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ "How to Wear a Bodystocking". Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ Brooks, Daphne A. “Lady Menken’s Secret: Adah Isaacs Menken, Actress Biographies and the Race for Sensation.” Legacy, Volume 15. Number 1. (1998): pages 68-77.
- ^ "History of Bodystockings". Funky Bodystockings. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
- American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
- ^ "Sex in Cinema: Pre-1920s Greatest and Most Influential Erotic / Sexual Films and Scenes". www.filmsite.org.
- ^ American Women