I used to confuse these two, but as soon as i got to learn more about fashion history, i discovered these were totally different from each other in a lot of aspects, but are designed with similar purpose.
Stockings are usually individual rayon or nylon garments used to cover foot and lower part of the leg. They have been popular since the 1920s, although they have been around way longer (16th century). Before WW2 they were made of silk and rayon and after war was over, stockings were made of nylon.
To hold the stockings in place and prevent them to slip down, we can use either garters, suspenders or stay ups stockings, these have an elastic band in the top to keep them in place.
Antes solía confundirlas, pero a medida que fui aprendiendo mas de la historia de la moda, descubrí que eran muy diferentes una de la otra en muchos aspectos, pero generalmente tienen el mismo proposito.
Las medias son piezas individuales hechas de rayon/seda artificial o de nylon, usadas para cubrir el pie y la parte baja de la pierna. Son populares desde 1920s, aunque aparecieron mucho tiempo antes, aproximadamente en el siglo XVI. Antes de la Segunda guerra mundial, se hacían de seda o rayon y después de la guerra de nylon. Para asegurar las medias y prevenir que se deslicen, podemos usar ligas, tirantes o medias tipo stay ups*, estas vienen con una banda elastica en la parte superior para mantenerlas en su lugar.
I am a stockings fan, specially the ones with seams on the back :)
Soy una fan de las medias, especialmente las que tienen costuras en la parte trasera :)
Pantyhose on the other hand, they are sewn together and they cover the whole leg, from the waist to the feet. They first appeared around the 40s/50s as an alternative to stockings but became really popular during the 60s with the miniskirt boom. They can be confused with tights or leggins but these type of garments are not only focused on covering the legs, they have a more fashionable purpose. Therefore they are made of wool, spandex and more attractive fabrics). Pantyhose are sheer, also made of silk or silk blended with rayon and they usually come in opaque colors like gray, nude or even black.
Las medias-panties o panty-media por otro lado, se fabrican juntas, es decir están cosidas y unidas y cubren toda la pierna, desde la cintura hasta el pie. Aparecen alrededor de los 40s/50s como una alternativa a las medias regulares (stockings) pero se hicieron muy populares en los 60s, con el boom de las minifaldas. Se pueden confundir las medias-panties/panty-media con las leggings, pero estas tienen un proposito mas de moda, no solo para cubrir las piernas. Por tanto se hacen de materiales y colores mas atractivos, como la lana o el spandex. Las panty-medias son translucidas, tambien hechas de seda o de seda mezclada con rayon y generalmente vienen en colores opacos como el gris, color carne y hasta negro.
Fishnet pantyhose
Media-panty de red
Oh and here's a rockabilly song dedicated to stockings I couldn't stop singing in my head while doing this post, hope y'all like it :) <3
