1941: “Stocking Panic” (partie 1)

Cet article de 1941 s’intéresse aux conséquences de la pénurie de soie, suite aux tensions politiques entre les USA et le Japon: affolées, les américaines se précipitent pour faire leurs réserves de bas de soie! “Stocking Panic” was an article published in Business Week on aug.9, 1941. Crisis in american-japonese relations lead to a cut [...]

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1945: le marché noir des bas nylon

Bootleg Nylons is an article published in Reader’s Digest in February 1945. It tells about nylons in the black market during the years of War [english below]. Bootleg Nylons (Nylons de contrebande) est un article publié en 1945 par Reader’s Digest afin de sensibiliser la population aux dangers du marché noir. Illustré par deux histoires [...]

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1941: “Test Tube Tale”

In addition to my article series published under the title The Nylon Drama here is a short film (ca. 10 mn) from 1941. It deals with the “miracles of chemistry” and how it conditionned the american way of life. En complément de ma série d’articles “The Nylon Drama” et pour souligner l’engouement que représentait le [...]

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Les jambes des femmes en photos

Women’s legs in photography is a bilingual book (french-english) that depicts the evolution of ladies clothing from the late 1800′s to the eighties and ends by a surprising conclusion: the more women acquired rights and freedom, the more they revealed their legs! (english below) Les jambes des femmes en photos est une rétrospective vestimentaire en [...]

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Le bas dans tous ses états! De l’Antiquité jusqu’au Moyen-Âge partie 1

History of hosiery from the Antiquity to the late 1930′s part 1 This is the first article of a series dedicated to the history of stockings- Early references to hosiery go back to the ancient Greeks. Workmen and slaves wore hosiery in ancient times, and Roman woman wore a short sock (called a soccus) in [...]

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Nylon Stockings Care Instructions

Vintage and modern stockings require attention and care so they will last longer (english below) Bas couture: conseils d’entretien Qu’ils soient anciens ou modernes, les bas couture exigent un traitement de faveur, garantie d’une utilisation prolongée.

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1939: Wilmington at the center of fashion world 2/2

David Braunstein says he never saw anything like it. “When we opened the doors, they went wild,” Braunstein said. “It got so crazy, these women went nuts.” [english below] Des stocks de bas nylon créent l’émeute David Braunstein dit qu’il n’avait jamais rien vu de pareil. « Lorsque nous avons ouvert les portes, elles se sont [...]

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1939: Wilmington at the center of fashion world 1/2

For a brief and shining moment, the women of Wilmington were the fashion envy of the world. They had nylons. And nobody else did. Anywhere. [english below] Les femmes de Wilmington, premières à porter des bas nylon Pour un bref et radieux instant, les femmes de Wilmington dans le Delaware furent l’objet d’une envie dévorante [...]

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The Nylon Drama 3/3

Before the invention of nylon was formally announced by DuPont, consumers had unknowingly gotten a taste of the new material. [english below] La découverte du Nylon et ses premières applications Durant ses neuf années chez Du Pont, le brillant mais lunatique Carothers apporta d’importantes contributions à la science des polymères et mena l’effort de recherche [...]

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The Nylon Drama 2/3

The story of textiles in the 20th century is the story of chemistry. Changes in the chemical industry affected the textile industry and the two became intertwined. Chemistry had always played an important role in textile finishing but, starting around 1900, it became possible to apply knowledge about molecules to producing fibers themselves. [english below] [...]

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