Pantyhose are a form of sheer women's hosiery that extend from the waist to the toes. The terms hosiery and stocking derive from the Anglo-Saxon words hosa, meaning "tight-legged trouser," and stoka, meaning "stump" When the upper part of a trouser leg was cut off, the remaining stoka became "stocking," and hosa became "hosiery. However, after World War II, fashion designers began to attach panties to stockings, creating the form of hosiery currently favored by most women. Although their most basic purpose is to protect and beautify the feet and legs of female consumers, nylons are also put to other uses, including supporting the legs of football players and protecting crops from dust storms. Pantyhose have even been recycled in the arts and crafts industry, where they are cut up and stuffed with fiberfill to become the arms and legs of dolls and stuffed animals. Few early references to women's hosiery exist because any public mention of women's legs was considered improper until the twentieth century.
Pantyhose , called sheer tights in the United Kingdom and a few other countries, are close-fitting legwear covering the wearer's body from the waist to the toes. Like stockings or knee highs , pantyhose are usually made of nylon , or of other fibers blended with nylon. Pantyhose are designed to:. Besides being worn as fashion, in Western society pantyhose are sometimes worn by women as part of formal dress.
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Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles or a combination of them, such as the original concept of the American term pantyhose with sheer legs and opaque panty. Today, they are worn primarily by women and girls.