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1959 - The Demand for Men's Tights |
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The industrial mass production of Helanca tights for women and children led to first thoughts about introducing this very practical article of clothing for men as well. The following was stated in July 1959: "The surprising business success of tights - which in some cases has already led to supply problems - should not mislead one to think that the tights market has been captured. As soon as the publicizing of a new article of clothing begins, then all stops are pulled out. Therefore, we would like to suggest that - in addition to women and children - men are also entitled to their right. 'Hence, we demand tights for men' Mind you, we do not desire a return to the fashion of the middle ages - though this enlivening of the street scene might be a welcome change for some. But joking aside: though there isn't a lack of underwear for various purposes, one could imagine the elastic tights are the ideal piece of clothing for a multitude of winter sports. We're primarily thinking about skiing and ice-skating, sports in which elasticity already plays a role in outerwear. Elastic tights would be considered the perfect supplement. At the same time, this would be the most important field of use for tights, except for some unique uses such as stockinet for trapeze artists." (1959) |
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1958 - 1962 – The First Manufacturers of Men's Tights |
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The first pair of men's stockings in the post-war era was probably manufactured by the company Elza GmbH, based in Neuburg on the Danube, in 1958. In a notice from the company, the following was written in regard to their variety of goods: "Tights made of stockinet for women, men and children." Another manufacturer in 1959 was the Wuppertal-based "Strumpffabrik Mahelma", whose manager, Helmut Krippl, wrote the following for the magazine "Strumpf & Socke" (Stocking & Sock): For men, tights in the right thickness have good chances especially in the sports area. For skiing and ice-skating, tights with an appropriate standard of quality should be marketed." In the same year, the companies Uhlmann (Lippstadt, Westphalia) - with the trademark "Uhli" - and Kunert (Immenstadt, Allgäu) offered the novelty "Men's Helanca Tights". The first articles were still produced on Cotton patent machines, just like long lady's stockings and the first lady's tights, and thus had rear seams running down the length of the legs. The production of seamless tights on circular knitting machines did not begin until 1960 - 1961. |
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Packaging of the first pair of men's tights by Kunert, 1959. |
Men's Helanca tights by Kunert, Immenstadt/Allgäu, 1959. |
Close-up of the rear seam of Kunert men's tights, which were produced on Cotton patent machines. |
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Kunert smooth men's tights with ventilation in the soles. Includes net seam binding and front panel, available in the colors navy and black, and made from Helanca 90/2 denier, 1959. |
Dealer price list for Uhli Helanca tights, including the first Uhli men's tights, 1961. |
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Opaque Helanca men's tights with slit, "Uhli" brand, Uhlmann (Lippstadt, Westphalia), 1960-61. |
Rear seam on Uhli men's tights, 1960-61. |
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The expectations regarding the sale of men's tights were very positive initially: Starting points for the demand creation of men's tights could be the motorcycle, winter sports, perhaps campgrounds early in the season and maybe also as underwear for soldiers." (1960) "The major sales success of lady's and children's tights paved the way for the idea that something similar could be created and marketed successfully for men. An article of clothing for men, similar to tights, can be found in several product palettes of the hosiery industry for the Fall and Winter of 1960. Some manufacturers are still pondering whether and in which form such an article can be included in their collections. After numerous discussions with retail customers, the industry tended to be of the perception that men's tights would be most successful if one could market them as underwear (with slit) with feet, but which could also be produced without feet. Good washability, comfortable wear and the turning away from the "unspeakable" - which depicted men in underwear as figures to make fun of - were the strongest arguments for Helanca underwear similar to tights. Inasmuch as these articles were included in the product palettes of hosiery mills and available for the Fall collection - consumer interest existed. For the most part, men's socks departments felt responsible for purchasing these articles. Time will tell whether this article - derived from tights - is placed correctly in the hosiery departments or whether the better placement would be the lingerie department - marketed as an alternative to men's briefs." (1960) "Men's tights have also found their places in many product palettes. Especially in colder months, tights could become strong competition for long underwear, which is rejected particularly by younger men because it is considered unsportsmanlike." (1960) |
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"Now then - Tights for Men as Well" (please see picture on the right) For the Fall and Winter, several hosiery mills will provide men's tights to retailers. Men's tights should preferably be sold as underwear. Tights worn as underwear with a hidden slit can be produced either with or without feet. Both types will gain its following. Our picture shows a model of the Berlin-based "Wappenstrumpf-Fabrik", which in addition to the shown model also carries a model without feet. According to early feedback, retailers are very interested in men's tights as underwear. It looks as though the product lines of hosiery departments can be expanded to include an additional revenue-promoting article. In various professional discussions, the question as to whether men's tights as underwear are better placed in hosiery or underwear departments has been risen. Experience as to where this article sells better is naturally not available yet. It will be the task of all parties who are interested in making a profit to ponder its placement, so as to ensure its sales success in the next fall and winter season. Why should men's tights be any less successful that lady's tights, which were the absolute favorite in the past fall and winter?" (1960)
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"He – she – it – energetic and chic in Tights" (please see picture on the right) "Tights are a part of the hosiery wardrobe for innumerable occasions and for any season. In the spring, for example, mother and child are well equipped if they put on tights over their socks or pantyhose in the mornings. When the sun comes out at noon, tights can quickly be removed. In the summer, tights are indispensable for sports, camping, or for lounging in the garden, on the balcony or the terrace in the evenings. The fall would be unthinkable without tights, and when winter approaches - tights should not be missing in any window display, and should be in stock in all sizes and colors. In the meantime, tights have been created for men as well. With the right marketing, these too could become favorites in the hosiery departments this fall and winter. Let us also take into account that tights are, thanks to their many areas of use, very suitable to create amusing and attractive window displays which should pep up any specialty hosiery display. So now nothing stands in the way of approaching the advertising of this article with impetus. "He", depicted on the picture to the right, is wearing men's tights by the hosiery mill oHG based in Wiesbaden-Erbenheim, in 90/2 denier Helanca opaque tights. The tights have a reinforced front panel with a zipper, an end-to-end waistband, and can be adjusted in the waist with the buttonhole rubber band. Heel, sole and toes are extra-reinforced, and the tights can be delivered in four colors which coordinate with the popular colors for outerwear and socks. "She" and "it" are wearing tights made by the Pforzheim-based SILKONA-Strumpffabrik GmbH. The tights are run-free articles produced by a different warp-knitting technique, which makes them stand out from the usual selection of tights. The pants are fully-fashioned and reinforced in the clock, and although they are very light and comfortable to wear, they are very opaque. For children, these tights can be supplied in the sizes 6, 9 and 12 and for ladies, in the sizes 1, 2 and 3. The preferred colors for ladies are vogue, bottle green and navy, and for children vogue, cornflower blue and green." (1961) |
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Other manufacturers began producing men's tights - for example the "Men's Tights with and without Feet", with a purchase price of 9.60 Deutsche Mark, by the Berlin-based company Wappenstrumpf-Fabrik GmbH. These tights were sold starting in April 1960 under the trade name "lopps". (1960) The article "Shopping Guide for Fine and Knit Hosiery" from the magazine "Strumpf & Socke" lists the following manufacturers of men's tights in 1960: The Wiesbaden-based company "Strumpffabrik oHG, Wiesbaden-Erbenheim", which produced men's Helanca tights with a zipper. The company "Veltins, Wiethoff & Co." in Schmallenberg / Sauerland, which offered "tights for children, teenagers, ladies and men." The knit stocking manufacturer "Zwingenberger im Donautal KG", based in Mühlheim near Tuttlingen. An expert report commissioned by the company Kunert in 1959 brought to light that men's tights were introduced much too soon, since men in the late 1950's found tights to be anything but masculine. In a psychological study conducted in June 1959, the following was said about the "attitude towards men's tights": "A pair of tights, which all but replaces the stocking as well as long underwear, is rejected almost without exception. Most men find this type of clothing article repulsive. The things men associate with tights include "ice dancers", "show-off", "love-killers", "grandfather's legacy" and "baby rompers" - all of these thoughts have in common their unmanliness. Interestingly enough, there were obvious concerns that other people would find out that they were wearing such a piece of clothing, which would be a source of embarrassment to them ("The neighbors could see this thing hanging out to dry!" or "Imagine if I have a car accident and am brought to the hospital wearing a pair of tights!"). Men's tights are not only considered objectionable or unaesthetic - their practical use is also highly discredited by men. For example, men believe that the stocking-part will come apart much quicker than the pants-part, and that tights are too expensive for this to happen (a pair of men's Helanca tights is estimated to cost between 12 and 20 Deutsche Mark). Men also felt that tights had to be laundered much more often than underwear, which bothered them, especially since it meant owning a large supply of tights. They believed that putting tights on would probably be very cumbersome ("I'm glad when I'm able to get long underwear on!"), since you had to pay attention to the fit of the feet, too. Almost all men see no benefit at all in owning a pair of tights. Very rarely did one make the remark that this piece of clothing was probably a good safeguard against cold, and that one could avoid bare portions of the leg when wearing tights. According to the results of the survey, men's view on tights would hardly be more positive even if men's tights were available without the feet. Because then men would expect all the attributes of long underwear: tights would have to be boil-proof, air-permeable, and not too tight. They would also have to be white. In any case, men could hardly believe that the long underwear could be improved. Finally, it was interesting to note that the majority of men never even wear long underwear, so this group hardly needs a similar product. Thus, men's tights were not accepted yet. Like most other manufacturers, Kunert discontinued the production after 2 years - even in the athletic area the demand was too low. The last offered pair of Kunert men's tights were found in the Sport-Beck catalog in 1962-63: "Men's Helanca tights (Kunert). Very elastic, fine seam, overlapping slit. Best quality and production. Navy, black." |