| Women at the Gertz Department Store are buying silk hosiery after United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945) banned its production during World War II. Gertz, founded in 1918, had a 7-floor flagship store in Jamaica, Queens, with 4 outlets throughout the borough. The Hosiery Department was on the ground (street) floor. American women of the 1930s came to regard sheer hosiery as a necessity. Hosiery counters accounted for 10 percent of department store sales, with high 30 percent profit margins. Chain stores and drug stores sold bargain stockings. Working girls skipped lunches to afford them. Wives of the unemployed peddled hosiery door-to-door. By 1939, 2- to 4-thread ultrashears held 80 percent of the market. In 1939, women bought an average of 11 pairs of silk stockings, their most frequently purchased item of apparel. Retail hosiery prices during the Depression were equivalent to about 10 dollars in 2000, adjusted for price inflation, or 25 dollars adjusted for wage levels, far more expensive than the excellent 5-dollar nylon-spandex pantyhose of the 21st century. As mills fearful of war disruptions stockpiled raw silk, Japanese exports rose to $128 1,000,000. In the 4th quarter of 1939, as war broke out in Europe, raw silk tipped up to 4 dollars per pound in early 1940 before settling back to around 3 dollars, still the highest price in a decade. The Japanese government Silk Commission felt confident enough in July to buy buffer stocks to ensure a floor price of $2.55 per pound. During the price boomlet, Tokyo even encouraged firms to buy from filatures in occupied Shanghai and Canton for local currency and re-export for dollars. Still, in September 1940, it halted the practice. Despite losing its minor market in Europe, the Japanese silk trade had apparently weathered the war crisis. May 15, 1939, was Nylon Day at the New York World’s Fair, a day of lavish promotion of a new kind of full-fashioned hosiery. The stockings were an instant hit. Women across the country thronged the counters of department stores to buy stockings of gossamer nylon, sheerer than the finest Japanese silks, that clung smoothly to their legs in unblemished beauty. Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours and Company, whose motto was “Better things for better living through chemistry,’ had recruited Doctor Wallace Hume Carothers (April 27, 1896 – April 29, 1937) from Harvard University to research the creation of a perfect artificial silk. In 1934, he achieved a breakthrough by creating a long-chain polymer from coal, air, and water, marking the 1st true synthetic fiber, 1 not derived from wood or vegetation. Du Pont called it nylon. The extruded yarns were strong, lightweight, stretchy, and uniformly consistent. Test-knit stockings fulfilled the company’s fondest hopes. It established a plant in Seaford, Delaware, which, in December 1939, began producing 4,000,000 pounds annually, reserving nearly all the output for hosiery mills. In 1940, nylon accounted for 7 percent of the hosiery market, and its share was growing rapidly as DuPont lowered yarn prices. Japan was the sole supplier of silk to the United States, and deteriorating trade relations in 1941 led to the cutoff of the supply. Silk was used for parachutes and was the best material for powder bags for naval guns. When the guns were fired, the silk completely disintegrated, leaving no damaging residue in the gun barrels. To protect this precious resource, the Office of Production Management (OPM) seized the nation’s supply of raw silk on August 2, 1941. Nylon was also needed for parachutes, and was produced from chemicals vital to the war effort. In addition, nylon was used to make rope stronger and to supplement rubber (also in short supply) in tire production. As a result, the War Production Board (formerly the OPM) commandeered DuPont’s stock of nylon on February 11, 1942. From then on, DuPont’s nylon production shifted to war materials. Used stockings were also valuable. Used silk stockings were made into powder bags for the Navy, and used nylon stockings were melted down and re-spun into nylon thread for parachute production. On November 15, 1942, the War Production Board launched an official collection program for silk and nylon hosiery. When stockings developed holes or runs, women were encouraged to return them to the hosiery department of their local store. The Roosevelt Administration appealed to American women to voluntarily ration hosiery purchases to current needs, along with seizing raw silk supplies on August 2, 1941. The Office of Price Administration warned against hoarding and price gouging, urging people to report any unfair prices. The seizure sparked a shopping frenzy for silk stockings, prompting most retailers to set a limit of 2 or 3 pairs. The black-market price of nylon stockings subsequently rose to $10 a pair or more. Women treated their remaining stockings with great care, often reserving them for special occasions. Rayon or cotton stockings were worn, but not fondly, as they tended to sag around the knees and ankles. The rising popularity of slacks helped, but most women resorted to bare legs, often with ankle socks. To simulate the look of nylons, some women used leg makeup from cosmetics companies such as Max Factor. These “liquid stockings” were reported to last up to 3 days if the woman didn’t bathe. If possible, a “seam” was painted down the back of the leg with an eyebrow pencil by a friend or family member, or by using a Y-shaped device to guide the pencil. The leg makeup was endangered when a lady crossed her legs or when it rained, and its difficulty in application and wear limited its popularity. After the cessation of hostilities with Japan in August 1945, the War Production Board announced that DuPont would resume hosiery production. Women stormed stores in the “Nylon Riots,” leading to fighting over pairs of stockings. Shortages led to confrontations at department stores in Pittsburgh, New York, San Francisco, and other places. By March 1946, duPont was supplying enough nylon for 30,000,000 pairs, and the “riots” abated. Gertz Department Store folded in 1982. A shopping plaza in Jamaica still bears the company’s name. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0939.jpg |
| Image Size | 269.53 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1200 x 1504 |
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| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 3, 1941 |
| Location | Jamaica |
| City | Queens |
| State or Province | New York |
| Country | United States |
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| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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