Fishnet Stockings Trashy or Sexy?

The fishnet stocking weave has been around in North America since 1908 which was when they were imported from the French fashion scene. As with many French designs that make their way across the water, it took a little while for them to become mainstay items, but they did catch hold. From that point forward a fishnet stocking was an item to be worn when you were going for something a little more daring than a regular stocking. They were a commonplace style if you didn't want to wear regular hose.


During World War II women all but ceased wearing stockings – silk was hard to come by, all the nylon was being used up for the war effort, and cotton and rayon stockings weren't up to the task of nylon or silk. While you would see some women painting stockings on their legs to keep up a hint of propriety and to get that look and others were able to afford the expensive silk, many of them wore the fishnet weave. It was less expensive than regular hose if they were going with the silk and easy to paint on if they were going this route.

During the late 60s it was common place to see fishnet stockings atop another stocking in a different color. As the 70s and 80s wore on, fishnets became less commonplace on all women and took, instead, a decided turn into the realm of the sexual. This is where it became a question of whether or not fishnet was trashy or sexy. Once upon a time you'd watch movies with glamorous upscale characters wearing fishnets with their dresses and dancers (see Ginger Rogers) wear them during their dance routines. Eventually these images of richness and glamor turned into downtrodden prostitutes and drug addled women.

At some point, the fishnet became solely associated for a time with the latter group of people and was considered unusually daring if you wore it. At some point in the early 90s with the re-emergence of punk sensibilities and goth trends, fishnet again became less trashy but it still held a bit of a stigma with outcast groups. It wasn't until early this century that fishnet stockings were again able to grasp a bit of class back again. If you see a woman wearing a vintage inspired dress (think Jackie O, Marilyn Monroe or Jane Seymour) you almost expect to see her wearing either no stockings or fishnets.

The line between trashy and sexy comes with the other clothes the woman is wearing. If she's parading about in an outfit that would make a madam proud, it'll probably be considered trashy. For instance, if you put on a tattered and rundown mini-dress that you found at the back of your closet and should have thrown away five years ago and wear it with fishnet stockings, no matter how new they might be, you'll look utterly trashy despite wearing makeup or no makeup. The outfit will simply be rather sad. On the other hand, if you put on that ultra-sexy little black dress that is in pristine condition with a pair of fishnet stockings you will not only look sexy, but you will look classically elegant while you're at it.

So, are fishnet stockings trashy or sexy? The answer is that they are both and it entirely depends on what you wear them with. Keep in mind, though, if you put on a fishnet bodystocking or mini dress in the bedroom for play time with your lover, the fishnet weave then becomes neither trashy nor sexy. It becomes, instead, pure eroticism and is win-win all around.

Buy Women's Lingerie