Tights

Fashion Synopsis

Now that miniskirts were scandalously high, less-than-perfect legs needed a little help. Mary Quant offered girls an alternative to the incredibly bare feeling of the miniskirt, presenting them with tights. Printed with psychedelic designs, woven in fishnet and mesh, and colored with every conceivable day-glo hue, tights were an absolute necessity for the mini.

Quant commissioned dancewear manufacturer Capezio to produce wearable tights in fashionable colors for use under her miniskirts. Dancers had been performing in tights for several years, but they were thick and shiny, and considered dancewear only.

Pantyhose had not yet been invented—and wouldn’t be until 1965—but the miniskirt was so short that regular hose and garters looked unsightly when exposed. When the miniskirt left the street and became a style even middle-aged women were wearing, the hosiery world took notice.

Worn with go-go boots and the mini, tights were the only thing that saved many girls’ modesty.