194 saved#1,046 of 6,224

Nylon Stockings Day

A fashion observance on May 15 celebrating the cultural impact and history of nylon stockings in women's hosiery and everyday wear.

Saturday

May 2027

Last updated March 19, 2026 · by the Holiday Calendar Team

Have an update or spot an error?

YEARLY DATEMay 15

OBSERVED INUnited States

CATEGORYStyle

SUBCATEGORYAccessories

ORIGIN

Historical Origin

FOUNDING ENTITY

Not documented

FIRST OBSERVED

Not documented

HOW THE HOLIDAY CAME TO BE

No documented founder or formal establishment record has been identified. The May 15 date corresponds to the 1940 nationwide launch of nylon stockings by DuPont, when roughly four million pairs sold out in four days.

+ Know the story? Submit a founder Help us complete this holiday

INTRO

Introduction

PHOTO

Before nylon reached American store shelves, a single pair of silk stockings could cost a full day's wages for a working woman, and every snag meant another trip to the hosiery counter. Nylon Stockings Day marks the anniversary of the product launch that upended that equation: on May 15, 1940, DuPont's synthetic fiber went on sale nationwide, and most stores sold out by noon.

The frenzy surrounding that first sale was only a preview. Within two years, nylon had captured 30% of the American hosiery market, and the fiber's wartime diversion to parachutes and tire cords triggered shortages so severe that tens of thousands of women rioted outside department stores for a chance to buy a single pair.

ORIGINS

Nylon Stockings Day history

INTRODUCTION

The fiber that would transform women's hosiery started in a DuPont laboratory nicknamed "Purity Hall." In 1928, the company recruited Wallace H. Carothers, a young organic chemistry lecturer from Harvard, to lead a team investigating polymerization. Carothers proposed building long-chain molecules from small organic compounds with known reactivity, hoping to prove that polymers were genuine macromolecules rather than loose colloidal mixtures.

His team's early polyester fibers showed remarkable elasticity but melted at temperatures too low for laundering. In 1934, Carothers shifted to polyamides, and by the following year his researchers had produced fiber 66, named for the six carbon atoms in each of its two starting materials. DuPont chose not to trademark the word "nylon," intending consumers to treat it as a generic material like glass or cotton.

CHAPTER 01

From Laboratory to Sales Floor

DuPont targeted women's hosiery as nylon's debut market. American women purchased an average of eight pairs of stockings per year, sending over $70 million annually to Japanese silk producers. On October 27, 1938, DuPont introduced the new fiber to 4,000 women at the future site of the New York World's Fair, then ran a limited trial sale in Wilmington, Delaware, in October 1939, where 4,000 pairs sold out in three hours.

The national rollout arrived on May 15, 1940. Offered at $1.15 per pair, nylon stockings sold out at most stores by noon. In total, roughly four million pairs moved in four days. DuPont produced 2.6 million pounds of nylon that year, generating $9 million in sales, and the following year nylon yarn revenue reached $25 million.

CHAPTER 02

Wartime Scarcity and Nylon Riots

The boom was short-lived. After the United States entered World War II, DuPont shifted virtually all nylon production to military use: parachutes, tire cords, glider tow ropes, and flak jackets. By 1942, the fiber that had gone almost entirely into stockings was now almost entirely off-limits to civilians, and a black market emerged where prices could spike to $20 per pair.

When nylon stockings returned to stores in September 1945, demand far outpaced supply. Newspapers across the country reported "nylon riots" as hundreds or thousands of women formed lines outside department stores. The most extreme incident occurred in Pittsburgh in June 1946, when 40,000 people lined up over a mile to compete for 13,000 pairs. The observance now known as Nylon Stockings Day falls on the anniversary of that original May 15, 1940 launch.

TIMELINE

Nylon Stockings Day Timeline

Fiber 66 synthesized at DuPont

Wallace Carothers's research team produced the polyamide fiber that would become nylon, combining hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid in DuPont's Wilmington laboratory.

Nylon unveiled to the public

DuPont introduced nylon stockings to 4,000 women at the future site of the New York World's Fair on October 27, generating intense media coverage.

Trial sale in Wilmington

On October 24, DuPont sold 4,000 unbranded pairs of nylon stockings in six Wilmington, Delaware stores, and they sold out in three hours.

National launch on May 15

Nylon stockings went on sale across the United States at $1.15 per pair, with roughly four million pairs selling out in four days.

Postwar nylon riots erupt

In Pittsburgh, approximately 40,000 people queued for over a mile to compete for 13,000 pairs of stockings after wartime production restrictions ended.

DuPont licenses nylon production

Facing both overwhelming demand and antitrust pressure, DuPont licensed nylon manufacturing to outside producers for the first time.

GET INVOLVED

How to Celebrate Nylon Stockings Day

Visit a textile or science museum

The Science History Institute maintains detailed exhibits and articles on nylon's development at DuPont. Many regional museums also display wartime-era hosiery and propaganda posters related to nylon rationing.

TRY

Try on a pair of vintage-style stockings

Several specialty brands still produce fully fashioned nylon stockings with back seams, replicating the construction method used in the 1940s. Wearing them offers a direct, tactile connection to the garment that once triggered nationwide riots.

WATCH

Watch a documentary about wartime fashion

Films and archival footage from the 1940s capture the era when women painted seams on bare legs to simulate stockings during the wartime shortage. The Hagley Museum and Library hosts articles and digital archives with DuPont's original marketing materials and photographs.

EXPLORE

Explore the chemistry behind synthetic fibers

Read about Wallace Carothers's condensation polymerization process, which formed the foundation for both nylon and neoprene. The Science History Institute's Carothers biography explains how removing water during the reaction produced the strong, elastic chains that made nylon possible.

DONATE

Donate old hosiery for recycling

Nylon is not biodegradable, and an estimated 8 million tonnes of the polymer are produced globally each year. Several textile recycling programs accept used hosiery and convert it into carpet fiber, playground surfaces, or raw nylon pellets for new products.

WHY THIS DAY MATTERS

Why We Love Nylon Stockings Day

It launched the modern synthetic fiber industry

Nylon was the first commercially successful fully synthetic textile fiber, proving that laboratory-designed polymers could outperform natural materials at scale. By the mid-1950s, DuPont's model of pairing synthetic fibers with Parisian couturiers like Chanel and Dior had become the template for how chemical companies marketed new fabrics.

It displaced a major silk trade overnight

Japan had been the dominant supplier of silk to American hosiery mills for decades, and nylon abruptly ended that dependency. Within two years of its 1940 launch, nylon had captured 30% of the full-fashioned hosiery market, permanently restructuring the global textile supply chain.

It revealed consumer power during scarcity

The postwar nylon riots were among the earliest documented mass consumer disturbances over a single product. One entrepreneur reportedly made $100,000 from a single diverted wartime nylon shipment, illustrating how scarcity of an everyday item could create a parallel economy.

Test your knowledge

How well do you know Nylon Stockings Day?

1 / 8

On what date did nylon stockings first go on sale nationally in the United States?

Related holidays

WED

Aug 2026

Style

National Underwear Day

A lighthearted observance on August 5 celebrating underwear as a foundational garment and promoting body confidence and self-expression.

National Lingerie Day

An annual observance on April 25 celebrating intimate apparel, its history as a reflection of changing social norms, and its evolution from restrictive garments to expressions of comfort and self-confidence.

171Read

MON

May 2026