Many say the fishnets began in the early 1900s with the showgirls of the famous Moulin Rouge but most images of women from the time highlighted adorned black stockings, not fishnets.

Fishnets became popular with flappers and showgirls in the 1920s as hemlines rose (to just barely below the knee). They were popular due to the fact that from a distance, fishnetted legs may look as though they’re adorned in black tights, but under the bright lights of a dance stage, dots of flesh would show through.

Fishnets continued to be associated with a ‘loose’ type of woman especially as they gained popularity in pin-up girls of the 1950s.

In the 60s with the rise of the miniskirt, some women took to playing with the amount of leg they showed by wearing a tight weave fishnet in various colors.

A photo set of glamorous photos that shows classic beauties wearing these fishnet stockings in the 1950s and 1960s.