~ Do I have to Use a Credit Card?

~ What is your Shipping Policy?

~ What is "Inventory Hold Policy?"

~ What is Your Return Policy?

~ What is your inventory Hold Policy?

~ What are "Irregulars?"

~ Define Denier

~ Define Gauge

~ What is RHT?

~ What is Runguard Welt and Toe?

~ About Seams

Do I have to Use a Credit Card?
Several payment options can be used to pay for your order:
                1. Credit Card, Visa, MasterCard, American Express
                2. Money Order/Cashiers Check, cash
                3. Paypal 
               
There are 3 ways to complete your purchase.
 

1. Credit card payments can be used in three ways:
Shopping Cart
Browse the website, select products and add them to the shopping cart. When finished shopping, 'Check Out' by clicking on the "Pay" button (at the top of every page) and follow the directions. Your credit card WILL NOT be charged until the order is reviewed by the sales staff. If an item is out of stock, you will be emailed and given a chance to modify the order. You can also choose to pay using Paypal (directly from the shopping cart).
Emails
           If you prefer not to use the shopping cart (or are unable to), you can pay using a credit card by sending your order (description/size/color/qty) and 'half' the credit card number in one email. Then send a second email with the remainder of the credit card info (last 4 numbers and expiration date, for example). Although we don't prefer this method (your email to us is NOT encrypted but all orders using the Shopping Cart ARE encrypted), it is commonly used as a 'last resort'.
Telephone
           The third way to pay is to call our Sales Dept and place the order verbally by telephone.

2. We accept payment using money orders (international money orders must be drawn on a US bank or institution) and cashier's check or cash. We gladly accept US postal money orders. Please make them payable to 'Stocking Showcase, Inc' and mail to:

3. When paying with Paypal, money order, cashier's check or cash, email us first with your order so that we may verify the items are in stock. We will reply to that email and quote a cost for the order

You may call our office and speak to a live sales representative: 
                                       Mon-Sun  9:00AM - 11:55PM (EST)                                    
 

Our voicemail will record your message during all other times. A sales representitive will call you back.

All prices are quoted in US dollars. (The price listed for stockings is PER PAIR unless noted otherwise). 

International Orders:
We are glad to accept you order. For speedy response, we recommend you use the services of Paypal. This 'electronic payment' is free (no fees for the sender) and is instant. If you do not currently have an account, we will gladly explain the process for you. As mentioned, we do accept payments using money orders and cashier's check (drawn on a US bank or institution) or cash. Cash is sent at your own risk. 

Please make them payable to 'Stocking Showcase, Inc' and mail to:

Sales Tax

Florida Residents Only:
We will add 6% sales tax on your total order (merchandise and shipping charges). 

Shipping 
Shipping is extra. There are no handling charges or 'other' charges of any type.

DISCRETION is assured! Our return address label simply says "Showcase Inc" with no mention of the word 'stockings'.
Overseas orders will have customs paperwork with the word "Apparel" on the outside of the package. The word 'stockings' will not appear on the outside of the parcel.
Orders for hosiery will be shipped in either a new white glossy hosiery box or the original vintage stocking box wrapped in our custom tissue.           

Domestic (US):
A FLAT RATE charge of $6.00 will be charged for orders for shipping destinations within the United States. This is a 2-3 day delivery using PRIORITY MAIL. For large (or frequent) orders, we may offer a "discounted" rate (we will pay all or some of your shipping) to you. Factors include size of order and number of orders placed.
This fee also covers the cost of packaging and shipping cartons.
All orders are processed in the order in which they are received. We make every attempt to ship your order within 48 hours of receiving it.

Books and printed media will ship separately by 'Media Mail'.

If you require your order to arrive 'Next Day', we will use the overnite services (EXPRESS MAIL) of the US Postal Service (continental US only, Monday thru Friday only) and charge a flat rate depending on weight:

$13.00 for 1/2 pound (or less)
$16.25 for 1 pound
$21.40 for up to 2 pounds
The above rates are valid only if your order will fit within one hosiery box. We will quote shipping for larger orders. Your order must be received by 12 noon EST to be packaged and delivered the next day. We recommend you call in the order to also insure the items are in stock.

One final note worth mentioning. If you feel your mail receptacle is not secure or feel your shipment should not be left unattended, we can utilize signature confirmation which requires you to sign for the shipment or pick it up at the nearest post office.

International Orders:
For international orders (outside the USA) we use the "First Class Mail International" delivery service and offer a rate as low as $6.00 for small orders. If the weight exceeds one pound or cannot be shipped within one hosiery box, we will quote you exact shipping fees.
Arrival times to your customs department will vary from 6 to 10 days. We are unable to quote exact delivery dates due to the additional delays that may occur at your customs department.


We will quote shipping for larger orders. Your order WILL NOT ship until you have approved the shipping fee (if over $11.00).
It is very important that we obtain the correct mailing address for your order. If for any reason you are unable to enter the full address using the shopping cart, please email us and we will verify the information with you. You may also place this information in the "Comment" area on the shopping cart.
We use the services of the US Postal Service.

Inventory Hold Policy
Much of the vintage items have a very large selection but a low inventory count. If the same item is ordered by two customers and the result is a 'sold out' condition, the following rules will apply:
               1. The first customer to contact us, either by telephone, email or by actually placing the order using the web site, will have custody of the available inventory. In effect, we are saying the order will be "held" for the first customer who CONTACTS us, not the first to PAY. This is done to be totally fair to those who have to mail payment to us. 
               2. We will hold the inventory for up to 10 days.
               3. On the 11th day, we will attempt to contact you.
               4. If no response is heard by the 14th day, the inventory will be 'released' and placed in 
                   stock to be sold.

 It is always our desire that you be pleased with your purchase from us! We welcome any comments or helpful remarks you can provide that may enhance our ability to serve you better. 

About our Inventory
Most of the vintage stockings on this website are NOS (New Old Stock). 
Still wrapped in the original tissue and never have been unfolded, we go to great lengths to supply them to you in this very condition. In most of our photographs (if you look closely), the dark lines you see on the foot and leg are the original 'fold lines', not runs or snags. This is what a 'freshly' unfolded stocking will look like; we make no effort to hide or alter these lines.

We take great pride in offering clear, concise photos and accurate descriptions. Every attempt has been made to describe the item in detail to help you select the correct product. If any additional information will help you, feel free to contact our Sales Department before ordering. 

What about "IRREGULARS"
If we examine the history of vintage hosiery, we recognize that the advent of nylon stockings in the 1940's and 1950's were the hottest thing to hit the market. Demand clearly outstripped supply. Remember, unlike today's woman, it was unheard of NOT be wearing garter stockings back then. Clearly, half the adult population put a pressing need on the hosiery mills to keep up with demand.

Stockings were manufactured on the 'Reading Knitting Machine'. This was an enormous, complex and finicky device. See "History of Stockings". 

If we place the events in the order in which they occur, we see that un-dyed nylon thread was knitted into a tubular 'form', it was 'finished' and then 'boarded', a process where the leg is heated and formed into the final shape of a leg. This was later followed by the dying process to give the stocking its color. After sizing, the stocking is finally inspected. 

Not all 'legs' were perfect. It was the inspector's responsibility for assigning a uniform classification to sort the product. Almost all hosiery was stamped with one of the following:
"FIRST QUALITY"
"IRREGULAR"
"SECONDS"
"THIRDS"

Later we would discover the following designations:
"SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT" or "SELECT IRREGULARS" (si) 
"IF PERFECT" (ip) It is more common to just refer to them as "IR's"

The following was a common proclamation manufacturer's enclosed with a shipment which included:

The (si) hosiery are garments with very small almost imperceptible flaws perfectly wearable that can be bought at extraordinary savings.

A very high percentage of these are not flawed; the reason for the separation/selection is that the strict quality control of the manufacturer of the hosiery did not allow this particular dye-lot to pass; perhaps because the color is not with the correct quantity of dye to control hue/shade/color (in the color spectrometer). This was the most common cause. The color will be a little off, a little lighter or a little darker than the normal shade you are familiar with in this particular brand.

Also the manufacturers have odd lots, close outs, overruns, store returns, samples and trial hosiery [one of a kind] that they will mix in the (si) hosiery; and have no defect at all.

The (si) hosiery WILL NEVER have a hole, a tear, or a run. Those with noticeable imperfections would fall under 'lesser' quality categories such as "Seconds" or even "Thirds". There is also a last classification called "FW" (Fabricated Waste). Forths would not be stamped, but merely be grouped into this class to be recycled or disposed of. 

There is also hosiery called "Run of the Mill" that is 95% perfect and this one is also labeled 'SI' or 'IP'. It is perfectly good hosiery the mill needs to clear inventory of, so out it goes with the lots of IR's.

Clearly, the speed and volume at which the stockings were produced did not allow for individual inspection of each leg. If the entire 'run' (sorry) had to be stamped 'irregular', it certainly included all the 'perfect legs' in the lot as well. As you can see, these 'perfect legs' were distributed with the 'irregular' ink imprint. 

The important point we would like to emphasize is that you can buy 'Irregular' hosiery with confidence! They would contain no imperfection that would adversely affect the appearance or wear. We have made 'spot inspections' with every lot we buy and have removed any with visible defects. 

Denier
If you are new to vintage stockings, you may wonder why such importance is placed on the 'denier' of the stocking. Stockings were manufactured with (single) threads of nylon of varying thickness. This, in turn, varied the 'sheerness' and weight of the stocking (leg only, excluding welt and heel & toe). A simple but effective method was devised to uniformly measure this property. Technically speaking, you obtain a 9,000 meter sample of the thread and weigh it (in grams). When you divide the weight by 9,000 you obtain the 'denier' of the thread (stated as weight-per-unit-length). 

The lower the denier, the lighter (and finer) the nylon thread. The lowest practical denier nylon used to knit stockings is 6 or 7 denier. Nylon stockings are generally classified by denier as follows:
15 Denier (or less) Ultra Sheer (or Dress Sheer)
30 Denier Walking Sheer
40 Denier Business Sheer (Denier can vary somewhat)
70 Denier Service Weight

Generally speaking, the higher the denier, the more durable the stocking (and the less sheer). 

Gauge
Gauge is a term used to describe 'quantity' of thread found in a woven product in a specified width. Historically, it dates back to the knitting machines of earlier years. It is the number of needles found in a 38 millimeter section of width. A 51 gauge knitting machine has 51 needles in this 38 millimeter section. Hence, the finished product is a '51 gauge' knit. Other common gauges that were in use are 54 gauge and 60 gauge. Rarely found, 75 gauge was also in use. (View the 'Fine Feathers' stockings on this website).
Generally, the higher the gauge, the silkier the stocking will feel.

RHT
'Reinforced Heel and Toe' is a term used to indicate that both the heel and toe section of the foot has been knitted with a heavier gauge thread. The knitting machines pulled another darker thread from a bobbin and knit in a reciprocating motion to form the heel and toe. The effect is to strengthen these areas to reduce the chance of a mishap. It is an easily identifiable feature to determine if the stocking is true 'vintage' or not. More modern hosiery will not have the reinforced heel. 
There are two other variations worthy of mention:
Demi Toe - Reinforced toe, nude heel.
Sandalfoot - Nude toe, nude heel. 
When we refer to 'nude' heel or toe, it is to imply it is not 'reinforced' but rather the same knit and sheerness as the leg is.

Seams
There are two types of seams: "Self Seam” and the "Black Seam". To avoid confusion, it is helpful to recognize the difference between the seam styles.
The seam (or what many refer to as “backseam”) will appear as a thin tubular “gathering” of nylon fiber travelling the length of the leg. It is sewn in place and appears as a dark(er) line, the color being similar to the leg. This is called a “SELF SEAM”. If we add one black thread and coil it around this self seam, we would have created a seam that has a darker appearance. This is called a “BLACK SEAM”. If the ‘coiling’ is spaced closer together (or if a second thread is intertwined), the color will appear darker (the denser the spacing, the blacker the seam). Keep in mind that the mere existence of ONE black thread (in the seam) defines what is considered a ‘Black Seam’.
In some of the ‘Self Seamed’ full fashioned stockings, you may have noticed the existence of an additional ‘single’ or ‘double thread’ coiled on the seam. When viewed up close, the striking effects are evident. If the thread is highly reflective of light, it will glisten when light strikes it and have the look of a “coppery” or “gold” colored seam.

Runguard Welt and Toe
Manufacturers were able to add innovations to the design of stockings to prevent runs. The most notable of these was the 'Runguard' feature. This was an open mesh knitted area surrounding the (reinforced) toe which resisted vertical runs in the foot. It was also knit at the bottom of the welt. This can be clearly seen in the photo below. Many welts were imprinted with the words "Runguard Welt and Toe" to indicate the presence of this feature. There were other 'buzzwords' for this feature but they all performed the same function: minimize the possibility of damage in the high stress areas of the stocking.