Sizing Info

Unlike most modern hosiery, which may contain nylon and stretch spandex, most vintage stockings did not stretch. It was knit to the leg 'proportion'. A characteristic common on most vintage hosiery is the shapely leg or bulge from the calf to upper thigh of the leg. The knitting machines (and subsequent boarding process) fabricated the stocking to the shape of the leg for a 'truer' fit.

The table below offers an approximation as to what size vintage stocking should fit. If your foot is 'wide' or leg proportions 'large', be sure to increase the stocking by a 'half size' to be safe.

Determine your STOCKING SIZE using this chart:

Finding the correct size vintage stocking to fit you begins at the foot.

Find the size shoe you wear on the chart below (pink columns on left).
It is very important to be sure the foot of the vintage stocking is large enough for your foot. If not, too large a foot squeezed into too small a stocking (foot) will cause it to tear or run. Although nylon used in the vintage stockings is still 'stable', it will not stretch to fit a larger foot or leg.

The approximate 'Stocking SIze' is in the 'blue columns' on the far right side of the table.

SHOE SIZE / FOOT LENGTH							SHOE WIDTH
SHOE SIZE / FOOT LENGTH							AAA to AA	A or B	C or D	E or EE
US Woman's	US Mens	EUROPE	UK	Japan	Inches	CM	STOCKING SIZE
5	3 1/2	35	2 1/2	21.5	9	22.8	8 1/2	8 1/2	8 1/2	8 1/2
5 1/2	4	35.5	3	22	9 1/8	23.1	8 1/2	8 1/2	9	9
6	4 1/2	36	3 1/2	22.5	9 1/4	23.5	8 1/2	9	9	9
6 1/2	5	37	4	23	9 3/8	23.8	9	9	9 1/2	9 1/2
7	5 1/2	37 1/2	4 1/2	23.5	9 1/2	24.1	9 1/2	9 1/2	9 1/2	10
7 1/2	6	38	5	24	9 5/8	24.5	9 1/2	9 1/2	10	10
8	6 1/2	38 1/2	5 1/2	24.5	9 1/4	24.8	10	10	10	10 1/2
8 1/2	7	39	6	25	9 7/8	25.1	10	10	10	10 1/2
9	7 1/2	40	6 1/2	25.5	10	25.4	10	10 1/2	10 1/2	10 1/2
9 1/2	8	40 1/2	7	26	10 1/8	25.7	10 1/2	10 1/2	10 1/2	11
10	8 1/2	41	7 1/2	26.5	10 1/4	26	10 1/2	11	11	11
10 1/2	9 3/4	42	8	27	10 1/3	26.3	11	11	11	11 1/2
11	9	42 1/2	8 1/2	27.5	10 1/2	26.7	11	11	11 1/2	11 1/2
11 1/2	10	43	9	28	10 2/3	27	11 1/2	11 1/2	11 1/2	11 1/2
12	10 1/2	44	9 1/2	28.5	10 3/4	27.3	11 1/2	11 1/2	11 1/2	12
13	11 1/2	45	10 1/2	29.5	11	27.9	12	12	12	13
14	12 1/2	46 1/2	11 1/2	30.5	11 1/4	28.6	12	13	13	13

Determine the proper stocking LENGTH using this chart:

Foot Size	Height	Weight	Length
8 1/2	4 ft 6 in - 5 ft	90 - 100	Short
8 1/2	5 ft - 5 ft 4 in	90 - 110	Medium
9	4 ft 8 in - 5 ft	90 - 100	Short
9	5 ft - 5 ft 3 in	100 - 110	Medium
9	5 ft 3 in - 5 ft 7 in	110 - 120	Long
9 1/2	4 ft 10 in - 5 ft 3 in	95 - 110	Medium
9 1/2	5 ft 3 in - 5 ft 7 in.	100 - 125	Long
9 1/2	5 ft 7 in - 5 ft 11 in	110 - 125	X Long
10	5 ft - 5 ft 2 in	100 - 110	Short
10	5 f 2 in - 5 ft 4 in	110 - 120	Medium
10	5 ft 3 in - 5 ft 7 in	110 - 120	Long
10	5 ft 7 in - 6 ft	120 - 130	X long
10 1/2	5 ft 4 in - 5 ft 7 in	110 - 120	Medium
10 1/2	5 ft 5 in - 5 ft 8 in	120 - 140	Long
10 1/2	5 ft 7 in - 6 ft	145 -160	X Long
11	5 ft 4 in - 5 ft 7 in	120 - 140	Medium
11	5 ft 4 in - 5 ft 7 in	140 -160	Long
11	5 ft 6 in - 6 ft 1 in	155 - 180	X Long
11 1/2	5 ft 6 in - 5 ft 9 in	145 - 155	Medium
11 1/2	5 ft 7 in - 5 ft 10 in	155 - 170	Long
11 1/2	5 ft 10 in - 6 ft 4 in	155 - 180	X Long
12	5 ft 8 in - 5 ft 11 in	145 - 160	X Long
12	5 ft 11 in - 6 ft 4 in	190 - 210	Opera
13	5 ft 10 in - 6 ft 2 in	180 - 200	X Long
13	5 ft 11 in - 6 ft 4 in	195 - 230	Opera

This table is helpful in recognizing how LONG a stocking should measure in inches (from bottom of heel to top of welt) for a given 'Stocking Size'

STOCKING SIZE	STOCKING LENGTH
	SHORT	MEDIUM	LONG	XL	OPERA
8 1/2	28	30	31	32
9	29	30 1/2	32	33
9 1/2	30	31	33	34
10	30	32	34	36
10 1/2	31	32 1/2	35	36 1/2
11		33	35	37	38
11 1/2		33 1/2	35 1/2	36 1/2	38
12					39
13					39

For example, if you determined that a size 10 Medium should fit you, then find out it really is too short, you may actually want to purchase the 'Long' or 'XL' size instead.