# Bodystocking > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bodystocking > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bodystocking.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodystocking > Source revision: 1324869051 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|One-piece, skin-tight garment made of knitted or stretch material}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}} thumb|Bodystocking A '''bodystocking''' or '''body stocking''' is a one-piece [skin-tight garment](/source/skin-tight_garment) that covers the torso, legs and sometimes the arms of the wearer. It is a [foundation garment](/source/foundation_garment) or an article of [lingerie](/source/lingerie) usually made from a [sheer fabric](/source/sheer_fabric) similar to that used for [stockings](/source/stockings) or [pantyhose](/source/pantyhose), or from [fishnet](/source/fishnet), [lace](/source/lace) or an opaque material, or a variation of these materials.{{Cite web|url=http://voices.yahoo.com/bodystockings-sexy-lingerie-many-occasions-695889.html|title=Bodystockings: Sexy Lingerie for Many Occasions |website=Yahoo Voices |first1=Victoria |last1=Sanders |date=Dec 10, 2007 |accessdate=26 October 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140619123326/http://voices.yahoo.com/bodystockings-sexy-lingerie-many-occasions-695889.html|archivedate=19 June 2014}} A bodystocking differs from a [unitard](/source/unitard), which is worn as an outfit or article of clothing, and a [leotard](/source/leotard), which is used as a practice garment or performance costume for [acrobats](/source/acrobatics), [gymnasts](/source/gymnasts) and other similar performers. Designed to be revealed, but not to be too revealing, bodystockings may be worn as undergarments by performers such as [belly dancer](/source/belly_dancer)s and [exotic dancer](/source/exotic_dancer)s. == Description == Oftentimes bodystockings are made of sheer fabric and are worn with or without undergarments such as a [bra](/source/Brassiere). Bodystockings normally come in only two sizes, especially when they use stretch material. A body stocking may be worn for the smooth line it gives or because it cannot become untucked from trousers or a skirt. When worn as underwear, it is usually not worn with other underwear. It may be worn with [panties](/source/panties) for extra coverage or a bra for extra support. [Sheer](/source/Sheer_fabric) body stockings are too revealing to be worn alone. Opaque bodystockings can be worn in place of [tights](/source/tights) and a blouse. Bodystockings also come in fishnet, lace and [satin](/source/satin), the latter which may just consist of the top portion of the bodystocking, allowing it to be worn underneath a suit jacket to serve as a blouse. These types of bodystockings are also made sheer, enabling the wearer to wear a more revealing outfit coupled with sheer coverage for line smoothing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/26/magazine/this-spring-s-under-statements.html |url-access=subscription |title=This Spring's Under-statements |date=February 26, 1989 |first1=Bernadine |last1=Morris |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |accessdate=2012-10-16 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005021955/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/26/magazine/this-spring-s-under-statements.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |archive-date= 2013-10-05}} Bodystockings are put on through the neck, in a similar technique to putting on a pair of tights: the body and arm sections are rolled down and then the legs are scrunched up like stockings; one would put one foot in and pull the stocking part up, and then the same on the other leg; from the waist, the bodystocking is pulled up over the torso to the chest, and then the arms are scrunched up and put on in same way as the legs; and the garment is then adjusted as required, and any ribbons and fasteners tied.{{Cite web |url=http://www.funkybodystockings.co.uk/How-to-Wear-a-Bodystocking_ep_44-1.html |title=How to Wear a Bodystocking |website=Funky BodyStockings |access-date=2014-03-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423203921/http://www.funkybodystockings.co.uk/How-to-Wear-a-Bodystocking_ep_44-1.html |archive-date= 2014-04-23 }} Due to its design, and its close-fitting and one-piece aspect, the wearer may have to remove the bodystocking for [excretion](/source/excretion), but crotchless bodystockings are also available. If a bodystocking is a foundation garment, any over clothing will also need to be removed. == History == It is unclear when the first bodystocking was made or when it was first worn. The first notable occasion was when American actress [Adah Isaacs Menken](/source/Adah_Isaacs_Menken) wore one in 1861 in the play ''Mazeppa'', based on [Byron](/source/Lord_Byron)'s "[Mazeppa](/source/Mazeppa_(Byron))", in which she played a [Ukrainian](/source/Ukraine) man who was tied nude to the back of a wild horse by his enemies. In the scene Menken wore a flesh coloured bodystocking to preserve her [modesty](/source/modesty) while giving the illusion of [nudity](/source/nudity). The practice created controversy.Brooks, Daphne A. “Lady Menken’s Secret: Adah Isaacs Menken, Actress Biographies and the Race for Sensation.” ''Legacy'', Volume 15. Number 1. (1998): pages 68-77.{{Cite web |url=https://miyalingerie.com/blogs/news/a-history-of-bodystockings |title=History of Bodystockings |publisher=Funky Bodystockings |accessdate=2013-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730211134/https://miyalingerie.com/blogs/news/a-history-of-bodystockings|archive-date=2013-07-30 |url-status=dead }} A body stocking was used in a [tableau vivant](/source/tableau_vivant) style short film ''The Birth of the Pearl'' (1901),Produced by [Frederick S. Armitage](/source/Frederick_S._Armitage) for the [American Mutoscope and Biograph Company](/source/American_Mutoscope_and_Biograph_Company) which featured an unnamed long-haired young model wearing a flesh-coloured body stocking in a direct frontal pose{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmsite.org/sexinfilms1.html|title=Sex in Cinema: Pre-1920s Greatest and Most Influential Erotic / Sexual Films and Scenes|website=www.filmsite.org}} and provided a provocative view of the female body.[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awmi10/d21.html American Women] Other problematic roles which have sometimes been facilitated by wearing a flesh-coloured body-stocking are those of [Eve](/source/Eve) in Biblical dramas and [Lady Godiva](/source/Lady_Godiva) in carnivals. == Gallery == File:Fishnet bodystocking.jpg|Alternate angle from model in main image File:Fishnet bodystocking as it might be worn under a dress.jpg|Fishnet bodystocking as it might be worn under a dress File:Simple sweater dress with with turtleneck - pose 1.jpg|A bodystocking worn under a dress == See also == * [Bodysuit](/source/Bodysuit) * [Zentai](/source/Zentai) == References == {{Reflist}} {{Commonscategory|Bodystockings}} {{Hosiery}} {{Lingerie}} {{Clothing}} Category:20th-century fashion Category:21st-century fashion Category:Fetish clothing Category:Lingerie Category:One-piece suits Category:Sportswear --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bodystocking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodystocking) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodystocking?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.