Dating Your Vintage: Nylon

The start of synthetic fibers and beyond

The year is 1939, and thousands of people are gathered in New York to peer into the future. The World’s Fair has just begun in Corona Park, with advertisements boasting the “Dawn of a New Day.” The fair’s sprawling grounds and exhibitions invite visitors the chance to experience “the world of tomorrow.” Fairgoers are captivated by carnival-style rides, one of the first ever computer games, and even the original Elsie the cow. What they don’t know is that one of the greatest beacons of the world of tomorrow is in something less flashy: the humble woman’s stocking.

1960’s advertisement for DuPont nylon stockings

DuPont chemical company used the World’s Fair to officially launch their new, fully synthetic fiber: nylon. It was the very first successful, commercially available man-made garment fiber. The invention had taken a decade to complete. DuPont had actually first announced nylon with a more modest presentation in San Francisco earlier that year before gearing up for the big reveal in New York.

Publicity image from the New York World’s Fair, 1939. Image courtesy of the Hagley Museum and Library.

Courtesy of Science History Institute

“Though wholly fabricated from such common raw materials as coal, water, and air," [DuPont VP Charles] Stine told the silenced audience, "nylon can be fashioned into filaments as strong as steel, as fine as a spider's web, yet more elastic than any of the common natural fibers." (They All Laughed, 1993)

The women in the crowd were visibly thrilled. Ready to rid themselves of delicate silk stockings, they applauded enthusiastically and went out and bought nylon. The new fiber was an immediate success, selling 64 million pairs in just one year on the market. Fashion was never the same again.

A note: The 1939 World’s Fair included a “Jewish Palestine Pavilion,” in which many were first introduced to the concept of the Israel colonization project. It was one of the most successful exhibits at the fair, promoting the settlement to the general public a decade before the 1948 Palestinian Nakba. Approximately half of Palestine’s population was violently displaced from their homes, stripped of 78% of their land. An estimated 15,000 Palestinians were killed. 

While the World’s Fair served as a showcase of invention and celebration, these events always included blatant displays of racism, imperialism, and colonial ideals. The Zionist propaganda exhibited at the 1939 event was seen by over 2 million visitors, and undoubtedly served to bolster the success of the following violent Israeli colonization.

Please visit Operation Olive Branch for resources and more information to support Palestinian families. Make a donation of over $5 to any GoFundMe on the OOB spreadsheet, and your next two months of 1-800-VINTAGE are free. Email me a screenshot of your donation dated after 5/26 to wearst.evens@gmail.com for your comp.

1940’s

The first big nylon boom was quickly interrupted by WWII. The US was no longer able to import any silk from Japan, and a replacement fiber was urgently necessary for military use. In early 1942, nylon production was redirected from consumer goods to military materials, and DuPont completely halted the manufacturing of women’s apparel. Nylon was only used to make military parachutes and tents from 1942-1945.