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“National Nylon Stockings Day is observed across the country each year on May 15th,” reads a recent press release, “which in 2016 falls on a Sunday.” So, after our day of rest, let’s begin the week by getting a leg up!

“Before the 1920s,” notes a lingerie historian, “women’s stockings were worn for warmth. As hemlines of ladies’ dresses rose in the Roaring Twenties flapper era, they began to wear stocking over their exposed legs.

“Chemical company DuPont’s introduction of the fabric nylon in 1939 began a high demand for stockings in the United States,” the brief history continues, “and up to four million pairs were purchased each day! On February 11, 1942, as America entered World War II, DuPont ceased production of nylon stockings and switched their focus to the manufacture of parachutes, airplane cords and rope” to aid the war effort.

“This created a mass shortage, followed by a black market for stockings. At the end of the War in 1945, DuPont resumed production of the stockings, but could not meet the demand—leading to nylon riots in American stores.” It seams every woman wanted a pair!

“There is nothing sexier than a beautiful woman in a garter with stockings,” observes MadeMan.com. “But exactly why do men like garter belts so much? This question has astonished our sex through the decades and very few actually know the true intention of the garter belt. Originally, the belt’s fasteners were designed to secure a woman’s stockings before the invention of pantyhose.”

Notes feminist Kristen Houghton in the Huffington Post: “The gods created pantyhose in the 1960s and they instantly gained popularity. That was the era of undergarment freedom what with bra burning and all. Yet the garter belt has survived and is seen as a sensual form of erotica. Movies where modern women are seen changing their clothes almost always show the actress with stockings and a garter belt.” Adds a prominent female performer: “Seeing a woman in pantyhose just doesn’t have the same effect when it comes to sexiness.”

Which might explain the rise of the naughty knickers of late: “Stockings and Suspenders had a resurgence in the 1980s in the whole Wall Street Power Suit era,” writes a wardrobe stylist for Quora.com. “Now fast forward to the present, where it’s extremely common for girls and women to wear tights, stockings and garter belts as normal wear, since it’s suddenly in fashion to wear ‘underwear as outerwear.’” Indeed, singers Rihanna and Miley Cyrussuspended disbelief by donning the dynamic duo at a fashion show (below left) and even to fetch coffee.

“There’s nothing wrong with a nice garter belt,” declared Project Runway hostess Heidi Klum. “I’m not saying you have to put up a pole in your bedroom and start swinging off the rafters. But I love that sometimes. My husband and I just had a ‘sexy week’ in London. I’d put on a super-short skirt with a garter belt on underneath so that when I’d sit he could see it.” Though not often enough to Seal the deal {she divorced the singer in 2014}.

Asked today what she feels sexiest wearing,” the supermodel smiles: “A garter belt, stockings and high heels. That’s super hot!”

As Sharon Stone demonstrated, it’s a pretty Basic Instinct: “I am a guy that has loved nylons for over 50 years,” reads a comment on Yahoo Answers. “When paired with a garter belt it is like putting a fancy bow on a pretty package. It frames and accentuates what men want the most. It points to what we’re after.”

“Garter belts are an amazing invention,” raves a blogger who calls herself Retro Whore. “Personally, I hate pantyhose because the control top usually sucks the life out of you, and it’s a pain to get off. Plus, ‘it’ is not very, um, ‘accessible’ if you want to get busy (if you know what I mean, and I think you do). Strike while the iron’s hot, I always say, and when it takes you five minutes to wriggle out of your pantyhose, the iron is usually cold.”

No one was hotter when it came to getting ready for the bedroom than seductive Sophia Loren—whether getting down or looking up (above) … so the Italian eyeful is the ideal woman to commence our countdown of the Top Ten ‘Stocking Stuffers’ for National Nylons Day:

SOPHIA LOREN

EVA MENDES

DITA VON TEESE (she signed this shaved shot for Sleuth's Privates Collection)

DREW BARRYMORE

MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL

MADONNA

CAMERON DIAZ

EVA GREEN

KIM KARDASHIAN

EMILY RATAJKOWSKI

“Men like garter belts on women,” concludes a Huffington Post columnist. Why, even on a train or a bus, it’s plane to see!

“They find them sexy, exciting, and as one man told me, ‘It’s that area of bare thighbetween the top of the stocking upward that is just so tantalizing.” So let’s END there …

After all, the logical extension of a woman's stockings and garter belts would be your ... HOSE!