Stockings and suspenders back in fashion as sales soar

Stocking and suspenders appear to be back in fashion for the first time in almost 50 years as retailers report a dramatic rise in sales.

Kylie Minogue, left, and Lady Gaga Photo: REX

Sales of suspenders are booming as women copy celebrities such as Kylie Minogue and Lady Gaga, whose alluring use of “underwear as outerwear” has made them fashionable again.

The combination with recent cool weather appear to have led to a resurgence in their popularity, said Debenhams, the High Street retailer.

The store said that black suspender belts, with embroidery, sequins and bows were most in demand with sales soaring by 238 per cent over the past month alone.

As a result the store said it has been forced to change its “buying patterns to accommodate customer demand”.

Experts said the increased demand for the traditional style of lingerie, reversed the universal popularity of tights, which captured the lion share of the market in the early 1960s.

They say women fell out of love with stockings and suspenders with the arrival of self-supporting tights after the Second World War.

Ruth Attridge, a Debenhams spokeswoman, said the recent unpredictable weather appeared to have been one of the major factors behind the rise.

She also said that the growing number of celebrities using underwear as outerwear, such as Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry and Dita Von Teese were also behind its resurgence in popularity.

"The unpredictable spring and summer weather as well as a growing number of celebrities showcasing their stockings on stage and at star-studded events may be behind the trend," she said.

"Our British summer has started in the traditional way with frequent spells of sun and rain in the same day, leaving British women up in air about what to wear.

"Stockings and suspenders, just like leggings, have become the popular alternative to tights. They provide coverage for legs on an unexpectedly chilly day, but at the same time are cooler than tights and far more comfortable to wear in overheated City offices."

She added: "We've had to change our buying patterns to accommodate customer demand.”

She added that black stockings from J by Jasper Conran and Jonathan Aston were the most popular.