Stockings have been fuelling men's fantasies for decades. Once seen as the attire of dour housewives, stockings and suspenders have manage to acquire a whole new identity as a sensual and supremely sexy type of hosiery for any woman wishing to explore her femininity. But what makes men find stockings so sexy? Stockings not only look great, they also feel great. Made from silky nylon, modern fashion stockings are silky smooth to the touch and invite the caress of a man's hand. They also feel great to the female wearer, and because they leave the upper thighs bare, they are more comfortable in warmer weather. But as well as the sensual sensation of silky nylon on smooth skin, sheer fashion stockings are also a stylish accessory for a shapely leg.

From Man Ray to Louise Bourgeois, an astonishing range of artists have used tights and stockings to turbocharge their work. We go behind the scenes at Gossamer, a celebration of hosiery. A n art exhibition about tights? In Margate?

Underwear fetishism is a sexual fetishism relating to undergarments , and refers to preoccupation with the sexual excitement of certain types of underwear, including panties, stockings, pantyhose, bras, or other items. Some people can experience sexual excitement from wearing, while others get their excitement when observing, handling, or smelling the underwear worn by another, or watching somebody putting underwear on or taking it off. Underwear fetishism is not considered as paraphilia unless it causes distress or serious problems for the person or those associated with them. To determine relative prevalences of different fetishes, Italian researchers obtained an international sample of 5, individuals from fetish-themed discussion groups.