Pair of stockings of knitted green silk, with pink clocks, Spanish, ca.1780 Silk stockings These luxurious embroidered silk stockings were imported from Spain. 18th-century men's stockings are hard to distinguish from women's, except by size, which can be an unreliable guide. Both sexes supported their stockings with garters, tied around the leg just above or below the knee. Garters were intimate items of clothing. Political and personal messages were sometimes incorporated in their design. Stockings Spain, mid 18th century Hand-knitted silk, embroidered with silk V&A: T.156&A-1971 Given by Miss B. Hinton [16/04/2016-12/03/2017] Pair of stockings made from frame-knitted green silk with clocks of pink knitted silk worked in the intarsia technique. These are finely embroidered in white green and yellow silk in a design of three elongated diamond green leaves rising from a basket surmounted by two birds facing each other. The design repeats twice more becoming gradually smaller. Above is an embroidery of similar but pink birds facing each other over a pink and white diamond shaped motif. The stockings are unfashioned and shaped very slightly at the toe where they are seamed together. There is a seam on the centre sole and up the back of the stocking. They are just over knee-length and have two green stripes at the welt, as well as a narrow border which is turned over and stitched in white silk.