Silk stockings never fully recovered. In 1941, as the United States prepared for war, the U.S. blocked Japanese imports. Meanwhile, the invention of nylon set the stage for new leg fashions. By 1942, writes Glickman, “the act of donning or rejecting silk stockings became irrelevant.” But the idea that consumption could also mean morality didn’t—and questions about the origins of our clothing have persisted ever since.