History books credit Allen E. Gant with creating pantyhose — or “Panti-legs” — in 1959. The idea came to him while on an overnight train to North Carolina with his pregnant wife, Ethel Boone Gant, when the two of them were returning home from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

In 1959, Allen Gant, Jr., a North Carolina-based hosiery manufacturer, invented the first pair of pantyhose. He created the product by combining two existing pieces of clothing: panties and stockings. The combination of these two items allowed for a more comfortable and stylish way to cover the legs and torso.

With the help of his colleagues Arthur Rogers, J. O. Austin, and Irvin Combs, Allen created the first commercial pantyhose. The product hit department store shelves in 1959 and was later named “Panti-Legs.”