FISHNETS SHOULD SUE Halloween for defamation. At some point after “sexy” Halloween costumes gained currency in the 1970s, the stockings became unfairly associated with too-short polyester getups sold by such questionable clothiers as Party City. Want to be a racy witch? Pull on black webbed tights. A naughty nurse? You’ll need white, thigh-high versions. A sensual skunk? Take your perforated pick.

This fall, however, fishnets could transcend their tawdry reputation as cheap All Hallows’ Eve novelties. During a recent runway...

FISHNETS SHOULD SUE Halloween for defamation. At some point after “sexy” Halloween costumes gained currency in the 1970s, the stockings became unfairly associated with too-short polyester getups sold by such questionable clothiers as Party City. Want to be a racy witch? Pull on black webbed tights. A naughty nurse? You’ll need white, thigh-high versions. A sensual skunk? Take your perforated pick.

This fall, however, fishnets could transcend their tawdry reputation as cheap All Hallows’ Eve novelties. During a recent runway show, Chanel creative director Virginie Viard teamed wide-gauge fishnets with genteel tweed suits. And 71-year-old Austrian hosiery and bodywear brand Wolford currently offers 21 different colors of fishnets in eight different styles, including $450 crystal-embellished pairs made in collaboration with Paris-based designer Amina Mauddi. Silvia Azzali, Wolford’s chief commercial officer, reports that the brand’s fishnet sales are up 60% between January and September compared to the previous year, with larger-weave and nude sets among the most popular. Ms. Azzali, who wears flesh-toned pairs with suits for business meetings, attributes the increase to a post-lockdown lust for extreme elegance.

Elegance is burlesque star and fishnet connoisseur Dita Von Teese’s area of expertise. To her mind, the stockings add “a whip crack of risqué glamour” to most any look—including the ladylike, 1940s-inspired dresses she favors offstage. New York stylist Rachael Wang reaches for the textural tights when looking to add “unexpected personality to an outfit.” She advocates wearing them irreverently with masculine tweed trousers, demure ruffled dresses or modest skirts. If it’s levity you’re after, she suggests pairs with sparkles, embellishments or playful colors.

A 16th-century Italian jar depicting a woman in stockings that resemble fishnets.

Photo: The Walters Art Museum

Pointing to a stocking-clad woman painted on a 1500s jar as evidence, New York fashion historian Keren Ben-Horin noted that well-to-do Venetians may have worn versions of “openwork” hosiery as early as the 16th century, when intricate stockings signified wealth and status. In Halloween’s defense, however, fishnets possessed vixenish overtones long before brands like Morph Costumes and Leg Avenue started showing them with sexy penguin and circus-clown outfits, respectively. The hosiery probably cemented its erotic connotations sometime in the 1800s, said Ms. Ben-Horin, when women wore intricate, diamond-weave stockings beneath conservative, ground-grazing skirts. We can assume, she added, “that decoration of legs under very long skirts...was meant only for the pleasure of the wearer or potentially, her lover.” A fishnet “exposes the skin [and] emphasizes that there are parts that are uncovered,” she said. “It makes the legs even more sexualized, because [it] conceals but reveals at the same time.”

Worn by Hollywood goddesses throughout the 1930s ’40s and ’50s—Ava Gardner and Marilyn Monroe among them—fishnets acquired an air of glamour before being appropriated, ripped-up and subverted by the punks in the 1970s. Today, you can find luxury pairs in elite boutiques like those that line Manhattan’s 5th Avenue, but Ms. Ben-Horin insists the webbed accessories haven’t lost their edge. “When you wear fishnet stockings you say, ‘I can wear my pearls, but I’m still a rebel.’”

Claire Monti, a phlebotomist in Liverpool, England, first cast her eye on fishnets in her late teens and now wears them at least thrice weekly. Deploying them almost exclusively during the day, she doesn’t equate the tights with sensuality. Over the years, she’s come to view them as “edgy, funky and a little bit different,” she said. “I don’t wear them in that sexy way.” Ms. Monti, 46, subdues the stockings’ innate femininity by pairing them with chunky combat boots or Converse-style sneakers. When the weather cools, she’ll sometimes layer them over thicker, colored tights. Occasionally, when she’s wearing them with casual dresses on her days off or while running around with her three children, strangers shoot her seemingly judgemental looks—or make “odd” comments, she said. “Sometimes people come up and say, ‘Oh, you’re wearing fishnets. You’re brave wearing fishnets.’ I was, like, there’s nothing brave about it. It’s just a pair of tights.” Ms. Monti isn’t deterred. “I feel good in them. I feel confident. They’re a statement accessory.”

Pamela Joyce, a fishnet devotee since the 1980s, agrees that the stockings project self-assuredness. “I’m typically very shy, but when I step out into the world with fishnets, I feel like I own any room,” said Ms. Joyce, 51. Based in Red Bank, N.J., Ms. Joyce dons them with platform heels or black Air Force 1s whether browsing the aisles at her local ShopRite or making her rounds as a social worker. Up until March, she was working with seniors living in affordable housing. “I wore [fishnets] all the time and they loved it.”

First lady Jill Biden wore printed stockings resembling fishnets while deplaning at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on April 1.

Photo: Getty Images

When asked to share advice for the fishnet-curious, Ms. Von Teese, the burlesque star, simply replied: “What’s the worst thing that’s going to happen if you wear [them]?” Pose that question to Jill Biden, however, and the first lady might cite “Fishnetgate.” In April, Dr. Biden, 70, scandalized certain corners of the internet by wearing printed stockings reminiscent of fishnets with a leather skirt and ankle boots. Critics on Twitter decried the outfit as “trashy.” Supporters deemed it “badass.” Ms. Ben-Horin, the historian, views it as “powerful,” underlining that “it’s an inspiring message to other women that they can enjoy fashion and being powerful, sexy and smart all at the same time, no matter their age.”

Below, five modern, non-costumey ways to wear fishnets this fall.

Photo: F. Martin Ramin/ The Wall Street Journal, Styling By Rebecca Malinsky, Model: Meisha Brooks/ Parts Models

Dress Up Denim

A wide fishnet—irreverently exposed by patent peep-toes—adds unlikely elegance to denim skirts or trousers. Fishnet Tights, $33, wearstems.com; Skirt, $650, Shoes, $920, The Row, 212-755-2017

Photo: F. Martin Ramin/ The Wall Street Journal, Styling By Rebecca Malinsky, Model: Meisha Brooks/ Parts Models

A Study in Contrasts

Try wearing typically masculine trousers and loafers with rebellious, feminine fishnet socks. DKNY Socks, $14 for two pairs, herroom.com; Pants, $970, Shoes, $850, celine.com

Photo: F. Martin Ramin/ The Wall Street Journal, Styling By Rebecca Malinsky, Model: Meisha Brooks/ Parts Models

Bring The Bling

Shimmer makes fishnets less “vixen” and more “playful” and fashion-y, said Ms. Wang. Twinkle Net Tights, $36, wearcommando.com; Skirt $3,950, Chanel, 212-535-5505; Shoes, $228, shopdoen.com

Photo: F. Martin Ramin/ The Wall Street Journal, Styling By Rebecca Malinsky, Model: Meisha Brooks/ Parts Models

Lady and The Vamp

A flash of black fishnet can add surprising intrigue to a seemingly demure outfit. Twenties Tights, $53, wolfordshop.com; Skirt, $1,759, erdem.com; Shoes, $1,195, Manolo Blahnik, 212-255-2600

Photo: F. Martin Ramin/ The Wall Street Journal, Styling By Rebecca Malinsky

Go Big

Occasionally referred to as “whale nets,” large-gauge fishnets add a cheeky fashion kick to an understated dress and kitten heels. Fishnet Tights, $33, wearstems.com; Dress, $700, Shoes, $650, toteme-studio.com

The Wall Street Journal is not compensated by retailers listed in its articles as outlets for products. Listed retailers frequently are not the sole retail outlets.