Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Dream Lecture on Stockings
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"Hello, everyone. Emily Stewart here again after such a long time..."
In a hazy daze, I lay sprawled on the bed, blinking a few times. In the center of a dark space that felt strangely familiar, Emily came into view, gazing into empty space as she offered her greeting.
"Ugh..."
I wondered if a guest had arrived while I was dozing off, so I forced myself upright with great effort and looked around. This wasn't my room—it was a pitch-black space stretching out widely around the bed, filled with that same eerie sense of déjà vu.
What is this...
"I don't know if you've been waiting, but it's time once more for that random dream where I pop up out of nowhere and ramble on about useless things."
"Ah..."
As I blinked in confusion, Emily continued speaking, and that's when I finally realized this was a dream.
It was probably a continuation of that dream from a few months ago—the one that had left me too embarrassed to face Emily.
"Looks like you're finally awake, young master. It's been ages."
Having grasped the situation a bit late, I scratched my head, pondering how to escape, when Emily spun around with a mischievous smile and slowly approached me.
"Not even trying to hide it anymore, huh?"
"It's because you have no intention of fooling anyone, young master. After all, I'm just a figment of your imagination."
"That's such a convenient excuse... Sigh, whatever."
It felt like way too handy logic, but there wasn't much I could do about it anyway.
It had shifted into something like a lucid dream, but it was still just a dream at the end of the day.
Dreams are illogical messes by nature.
Forcing logic on them is pointless.
So rather than overthinking and getting frustrated, the smart move was to clear my mind and just enjoy the dream for what it was.
"So, what are we doing this time?"
"As you probably guessed, we're talking about clothes again."
"What kind?"
"Hehe~ The kind you absolutely love, young master."
With a deeply suggestive smile, Emily lightly lifted the hem of her maid outfit, revealing her legs up to the knee.
If this were reality, you'd expect white socks reaching her ankles and her pale skin, but as the skirt rose, black nylon stockings hugged her smooth, supple legs, subtly sheer and clinging tightly.
"Stockings?"
"Yes, today's topic is stockings."
"Ah~"
Stockings.
A masterpiece of humanity.
One of the greatest garments mankind has ever created, proudly claiming its place.
It could have been the world's finest if not for the supreme dignity of the maid outfit, which doomed it to second place in my heart.
Yet, it was the ultimate garment that never yielded to the maid outfit.
"Heh heh~"
Just hearing we were discussing such a garment brought a smile to my face.
"What should we start with?"
A happy dilemma began.
No matter where we started, stockings were so magnificent that it only made the choice harder.
"I get that you want to talk about everything, but today, let's stick to just the types of stockings."
"Types? Just that? That's too little."
"This isn't a confession of your tastes—it's a place to discuss clothes. No helping it, even if you're upset."
"Sigh..."
A restriction on the topic, of all things...
Tears welled up in my eyes.
"Young master, if you keep stalling like that, the dream will end before you even get to talk."
"Fine..."
I nodded listlessly, shoulders slumping.
It was heartbreaking, but to ramble properly even just about types, I'd have to play along with Emily.
"First, we should start with what stockings are."
"Stockings are long socks, right?"
"Correct. More precisely, it's a general term for socks that go higher than the knee."
The dictionary definition is 'long, thin socks with good stretch that extend well,' but there's no clear cutoff, so people might differ slightly on what qualifies as stockings.
For me, anything covering the knee counts.
"Since anything going above the knee can be called stockings, they're often classified by length."
"How do you divide them up?"
"Up to just above the knee is overknee socks, midway up the thigh is thigh-high socks, and up to the waist is pantyhose."
Simple: knee, thigh, waist.
Anything more detailed gets too complicated, and anything simpler has gaps that are too big.
"For everyday use, these distinctions are plenty. Color or sheerness aren't unique to stockings—they're too vague for classification."
"So length is the only way to classify them?"
"Not at all. Like any clothing, they're divided by fabric material or design elements."
"Then explain those in detail too, please."
"No need for materials—they're obvious. Just the design elements."
"Got it."
"You know stockings are made by knitting, right?"
"Yes."
"The first distinction is whether they keep that knitted texture feel or make the yarn and patterns so fine that the knit disappears."
Production is nearly identical either way.
It's just about yarn thickness making the knit texture obvious or not.
Of course, if the yarn gets too thick and the knit is blatant, it sparks debates like 'tights or stockings?' But that's for others to argue.
Tights and stockings have blurry lines too—if the wearer thinks it's stockings, it is; if tights, then tights.
"Next is the shape of the foot part."
"The foot shape?"
"Yeah. Right now, we only make stockings with closed toes, but later, they'll divide into open-toe (footless), closed-toe (with foot), and toering (just toes and heel cut out like a ring over the foot)."
"Hmm... Why cut the foot part?"
"The foot area can get uncomfortable sometimes. Footless or toering are for special cases only."
Like barefoot summer styling or preventing slips during sports—limited to situations needing bare feet.
Closed-toe dominates market share anyway.
"This is far in the future, but fishnet stockings will appear too."
"Fishnet? Like a net?"
"Yep."
"...Does that even count as clothing?"
Emily grimaced as if imagining fishnets were grotesque.
"That's why tons of people hate them. But a tiny minority loves them passionately, keeping them alive as a niche."
"I can't wrap my head around it..."
"I respect it, but it's not my thing. No clue what the appeal is."
It's not fully exposing or covering, nor subtly teasing imagination.
To me, it's just a failed design.
If you're doing mesh, I'd rather ripped jeans.
"Hmm... And the last one is specific to thigh-highs... How do I explain this..."
I wanted to cover hold-ups and fully fashioned stockings, but words alone wouldn't do it justice.
Hold-ups have elastic banding at the top (thigh) for grip and visual pop—easy enough.
The issue is fully fashioned stockings.
From the early 20th century, when sewing and synthetics were primitive: nylon stockings needing garter belts, with back seams and keyholes from poor seams.
Hard to visualize from description alone.
"Hmm..."
"Shall I help a bit?"
As I groaned over how to explain, Emily pressed close and looked up at me.
"How?"
"Like this."
Wondering what she meant, I tilted my head. Emily stepped back, clapped lightly, and spun around.
"Oh..."
With the second clap, the maid outfit vanished without a trace. She was now in a suit-like top, stockings, and underwear, her stockinged lower half fully exposed.
"Is this right?"
"Not bad."
The keyhole was a bit large, but otherwise, a solid recreation of fully fashioned stockings.
Couldn't show the heel's seam and reinforcement due to shoes, but not crucial.
"Most stockings have a seam down the back like this, right?"
"Yeah, from knitting the fabric and seaming it into a tube."
"But later, tech advances let them make seamless stockings cleanly."
"Like this?"
"Yep, exactly. This seamless version is preferred for cleanliness, but some love the seamed look, so fakes with printed seams sell too."
I liked anything but fishnets, so both worked.
If forced to choose: seamed with garters, seamless without.
Hard to explain, but one stirred the heart more.
"That's roughly how stockings are classified. More exist, but they're too niche for daily life. Denier? Do we need that?"
Higher number means thicker yarn, darker color, less sheer. Done.
Too famous to bother explaining.
"Stockings seem more profound than expected for 'just socks.'"
"Clothes are all like that. Tiny changes drastically alter styling, so fashion enthusiasts classify minutely."
It's not just wearing them.
Harmony with accessories, shoe matching, color, venue, mood—all factor in. To say 'this works, that doesn't,' fine distinctions are essential.
Modern suits split into tailcoats, tuxedos, casual by formality; specific times allow or ban certain ones.
A real headache.
"Stockings will gradually become a key part of fashion for more people..."
-Clank!
I'd just wrapped up types and was shifting topics when a metallic clang echoed loudly in the dark space.
"Wh-what's that sound?"
"Time's up, it seems."
"Time?"
Emily smiled and pointed upward.
"Time to return to reality."
Starting from where her finger pointed, cracks spiderwebbed across the dark space.
"Ah..."
With a voice full of regret, I couldn't fight the fogging mind and closed my eyes.