In the field of textiles, fishnet is hosiery with an open, diamond-shaped knit; it is most often used as a material for stockings, tights, gloves or bodystockings. Fishnet is available in a multitude of colors, although it is most often sported in traditional matte black. Fishnet is commonly worn on the legs and arms by practitioners of goth and punk fashion, but is also commonly worn by the mainstream as a fashion statement. Generally considered to be a sexy garment, it may serve as a component of sexual fetishism. Fishnets are used mostly as a type of undergarment, and in as much as it defines curves by applying a grid close to the body it generally accentuates the wearer's muscular definition. A more practical use of fishnet textiles is in high performance next-to-skin apparel used in cold weather outdoor sports, including hiking, hunting, fishing, skiing, and mountaineering. In this context, fishnet is usually knitted from fibers of polypropylene, merino wool, or nylon, and offers a number of benefits over traditional densely knitted base layer apparel. These benefits are related to the presence of large void spaces in the fishnet fabric structure that trap insulating air for warmth in cool conditions, and allow for the rapid transport of moisture from the skin surface to outer layers to minimize conductive heat loss. History Published in the early 1900s, one of the earliest references to fishnets as clothing appears in an Aesop fable titled "The Peasant's Wise Daughter". The fable tells the story of a king who promises the titular peasant's daughter if she can prove her cleverness by solving his riddle, challenging her to "Come to me not clothed, not naked, not riding." The peasant's daughter wrapped herself in a fisherman's net and returned to the king. During the 1920s, fishnets emerged as a more alternative trend in the U.S. and were favored by women like showgirls, in large part due to the fact that fishnets were more revealing than typical regular stockings of the day. Fishnets later emerged as an eminent fashion staple in the post-war pin-up and print-porn world with models like Bettie Page, Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe frequently appearing in fishnets. In the 1970s and 1980s, the punk counterculture's fashion aesthetic included fishnets, often worn extra torn up with huge holes on the stockings or shredded up, as a reference to BDSM subculture. In pop culture An early