WWII women used paint and gravy to mimic pantyhose
As the social norms changed, it became acceptable for women to show their knees. However, with these new reforms came new challenges. Even though women were allowed to dress like that, they still couldn’t go out bare-legged. Some form of coverage was still expected and preferred, and this issue was tackled with the introduction of pantyhose.
However, as the Second World War broke out, there was a significant shortage of nylon as most of the material was used for parachutes and other military equipment. Therefore, women came up with a unique way to tackle this issue: to paint their legs to mimic the appearance of stockings. Some even went as far as using gravy instead of paint!