that is only the official definition - some people such as your mother may have used it in the sense of "look at me, this shows off my figure and a good figure it is too"
Not my mother! she never showed off her figure, everything was baggy, she was embarrassed by anyone being skimpily dressed. I'm sure she used the expression to show off the fact she thought she had something good.
bibblebub it made me laugh, just trying to picture Mum saying anything like that. She was so straightlaced. She couldn't even tell me the facts of life, everytime I asked she said she would tell me when I was older. She never did.
No offence taken.
I remember that there was one brand advertised as 'fully fashioned', but it was a brand of nylon stockings ! I suppose that other, earlier, kinds of stocking available didn't fit as tightly to the leg.
I remember fully fashioned stockings, they had the seam down the back and the leg was actually shaped like your leg, unlike the tubes we have today :-)
grasscarp, I only asked where do babies come from as I had no idea, I think I was 11 or 12 at the time. If I had got a clue I would certainly not have mentioned it to Mum. I remember when she told (or tried to) me about periods. She never mentioned where the bleeding came from, I was left worrying that it would spurt out of my face or arms!
Oh you poor thing. What a nightmare. My mother was ironing one day and in a very short conversation said I was of an age to start using underarm deodorant and that was that Carandog !