The next year, a torrent of acclaim propelled Arianda onto Broadway, where she starred in a revival of Born Yesterday as the kept woman Billie Dawn (again rocking a garter belt).

WSJ: Parental Advice for Actress Nina Arianda

She was 25, tall and blonde, with a distinctive Slavic self-possession, an all-American sense of purpose and a rare knack for commanding respect while clad in a garter belt and thigh-high zip-up boots.

WSJ: Parental Advice for Actress Nina Arianda

Combined with nylon (a Du Pont invention from 1939), Spandex allowed the production of tights with no garter or stocking belt, which in turn meant designers like Mary Quant could take the hemline of the skirt way up.

FORBES: Sex and Love and The Business of "I Do"