So who was the inventor?

They were invented in 1954 by Nærum Strømper.

Thanks for your comment, Johs. We discussed this today, and you told me you had done a Google search in Danish and had discovered the following: A gym teacher asked the company Nærum Strømper to create tights instead of stockings and suspenders, which they succeeded in doing in 1954.

This pre-dates Allen Gant Sr.'s invention of pantyhose by five years. However it is more likely that the Danish tights were opaque performance tights, rather than sheers. Since the Americans differentiate between pantyhose and tights according to whether the garment is sheer or opaque, it seems that they can still legitimately claim that pantyhose, as opposed to tights, were an America invention dating from 1959.

My mother Inger Nyborg Savoth (then Inger Nyborg) did indeed work for Naerum Stromper and it was without a doubt her idea. Her boss, whose name is ascribed to the 1954 patent, took credit and upon her death, she is getting the credit she deserves.

You can download patents for free in PDF format from to check who really invented it.