Nylon
Nylon is one of the most commonly used synthetic polymers in the clothing industry as well as a synthetic material used in many industrial and consumer applications.
The nylon polymer is used extensively in clothing construction due to its useful characteristics including: durability, mold, mildew and insect resistance as well as the polymers capability for high elongation and its ability to take on different lustrous characteristics depending on the manufacturing process used.
Nylon is most commonly known for its use as a construction material for women's stockings though its range of applications is not limited to this one clothing item. Typically you will find nylon polymers being incorporated into fiber mixes in order to impart nylons beneficial characteristics on the other fibers. For instance incorporating nylon into cotton produces a textile that has more stretch as well as wrinkle resistance.
An interesting occurrence in the history of nylon were the so-called nylon riots that occurred between 1945 in 1946. During this time there were widespread shortages of nylons as wartime manufacturers were not able to transition back to regular production quickly enough in order to meet consumer demand. During the approximately 6 month period of shortages it was not uncommon for fights to break out among women at department stores when there weren't enough nylons to go around.