Sweet's College of Knowledge - Hosiery 101

by Sweet

In order to understand anything, it is important to get the facts. This is the purpose in writing this review on hosiery. We believe the resistance from women in North America to wear pantyhose, is due to one simple fact. That fact being, lack of accessibility to a variety of properly fitting, quality hosiery. It has been our experience, that women who have sampled the different hosiery lines have a far different perception, then those who have not. Europe for example, has a far greater selection and their quality is superb (not your grandmothers pantyhose)! Unfortunately you have to search to find these higher end products. Ok, now let's start ...

These are several points we will cover when it comes to purchasing the right hosiery. These points will be size, shade, denier, style and finish. Perhaps after getting some facts and a few tips, your perception may be different also!

All the manufactures have a size chart on the back of their packages and if you find a brand you throughly enjoy, experiment with the different sizes around the original one if there are many. Keep in mind your "body shape" for the size charts are simply a quideline. For example, if you have a muscular leg, it would be recommended to go up a size, therefore avoiding the "sagging gusset"! It's not rocket science, every woman 5' 6", 130 pounds is not built the same. A great trick to do if you aren't sure they are fitting correctly. Pull the material out and away from your leg, then let go, if you hear it "snap" they are just right, if the material doesn't snap back they are too big. Your toes can also tell you whether your hosiery is fitting properly. If you keep putting your toe through your hosiery or they go numb over time, chances are they are too small. Now on the other hand, if the particular brand you are wearing has a heel in it and the heel is half way up your leg, go down a size. Bottom line, hosiery should enhance your legs and add the finishing touch to your attire.

Shades are simply the color you choose. They are so much fun to play with by mixing them with your different outfits. Less expensive brands may limit you, while the higher end pantyhose have a wide variety and incredible shades to compliment your legs. Depending on where you live, seasons play a role in the shade you may choose. Tights are popular in northern climates, as are the black or darker shades during the winter. Shades of brown whether it be nude or suntan are more popular during summertime. Down south brown shades take a strong lead with the ever popular shades of black for evening and more formal wear. It has been our experience that men love to see a female in the suntan shade hands down, with Off Black and Coffee tied for second. Take a look at your skin tone, is it light or dark? Try to match the shade of your hosiery to the shade of your arms, unless you have an outfit which will support the shade you want to wear instead. For example, if you are wearing a sleeveless dress or shirt, brown shade would be very flattering. Special note ... black hosiery goes with or without sleeves in the evening or more formal wear.

Denier is a little tricky for consumers not familiar with purchasing hosiery. Just look at it like the number of threads per inch as an example. The 5-20 denier pantyhose can be called the sheer end of the spectrum, 21-39  denier are (my favorite) semi-sheer, since they have durability with the shine I personally like. The 40 denier and above are considered opaque and are great for cold weather. If you have a 15 denier pair of pantyhose you are looking at and what to know how sheer they are, think of how easy it is to see through 15 threads over one inch as compared to 60. The 60 denier would qualify as a tight, which you would not be able to see through at all. The higher the denier, the thicker the pantyhose. This doesn't mean they will feel tighter mind you, unless you are dealing with the less expensive brands you find in a drugstore. In other words, the lower the denier the sheerier the hosiery. The higher the denier the more opaque it is.

Like everything, hosiery has many styles. These are "seamless" (No seams anywhere), then there are "seamed" (Seam up the back of the leg making them super sexy) and of course "control top" (that gives a little tuck on the tummy and buttocks). There are brands with built-in thongs, panties and even a complete body shaper. There are "pantyhose" (panty and hose all in one), "tights" (completely opaque), "stockings" (the classics requiring a garter belt), "stay up thigh highs" (stockings that have a elastic top that hold up on their own),  "patterned" (too numerous to mention), "trouser socks" (knee highs) that come in a whole array of styles. Oh and finally the "fishnets" (open netting that also comes in different varieties). Just my opinion, but if you wear fishnet's ... wearing a sheer suntan under them will set them off totally. If all the styles weren't mentioned, you have been given an idea as to how many are available. Truly something for everyone's liking and needs.

Now for the finish, which can finish your outfit in more than one way than one, lol. There are several different kinds available. They range from "high gloss", which is very shiny to a "matte" finish, which has no shine at all! There are oiled ones, moisturizing ones, even ones that claim to fight cellulite! Just want to bring to your attention, that there is no scientific proof to date that their is anything, that works against cellulite, except for wearing light to heavy support hosiery to minimize the appearance on your legs! Again, the finish is a matter of personal preference. Some men go crazy over a lady out and about in shiny pantyhose showing off their legs, while others want no shine at all. So if you are attempting to impress that special someone in your life, find out which one catches his attention the most (wink). Pantyhose with a shine should be worn with business or evening apparel since they emphasize the shape of the legs, are elegant and very classic. For casual or day wear, try the low luster or matte hosiery which gives a natural look, but feel great on your legs!

This is truly a crash course on hosiery hence the title, "Hosiery 101". Hopefully, this information will be helpful. Knowing a bit about the size, shade, denier, style and finish ... this might be of some assistance when deciding what you need for your specific event or outfit. Remember this is just a guide and what we recommend (like the so called fashion experts on the "E" channel, lol) are just that, recommendations and nothing more! We challenge you to try and experiment with some of the many different brands till you find what you personally like (everyone is different). With high end clothing and hand bags priced in the hundreds, high end hosiery is the one way you can afford to spoil yourself with something that makes average legs look HOT, hot legs look AWESOME, and awesome legs look STUNNING! Do not let jealous stares or giggles from others, prevent you from treating yourself to some of the best hosiery that Europe has to offer. We guarantee you won't be disappointed. I personally enjoy the feel and look of the higher end hosiery, that I now really do wear them on a regular basis. They cost more, but will last many, many more wearings then some of the less expensive high end USA hosiery. Just a note so not to get confused, North Americans refer to "tights" as the opaque style. Europeans refer to any leg covering for women as tights or pantyhose. So check the denier rating of the tights from Europe to see how sheer they are. Have fun exploring the Wonderful World of Hosiery and Welcome!

Lingerie for the Legs!