Ladies Tights and Hosiery
One fashion item never to go out of fashion are ladies tights. Fashions change but we will always wear tights (or pantyhose as they’re known in the US) in some form or the other. Since the inception of nylon in the 1930s, followed by the widespread manufacture of nylons in the 1960s women have become reliant on tights for comfortable yet affordable leg coverings for everyday wear.
Nylon became an affordable alternative to silk but nowadays the further advancement of technology means tights and stockings are made from many affordable and comfortable materials. The addition of Lycra helps to stop tights going baggy and getting wrinkles at the ankles, which was a problem for ladies during the 1950’s! We have even gone one step further now and developed whole ranges of shaping tights, which help to shape and tone those extra wobbly bits that we’d all like streamlining.
A popular, classic material for making winter tights to keep you warm and toasty is wool, as it’s soft, comfortable and available in lots of colours. Wool tights are the perfect way to look contemporary but stay warm during the colder months and there is such a vast array of colours available now that you can wear a different pair every day of the week.
When the weather gets a little warmer but you still need to keep your legs covered opaque tights are perfect. A far cry from the days of sheer nylons, opaque tights have served women well for the last few decades. They are available to buy in lots of different colours and deniers.
The denier is measured by the thickness of the weave of the material that the tights are made from and the higher the denier the thicker the tights. Opaque tights are generally 40 denier or higher, while sheer tights range from 5 to 30 denier, and often have reinforced toes and gussets.
Sheer tights are made from many different materials also, as the denier is decided by the thickness of the weave and not the material they’re made from.
Whether you prefer opaque tights, support tights, sheer tights, coloured tights, footless tights, or suspender tights there are so many different tights out there to choose from that the list is almost endless.
If you feel that tights aren’t very sexy you can always wear their alternative, hold ups or stockings. Hold ups and stockings are often worn by women for special occasions instead of tights as they do the same job but feel so much sexier. Just like ladies tights there are now loads of variations of colour and material so you can get exactly what you need to wear with every outfit.
Ladies tights are set to remain in the wardrobes of most women, as while our taste in colours and fashions may change, this staple item will remain in our hearts!
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