Sunday 2 June 2019

Reviewed: Gipsy 50 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights

Hosiery brand Gipsy recently launched two brand new styles of tights made with Eco Recycled Yarn.



Gipsy sent us the Gipsy 30 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights and the Gipsy 50 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights to trial and review.

Our reviews of the ECO range begin with the Gipsy 50 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights.



Background

This range of ECO tights is new from Gipsy Tights.

It's a welcome development to see more hosiery brands reflecting on the environmental impact of the materials they use as well as their production processes.

To create this range Gipsy worked with Fulgar, a leading Italian manufacturer of top quality, high performance yarns.




To create the 50 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights, Gipsy have used two specialist yarns developed by Fulgar.

The Nylon used is Q-NOVA®, a special fibre using material left over from the hosiery manufacturing process.

Q-NOVA® yarn has some unique properties:

- Lightness: It can reduce the weight of a product by 25% but still maintain the same coverage.
- Moisture management: It has good moisture management properties that help maintain freshness and skin hygiene.
- Dye performance: Q-NOVA® yarn is designed to obtain the maximum dye-ability performance and colour fastness.

The Elastane used is ROICA Eco-Smart™, part of a unique family of eco-friendly stretch yarns.

Packaging


The Gipsy 50 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights are packaged quite simply, like many products in the Gipsy range. The tights are folded and held in place with a simple card clasp that is designed for retail display.





Materials and features


The Gipsy 50 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights are made with 94% Nylon and 6% Elastane.

For 50 denier tights they feel light in weight. To the touch they are soft and velvety.

For this review we wore the Large/XL size, which looked fairly long when removed from the packaging.

They are not tights with many premium features such as a gusset and flat seams ands this is reflected in the pricing.

The body is deep, measuring 28cm from the waistband to the crotch.



The waistband is 5cm deep.



These tights are not sheer to waist. There is a slight demarcation between the leg and the body. This is high up on the leg, and won't be noticeable unless you are wearing shorts that are very high cut.



Toes are reinforced.



Sizing, fit and wearing experience


The Gipsy 50 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights are available in three sizes:

  • Small/Medium
  • Medium/Large
  • Large/XL


These tights needed a little time and care to get them stretched into place.

The first thing I noticed was how much silkier and softer they are on the leg, compared to the initial impression when taken from the packaging. If you had any idea that tights made from recycled yearns might be rougher or of lesser quality, these are immediately dispelled.

Opaque coverage is even, not total as you would expect as they are 50 denier tights, and more dense than expected. Appearance is matt, with hardly any shine.

The fit was excellent and good for my 5'10" height. However, the tights were almost at full stretch once I had them in position.

If you are taller than this, you probably won't get such a good fit unless you have very thin legs and thighs.

The fit on the leg provided a really pleasant second skin feeling. There was no sagging, wrinkling or bunching, even at the knee and ankle.

The brief was nice and deep. I found the waistband to be particularly comfortable.

Colour range

The Gipsy 50 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights are available in Black only.



Price and availability

The Gipsy 50 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights are priced at £6.50.

You can purchase them directly from Gipsy Tights.

They are also available from the retailer Tights Tights Tights.



Conclusion

As mentioned above, for tights made with recycled yarn there is no drop off in quality. While not having the features of premium tights, the Gipsy 50 Denier ECO Recycled Yarn Tights are well made and feel great to wear.

Gipsy are specialists in making good quality tights are accessible price points. The 50 Denier ECO tights are no exception.

For the price of just £6.50 you get a great pair of semi-opaque tights, as well as doing something that both helps the environment and encourages hosiery brands to go further to improve sustainability and eliminate waste.

This style gets a recommendation for all of this.

I can make two suggestions for Gipsy:

1. An XXL size would be very welcome for taller people, women and men.

2. If flat seams and a gusset were to be added this would be a significant improvement, although this would no doubt be reflected in a higher retail price.

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