Tuesday 31 March 2020

Just arrived: Cette Devon 50 Denier Ribbed Opaque Tights

Belgian hosiery brand Cette continue to expand their impressive Size Plus range.

We have recommended this range to men because of the larger sizing options available: XL, 2XL and 3XL.



Cette have just sent us a pair of the Devon 50 Denier Ribbed Opaque Tights. They are opaque tights with an irregular ribbed pattern.

Friday 27 March 2020

New Wolford Care Mask

In our last post we reported on how hosiery brand Wolford is deploying its capacity and resources to support the fight against COVID-19.



Wolford have now launched the Wolford Care Mask, which is now on sale online.



The Wolford Care Mask is made from double-layered high-quality, breathable fabric to ensure easy breathing when worn.

The completely water-repellent finish provides full coverage with a perfect fit resulting from finest knitting. Highly elastic, extra-thin bands keep the mask perfectly in place.

Before packaging the mask has been treated with UV light to kill bacteria, viruses and germs.





The income from the Care Mask will only be used to cover production costs and logistics and for donations to healthcare related activities to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wolford Deploys Expertise And Resources To Support Fight Against COVID-19

Top hosiery brand Wolford is deploying its extensive expertise and resources to support the fight against COVID-19



Since beginning of March the brand’s production facilities at the headquarters in Bregenz, Austria and in Slovenia have been working at full speed to produce face masks for its employees and consumers.



The masks are made of a double-layered high-quality breathable fabric to ensure easy breathing when they are worn. A completely water-repellent finishing provides full coverage even against minimal moisture. 


Typically Wolford, a perfect fit is created with the finest knitting, individually adaptable aluminum nose-wires and highly elastic, extra-thin bands to keep the masks in place.

Keeping an eye on the environment as usual, the masks are washable and therefore reusable over and over again. The main quantity of the masks will be handed out for free to employees in highly affected areas such as Italy and Austria.

Wolford have also announced the production of 200,000 medical face masks for health institutions in Vorarlberg, home to the brand since 1950.

A limited number of masks, the Wolford Care Mask, will be sold through the brand’s e-commerce to customers worldwide. The income achieved will only be used to cover production costs and logistics and for donations to healthcare related activities to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wednesday 25 March 2020

Heist Are Giving Away 500 Pairs Of Tights To NHS Workers

In a wonderful gesture of support during the coronavirus crisis, revolutionary hosiery and shapewear brand Heist are giving 500 pairs of tights for free to NHS workers.






NHS workers, including guys, who would like a pair of Heist tights should email support@heist-studios.com, using your NHS work email address, and they will email you back with a discount code. You can also contact Heist and share your NHS ID.



Heist tights are for everyone.

Check our complete guide for men buying Heist tights, as well as well as Heist's own guidance and FAQs for men.

Tuesday 24 March 2020

20% Discount For Hosiery For Men Readers At threads

You will have hopefully seen and read our feature on threads, a Canadian hosiery retailer, and interview with founder Xenia Chen.

Here is Part One and Part Two.



Xenia has kindly offered Hosiery For Men readers a 20% discount of your first order.

Use the code: HFMBLOG

Note that for now, threads only ships to Canada and the United States.

Monday 23 March 2020

Introducing Hosiery Brand Threads (Part Two)

A few days ago we introduced you to Threads, a Canadian hosiery retailer.



We recently spoke the the founder of Threads, Xenia Chen and published the first part of our feature and interview with her.



In Part Two of our feature Xenia talks about male customers, the growing acceptability of men wearing tights and plans for the future at Threads.



You recently shared some feedback on Instagram from one of your male customers. Are men are growing part of your customer base? What kind of service can guys expect when buying tights from you?


Yes! Absolutely they are. We actually have a ton of male customers and they can expect the same level of service that we give to all of our customers. We also find that our male customer base is highly engaged. They respond to our weekly newsletters often and are really generous with providing feedback and giving their thoughts. We love talking to our community and it's personally one of my favorite parts of my job. 




There is always quite a lot of media interest in the subject of tights for men. What are your thoughts about the greater acceptability of men wearing tights?


Great question! Look, it's 2020 and I think if men want to wear tights because they feel good, they should feel comfortable and empowered to do so!

We're also a Canadian company so I think we're generally a bit more socially accepting up here. I don't think there should be any stigma surrounding it and I hope things continue to move in that direction.



To men thinking about trying tights, what would you say are the main benefits of wearing them?


We hear from our male customers that they wear it for warmth, comfort or compression. Of course there are many reasons outside of these but those seem to be the main ones.

What are you planning for the future at Threads?


We're hoping to launch new products, increase brand awareness and continue to build our community! When we do develop new products, we're very careful and we take our time to make sure we really get it right.

We'll never be the brand to release products every week or even every month.

We're actually currently working on developing sheer compression tights. One of the big pieces of feedback we've received is that a lot of customers wear our tights during the day at work, often in their office jobs where they don't get much movement in throughout the day. Compression tights work wonders on legs for circulation and blood flow.

We're only a year and a half old and I'm so excited about all our plans we have in the future.

Thanks for speaking to Hosiery For Men Xenia.

Do check out Threads. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Saturday 21 March 2020

Introducing Hosiery Brand Threads (Part One)

We love to bring Hosiery For Men readers news of new hosiery brands, retailers and start-ups.

Today we are going to introduce you to Threads, a Canadian hosiery retailer.



We recently spoke the the founder of Threads, Xenia Chen.




In Part One of our interview Xenia introduces us to Threads, what makes the brand unique and what styles of tights are currently available.

Threads is probably a new hosiery retail brand for most Hosiery For Men readers. Can you tell us more about it and why you started it.


I was working in a job where I was wearing hosiery almost every day, yet I struggled to find a brand that was both high quality AND affordable. I felt like I was either going to department stores and spend $40-50 on a pair that was comfortable and had a great fit or going to the drugstore and spending $10 on a pair that was friendlier on my wallet but not as good quality. 

I felt like there was a gap missing and I started Threads to help patch that hole in the market. What we do is we streamline the traditional supply chain - so we go directly to our factory in Italy and sell online to customers. 

We're able to cut out a lot of the traditional markups, such as the retail markup, distribution markup or branding markup. Our mission is to make and deliver the hosiery of our customers' dreams, all at a fraction of the going price.

In a crowded hosiery market, what’s unique about Threads?


We stand by our products 100% and truly have taken lots of time to develop each of our tights. For the initial launch of our sheer tights, we actually took feedback from 200 people to try to make the perfect sheer tights. We have all these little features that really add up to make a big difference - things like a longer leg length, reinforced shadow toe, contoured waistband, etc.









But on top of having a great product at a good value, I think our customers love the fact that we're a young modern brand that actually listens to customers' feedback and is keen to iterate and always be and do better. We're a very customer-centric and solutions-first company and we want to keep it that way going forward.

Can you tell us more about your tights? What styles are available and what features do they have?


Our tights are made in Italy. Our factory partners are family-run and have been in operation for almost 50 years. We currently have two styles right now - sheer (20 denier) and opaque (60 denier).



All our tights have our signature contoured control top, meaning it gives just the right amount of lift and support in the areas one wants most. Our tights have a longer leg length, made of double-covered yarn and our sheer tights have a reinforced shadow toe.

Our sheer tights come in four different colors - black, ivory, tan and caramel and our opaque tights come in black.

If you're a regular tights wearer, you can choose to subscribe to one of our plans, meaning we'll send you a shipment of tights once a month.

Stay tuned for Part Two of our interview with Xenia, where she will talk about Threads' male customers. the benefits of tights and plans for the future.

Wednesday 11 March 2020

Reviewed: NEW Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Matt Opaque Tights

Aristoc continue to expand their impressive Ultimate range of tights.



Aristoc recently sent us samples of the new additions to the Ultimate range. All three new styles are opaque tights and include:

Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Shine Opaque Tights



Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Seamless Opaque Tights



And the new Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Matt Opaque Tights, which we focus on today.



Packaging


The Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Matt Opaque Tights come the specially designed packaging that provides a uniform design aesthetic to the whole of the Ultimate range.

The tights are folded around a card rectangle that provides information on other Ultimate styles.





This is then housed in a cleverly designed card enclosure. Four triangular flaps open outwards to reveal the tights inside.

Everything is sealed in an outer cellophane sleeve.



Material and features


The Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Matt Opaque Tights are made in Italy. Aristoc claim that their new Ultimate opaques are "the Ultimate in luxury opaque hosiery".

The yarn used is 83% Polyamide, 16% Elastane and 1% Polypropylene.

The knit is fine and dense. First impressions are dominated by the luxuriously soft feel. This has been one of the aims of the whole Ultimate range.

The waistband, like all the tights in the Ultimate range, has been redesigned to be deep and comfortable. It is 6cm wide.



A further key feature is the deep brief/panty. This measures 26cm from the top of the waistband to the crotch.



Seams are flat and hand-finished. In the Extra Large size that we trialled, there is no rear comfort panel. This is the same for all styles in the Ultimate range.


There is a breathable gusset.

The tights are sheer to waist with no demarcation between the brief and the leg.

A welcome touch, which again reflects the quality and attention to detail of the Ultimate range, is an Aristoc tag sewn into the rear of the body.



Toes are rounded, and have very light, almost invisible reinforcement.


Sizing, fit and wearing experience

The Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Matt Opaque Tights are available in four sizes:


  • Small 
  • Medium 
  • Large 
  • Extra Large 
I wore the Extra Large size for this review.

In all the Ultimate tights reviewed so far th
e fit has been perfect for me in the Extra Large size.

On the leg these look almost completely matt. The opacity is even and perhaps more dense than you might expect for 50 denier.

In this style then you get very good opaque coverage without bulk.



I found the Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Matt Opaque Tights to be exceptionally comfortable. The high (16%) Elastane content gives a great fit on the leg. It's wonderful when you find opaques that feel like a second skin and these really do that.

The body is deep, a feature that Aristoc have built into the Ultimate range. The waistband is very comfortable too and sits well above the waist and hips.

Colour range

The Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Matt Opaque Tights are available in Black only.



Price and availability

The Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Matt Opaque Tights are priced at £18.00 and can be purchased directly from the Aristoc website.

They are also available from our recommended retailer UK Tights.



Hosiery retailer Tights Tights Tights also now has them in stock.



Conclusion

I was really pleased when I saw that Aristoc had added opaque styles to the Ultimate range.

The quality of the whole range is consistently high, and it's time to start thinking about Aristoc as a premium hosiery brand. Well, they have always been good but with the Ultimates the quality has been going up several levels.

The Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Matt Opaque Tights are very good indeed. The price reflects the quality level.

Our next Ultimate review will be for the Aristoc Ultimate 50 Denier Shine Opaque Tights.


Saturday 7 March 2020

Reviewed: Aristoc 80 Denier Opaque Tights

We are really pleased to be doing another Aristoc review. Aristoc simply has to be one of the most improved hosiery brands around.



The premium Ultimate brand is giving lots of established top hosiery brands a run for their money. But Aristoc's core best-selling opaque range also deserves your attention.

Aristoc sent us their new 80 Denier Opaque Tights from the range to try out.



Packaging

Packaging is the standard design for the Aristoc opaques core range.

The tights are held in a simple card clasp designed for retail display. Yes, it's basic but it does the job perfectly well, and there is no plastic used.







Material and features


The Aristoc 80 Denier Opaque Tights are made in Ukraine. You might be wondering if the quality is as good as tights from Aristoc made in Italy. But rest assured, the manufacture standard is high and Aristoc told me that they have very rigorous quality control.

All the improved features that Artistoc have built into their recent producers are present so let's summarise them:

  • Quality microfibre yarn 
  • A soft handle 
  • Flat seams 
  • Cotton gusset 
  • Comfortable waistband 
They are made from 91% Nylon, 9% Elastane and 1% Cotton.

The thing you will notice immediately once you get to touch them, is how incredibly soft they are. Lots of premium opaques feel soft these days, but these are next-level soft!

The brief is nice and deep, and measures 26cm from the top of the waist to the crotch.



The waistband is 3.5cm wide. In that extra touch of quality that we like, an Aristoc tag has been sewn onto the inside of the waistband.





Toes are rounded and have no reinforcement.



On the leg, appearance is matt. Opaque coverage is total and even.




Sizing, fit and wearing experience


The Aristoc 80 Denier Opaque Tights are available in three sizes:

  • Small / Medium
  • Medium /Large
  • Extra Large


I wore them in the Extra Large size.

These tights were just so easy to get on. Aristoc have got their sizing just right, so there is no need for over-stretching or pulling. The tights just go on and sit in place comfortably. There is excellent stretch and elasticity.

Fit for me was just perfect. The brief stretched over the waist and hips easily, and the waistband gripped well without any constriction or discomfort.

Did I mention how soft they are? These 80 denier opaques fit wonderfully on the leg, aided by the 9% Elastane, and are so soft you won't be able to stop touching them!

Colour range

The Aristoc 80 Denier Opaque Tights are available in Black only.



Price and availability

The Aristoc 80 Denier Opaque Tights are priced at £10.00.

They can be purchased directly from the Aristoc website.

They are also available from our recommended retailer UK Tights.



Hosiery retailer Tights Tights Tights also now has them in stock.



Conclusion

The Aristoc 80 Denier Opaque Tights are great quality with all the features (flat seams etc) that you would expect for a premium product.

I was really impressed with the exceptional comfort. For guys considering buying Artistoc opaques, the fit is not a hit and miss affair as Aristoc have clearly worked to make sure that the sizing works for us too.

And they cost just £10.00. This is a genuine bargain.

The 80 denier opaques are also available as knee highs and hold ups.

Do take a look at the rest of the new Aristoc opaque range. There are 30 denier, 60 denier and 100 denier tights in sizes up to Extra Large as well. The new Rib Opaque tights also look great.