Monday 25 July 2016

Adrian men's tights now available at Activskin

Activskin, the US based men's hosiery brand and retailer, have started to stock men's tights from the Polish brand Adrian.



As a first step Activskin are stocking the "Street" style:

"Adrian is well known in Europe for its fine quality and economic pricing. We are pleased to make it available in the US. Their style called "Street" is a wonderfully sheer-to-the-waist pantyhose for men. It has no fly, but it does have a male-comfort front panel that is sheer and leaves nothing to imagination. The seams are sewn flat, as they do in Europe, and the garment is extremely comfortable. The surface is fairly matte, making this style good for stealth wearing with shorts. Europeans use denier (yarn weight) as way of indicating sheerness, and this product is 20 den, which means it is a typical sheer hosiery fabric."





The "Street" tights/pantyhose retail for $9.99.


More Adrian styles will be in stock soon.

Introducing TightsPetite: Part 2

We published part one of our feature on TightsPetite yesterday.



In part two of our interview, Virag Fejeregyhazi, operations manager at TightsPetite, shares her thoughts on men and tights, the benefits of wearing tights and plans for the future at TightsPettite.

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


We don’t quite get why buying and wearing hosiery should be the privilege of women. Tights are practical wear, giving comfort and protection against cold. These are versatile tools of self-expression and could make anyone’s legs look attractive, not just women’s.

Though hosiery was considered a mostly feminine undergarment in the 20th century, this trend is definitely changing and will be menswear again as was not so long ago (up to the 1800s).



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


Apart from the obvious uses for certain sports (running, cycling, scuba-diving) and general comfort reasons (working in cold environments), I would say wearing a delicate material could be a surprisingly relaxing and soothing experience.

We would also mention the beneficial effects for the circulation of legs. Long and tiring flights can be less stressful for the legs and feet wearing tights.

 



Not all tights made equal, so for start we would recommend to go with good quality opaques. Finding the right size is really important, it's better to choose the larger size if someone's size is on the edge of two sizes.



Are you thinking about stocking any men’s tights?


Yes, it crossed our mind. Initially we haven't included any in our collections, but we are planning to change this in the near future.

In our defence, we didn't know too much about men's hosiery and the range of products and brands, that’s why we really appreciate your brand recommendations. You should soon expect to see our men's category appearing.

What are your plans for the future at TightsPetite?


Innovation, innovation, innovation.

TightsPetite started as a side project, and we have so many ideas and plans to cut our little diamond to it's perfect shape. We do have a long road ahead of us.

If you continue to follow our journey, you should expect to see more technical advancements, innovative website features, constantly improving user experience and customer service.

We would like to think that we have what it takes to stand out of the crowd and bring value to people. We couldn't do this if there wasn't already a blooming market with brilliant manufacturers and retailers. 


We're very pleased to have had the opportunity to be interviewed by the Hosiery For Men blog.

It has been great speaking to you Virag. I hope Hosiery For Men readers will check out TightsPetite. We look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

You can catch up with the latest at TightsPetite at Facebook and Twitter.

Sunday 24 July 2016

Reviewed: Oroblu Lady Form 20 Tights

Love Your Legs is a new tights and hosiery online retailer.


Love Your Legs is a new and up coming tights and hosiery online retailer. We recently published our interview with Claire from Love Your Legs.

Love Your Legs have kindly sent us a pair of the Oroblu Lady Form 20 Tights to review for Hosiery For Men readers.



Packaging

The Oroblu Lady Form 20 Tights packaged simply, although the overall effect is quite classy and elegant. It seems that Oroblu have changed their design recently and this new version is really successful.

The tights are folded are folded around a plain card rectangle. This is then enclosed cellophane sleeve before enclosed in the card envelope that serves as the outer packaging.





Material and features


The Oroblu Lady Form 20 Tights are made in Italy. The tights are described as follows:

"Sheer extra-large tights, tailor made for a perfect fit. Big gusset, flat seams invisible under clothing. Resistant toe."
The tights are made from 84% Polyamide and 16% Elastane.

They feel very soft to the touch.

They are not sheer to waist but have a quite clearly demarcated brief/panty that looks more like 40 denier in appearance.

Seams are flat throughout. The tights are
 fully boarded.

The brief is deep and super stretchy and the 4cm wide waistband is designed to sit quite high if needed.

They do not have a conventional gusset but a rear panel (which Oroblu call a "big gusset")

Toes are rounded with reinforcement.





Fit and sizing


The Oroblu Lady Form 20 Tights are specifically designed for people with a fuller figure.

Oroblu state that the legs are 20% larger than normal tights.

They are available in four sizes:

  • II Maxi
  • III Maxi
  • IV Maxi 
  • V Max
We tested them in the V Maxi size.



The fit was very good indeed. The 16% Elastane in the yarn provides a wonderful close fit on the leg and gives the tights an even, smooth appearance.

The tights have a nice sheen, but are not overly shiny. Glide under trousers is perfect. With shorts they will give the legs a bronzed, tan appearance.

Leg length was fine and the brief was nice and roomy.

The overall wearing effect is one of comfort and wellbeing, with the high Elastane content providing moderate compression.



Colour range


Love Your Legs stocks the Oroblu Lady Form 20 Tights in two colours: Black and Sun.

We tried the Sun shade, a medium tan.



Price and availability


Love Your Legs sell the Oroblu Lady Form 20 Tights for £9.95.

Conclusion

The Oroblu Lady Form 20 Tights are designed and marketed for people with a "curvy" figure who need tights with a more generous construction.

These tights might have a woman on the packaging (and be named "Lady Form") but they are actually perfect for men and they include a lot of features that provide us with a great fit and wearing experience:

  • Generous sizing options
  • More room in the brief and thigh area
  • A comfortable rear panel
Quality is excellent and as bonus the Lady Form 20 are really durable so you will get plenty of wear from them.

Thanks to Love Your Legs for sending us the sample.

Introducing TightsPetite: Part 1

TightsPetite are a small new UK based startup, with a mission to provide customers with effortless, straightforward, time-saving hosiery shopping experience.



They have sent us a selection of tights by the Gabriella brand to trial and review. Reviews of these styles will appear shortly.

We recently interviewed Virag Fejeregyhazi, operations manager at 
TightsPetiteWe are really pleased to now publish the first part of our TightsPetite and tell the world about this great new online retailer.

Can you provide Hosiery For Men readers with some background to TightsPetite? When did the business start and what are you aiming for?


We are a small UK based startup, founded and managed by a dedicated, always curious and hard-working duo coming from financial and IT backgrounds with a passion for quality hosiery.

Our mission is to provide our customers with effortless, straightforward, time-saving hosiery shopping experiences. 
TightsPetite offers bite-sized, curated collections, selected from a couple of European manufacturers, hence the business name “Petite”. To be even more concise, we like to call it “the fine dining for hosiery”. We created our store to resemble a sophisticated boutique, with a keen eye for details and presentation.

TightsPetite’s online store launched in May 2016, though we have been trading on eBay since 2015. We're in the phase of building up our client base and putting the company on the map for potential customers.

We are mostly reaching out to busy working individuals, fashionistas and gift shoppers. More generally, we'd like to approach people who consider wearing hosiery as a versatile, fashionable, cosy wear, a great tool of self-expression. Social media is a great platform for us to find these specific audiences. 


Saying that, we obviously welcome all customers from all around the world, providing
reasonable shipping fees and internationally accepted payment methods like PayPal, and VISA, MasterCard and American Express card payments via Stripe (Shopify Payments)

In a crowded online hosiery retailing market what is unique about TightsPetite?


When you live in London or any other big metropolis, you’re forced to keep a tight schedule and manage your time as efficiently as possible. We had these type of urbanites in mind
when creating our store. Helping them to effortlessly and effectively find just the right products. Our user experience aims to communicate easy, but sophisticated choices.

Navigating through a huge selection of brands and products might be confusing and hard to process for some. We would like to think that some people prefer special, tailored shopping, where products are curated and presented with care.

We do put a strong emphasis on the imagery, the copy and the detailed size-guides, so our users get all the information easily in order to find their favourite products.

Are you planning to welcome male customers buying tights for themselves?


Yes, we definitely welcome them, to be honest a large percentage of our current customers are male. The convenience and privacy of online shopping is surely an encouraging force. With male hosiery getting more popular and culturally accepted we will do our best to recommend to and support those who would like to try this type of clothing.

Are there any particular items that you have in stock that you can recommend for men?


We would recommend Gabriella’s higher denier microfiber opaque tights. They have a feather soft, smooth feel and are made with a light material.

  
 


The Fiore Elin 10 Denier is a high waist, classic pair of matt tights, ideal for warmer spring or summer times.



For everyday uses, the Donna BC Italian tights are worth a go. They represent the classic, reliable, natural look in our collections.



We also have to mention that Cecilia de Rafael’s Seamless Tights and the Gabriella Hipsters Exclusive20 Denier Low Waist Tights are the most popular styles with our male customers.





The Fiore Raula 40 denier Gloss Tights are extremely comfortable and super silky, though they might be a bit too much of exhibitionist choice for some!



What kind of service will male customers receive at TightsPetite? Do you welcome enquiries and requests for advice?


As part of our future improvements, we will introduce recommendation tools to make male shopping choices easier. Apart from this, men will receive the same professional service as women do, like discrete packaging and fast delivery times.

Good communication, appropriate, quick personal responses to enquiries and requests, fair shipping costs and return policies are key parts of our service for all our customers.

Stay tuned for part 2 of our feature on TightsPetite.