Review: Gatta Rosalia 600 Denier

I recently received a pair of Gatta Rosalia 600 Denier “Polar” tights in size 5 (XL) from ItSocks.  They’re currently on sale at a great discount (38% off) so be sure to check them out, while it’s still cold out!

(Larger package photo — HERE)

We’ve been rather lucky in the New York City area this winter.  It hasn’t been nearly as cold as it was last year.  However, you certainly wouldn’t be walking around outside in your shorts, unless you’re running.  Long heavy pants or thick opaque tights are the clothing mandate of the day.

Review: Pierre Mantoux Veloutine 50 den tights

Preface
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you know how I usually wear only opaque styles.  I don’t go for the sheer styles, because my tights wearing has pretty much been limited to the cooler months.  I did try one pair of Fiore 40 denier tights, having a semi-opaque appearance, and found they were reasonably good.  The more sheer the tights, the greater chance for increased comfort though.  The material tends to breathe more.  Also, the finer denier yarn helps the material hug your skin more closely.  I did end up finding some tights styles from Donna Karan and DKNY which have a wonderfully smooth feel and conform to my body contours extremely well, almost like a more sheer style would.  But due to the high thickness, they become less comfortable in warm weather (or when worn under heavier trousers).

I’d heard of the Pierre Mantoux hosiery brand some time ago and recognized that their reputation is excellent, often mentioned alongside more popular brands like Philippe Matignon and Falke.  The Veloutine 70 style grabbed my interest after reading a terrific review about it on the Hosiery For Men blog.  The reviewer’s opinion seemed very positive, although with the pricing not far from styles made by Falke and Wolford, he tended to prefer the latter.  While finding Pierre Mantoux tights on sale is a rather uncommon event, I did manage to spot a pair of the Veloutine 50 tights up on that famous auction site for a super deal (less than $10 shipped within USA).  The only drawback was that they were only offered in size II (medium).  I figured I would get them for a girlfriend as they’d not fit me.

Review: Comfort4Men Luxury 60 Den tights

Have you heard of Comfort4Men (or C4M)?  It’s a hosiery company based just outside of Nuremberg (Nuernberg) Germany that makes anatomically correct tights for men.  It was started by a woman of great determination, and I think her story is best told by her:

“I worked in the fashion industry for many years and was always surprised that fashion and health care products such as support tights were only ever made for women. Support stockings and support tights would also help men to get through the day more comfortably if they have to sit or stand for long periods of time.

My story begins with a relative who suffered a serious thrombosis. From this point on he needed to wear medical compression tights. As no difference in fit was made between women and men, they were very uncomfortable to wear, particularly in the genital region. Up to this point in time, no-one apparently had troubled to find a solution for this problem. This was the basis for my idea.

Tights are ‘unisex’. Although in the world of fashion women have ‘taken over’ tights, they were originally exclusively men’s clothing. Today there is no reason why a man should not wear tights. Through their simplified production method and the way they are cut, modern tights are specially adapted to the female anatomy. So it is understandable that a man may have difficulties with the fit of support tights. For as the name says, support tights “support”, providing a compressed fit. For a woman, this effect in the panty part of the tights is often even desirable.  But for a man, it can be quite uncomfortable.

Our soon to be patented solution now also enables men to utilize the health and aesthetic advantages of tights without having to forgo comfort. With today’s technology there is no longer anything unaesthetic or even unpleasant about the support effect! It has nothing more to do with the earlier ‘Granny look’. Try it for yourself and you will see it and feel it, I assure you. That is what I have determined, and that is also Comfort4Men’s motto.”

— Angelika Weiss

C4M produces an impressive line of tights specifically for men.  There are 3 main style choices:  support, luxury, and opaque.  Within each style, there are several choices of color, denier, high/low brief, gusset color, fly option, and size.  The result is approximately 60 variations, for just one style!  The founder of C4M has taken a very thorough approach to the art of creating tights for men.

Review: Donna Karan Perfect Opaque / Signature Luxury 0B259

I recently reviewed a pair of DKNY Super Opaque control top tights and found them to be very acceptable for the price.  This was a pleasant discovery, as in the past I had found the plain opaque DKNY tights to be less generous in sizing.  I then decided to have a look at the Donna Karan line and noticed several styles that appealed to me.  They have a “Luxe Layer” version that is micro fleece lined and results in a very deep and uniform opaque appearance.  But unfortunately the sizing offers only two choices, the larger being M/L, reduced by 30lbs in maximum weight from Donna Karan’s Tall size.

Donna Karan seems to experiment a lot style naming, resulting in a little confusion about what their product names really mean.  I’ve noticed “Perfect Opaque”, “Signature Luxury”, “Signature Lux 90”, and “Sueded Jersey”, all looking to be about the same in terms of description.  I decided on the “Perfect Opaque”, after being able to feel the material first hand at the Bloomingdale’s flagship store.  This has a 90 denier material, heavier than the Sueded Jersey style that is described as 70 denier.  They aren’t control top, but there is mention of the brief offering light support.

Review: DKNY Super Opaque Control Top

NOTE:  This review is from the male perspective, but should be applicable to women of tall and muscular physiques.  There are also qualities applicable to all customer types.

You may have read my long term review of Donna Karan’s Satin Jersey tights.  I had taken a long break from buying new tights and only recently started refreshing my collection.  In the past, my experience with Donna Karan was that the DKNY brand was sized a little smaller than her primary brand.  I lucked out with a couple of styles that had fit me, but this changed with some newer ones.  So I stopped considering DKNY.  Fast forward 15 years, I decided to give DKNY another try.  Hanes is the manufacturer (and all customer support   goes through the Hanes help desk), which is generally regarded as a lower tier brand for hosiery, but these tights definitely show mid tier quality.  I’d read a comment from a customer who said the Super Opaque style was generous in fit, so this was the style I bought.

Review: We Love Colors — Men’s Performance Tights

Earlier in my blog, I wrote a short piece about the hosiery retailer We Love Colors.  They have a section for men that includes tights, gloves, socks, and shoe laces (tights are listed first).  You can buy full nylon tights (regular or plus sizes) or performance tights for men, with or without feet.  This review is about their men’s performance footed tights.

The website title is “Men’s Performance Tights“, and the description says “Our high performance dance tights for men are built to last performance after performance, without running or snagging. These thick and comfy performance spandex tights for men are available in all of our 55 distinct colors. With no fly opening. 77% nylon 23% Lycra.”   These are available in four styles:  footed or footless, and solid or splash colors.

Image from We Love Colors (click on it for larger view)

Featured brand: Yumiko

Yumiko is a prestigious dance wear brand, producing leotards and unitards for women and men.   Why mention Yumiko in this blog?  Well, they do make one style of tights for men, and that’s good enough for me!  But they also have a very impressive line of active wear for men and women.

(photo credit to Dance Pulp)

Born in Asahikawa, Japan to parents who owned a small Kimono business, Takeshima began dancing at the age of four in Sapporo, Japan. At the age of 14 she left home to study with the San Francisco Ballet school, soon after receiving her first professional dance contract.

(photo credit to Dance Pulp)

Review: Falke Pure Matt 100

Up until now, the only opaque fashion tights that I’ve found to fit me really well have been Donna Karan/DKNY and Gatta.  I have sampled several brands of tights from makers in the USA and Europe, and admittedly it is a small fraction at this point.  While some were pretty good, they didn’t offer me a satisfying XL fit.  That is, until now.

I can confidently say at this point that I finally found some tights in a Tall/XL size that are uniformly superb in quality, fit, comfort, and appearance.  Quite frankly, they are the best darned tights that have ever shrouded my body.  And so, I give you the Falke Pure Matt 100 tights review:

15 years on — Donna Karan Satin Jersey tights

Review: Fiore Paula 40 DEN

If you saw my post titled “Polish Pattern Parade“, then you’re already aware that Poland has become a hotbed for hosiery production.  A number of brands have broken out of the local market and are now more commonly found internationally.  One of them is Fiore.  Here’s how they describe their company:

Fiore is one of the most dynamically developing hosiery manufacturers in Poland and Central Europe with over 120 different products for ladies and girls offered in a wide range of colours and sizes. Created in 1998, the company from the very beginning believes in the same strategy of combining the high quality of the products with prices that remain affordable to everyone.

The company was also one of the very first Polish hosiery producers to receive the ISO 9001 Quality Management Certificate. ISO 9001 is the most comprehensive of the ISO standards, covering product design, engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, marketing and sales. Commitment to quality has always been the basis for the company’s strategy and success. The receipt of the Certificate not only confirmed this, but also ensured that we continually strive for further improvement of quality and the full satisfaction of our customers’ needs.

In order to fully respond to the customers’ differentiated requirements the whole production has been divided into 6 lines:

• Classic– Elegant and comfortable tights (pantyhose), knee-highs and socks for everyday and evening wear.
• Medica– A variety of tights designed to correct the imperfections of woman’s figure.
• Golden Line– Highly fashionable and sensuous patterned tights, hold-ups and stockings perfect to finish off any stylish ensemble.
• Elite– Top quality hosiery products, made of the best materials in most advanced technologies.
• Street– A range of tights and knee-highs trendily suited for the teenage market.
• Young Lady– A line of cheerful and durable tights designed for girls of 110-146 cm height.