Review: Fiore Roza 60 Den

I received these tights from The Stylish Fox, a USA based hosiery retailer that specializes in European hosiery brands (such as Trasparenze, Cecilia de Rafael, Fiore, Marilyn, Silvia Grande, and Veneziana).

Fiore is a very nice quality Polish hosiery brand with a wide range of offerings from sheer to opaque and solid to patterned.  Their hosiery is divided into several tiers, with the Roza style as part of their Classic line.  This is the third style of tights by Fiore that I have reviewed (see Fiore Raisa Elite 120 Den).

Review: Gatta Rosalia 100 Den, take II

Anna from ItSocks provided me with two samples of the Gatta Rosalia 100 Den tights, in sizes 4 (large) and 5 (extra large).  I hadn’t intended on getting the size 5 again, but I’m glad that I did.  While my first review of the Gatta Rosalia 100 Den tights was mostly favorable, I was a little disappointed in the fit of the brief not being more snug.  It would work fine for people with a larger waist.

I’d read a few articles about the fabric dyeing process and learned that for certain colors the process will result in a different effect on the fabric.  It’s especially true with black, compared to lighter colors. The difference may even be enough to notice a change in the feel and stretchability.  Well, I can attest to that being the case with the Rosalia 100.  I’d tried the XL pair in anthracite and then got the same style and size in black (nero).  The experience was preferable with the black, and you’ll find out how later on in this review.

Upcoming sale at Hosieree

The USA based hosiery retailer Hosieree, that was recently featured on Tights For Men (here), has a winter sale coming up:

 

You’re invited to our store wide Winter Sale Event at Hosieree.
This is a best time to try a new model for less, or save some money on your favorites.

During this sale new customers will benefit from a 10% discount on ALL regular and sale price items, plus free shipping on orders over $65.00 (after discount is applied)!  This promotion is valid from 12pm (EST) on 02/24/11 until 12am (EST) on 02/27/11.

A valid code is required to process the promotion adjustment on your order.
Please use code FST022712 in the Promotion Code field during checkout. Your discount will be calculated automatically. The free standard shipping offer is valid for orders over $65.00 after the discount is applied and for US destinations only.

Review: Fiore Raisa Elite 120 denier

(Alternate photo — HERE)

I received these tights from The Stylish Fox, a USA based hosiery retailer that specializes in European hosiery brands (such as Trasparenze, Cecilia de Rafael, Fiore, Marilyn, Silvia Grande, and Veneziana).

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.

Upcoming reviews — Fiore, from The Stylish Fox

This arrived over the weekend:

Very nice packaging, from The Stylish Fox!  I got a friendly note from them, with several tights wrapped carefully in a bright orange tissue paper with fox color inspired ribbon.  🙂

In the coming days, I’ll be reviewing 3 tights by Fiore:  The Raisa Elite 120 denier, Rosa neo classic 60 denier microfiber, and Marla 40 denier microfiber patterned tights.  Stay tuned!

Featured retailer: Hosieree

You may have seen my earlier posting about Hosieree, an on-line hosiery company based out of the USA, when they were running a special winter sale.  The owner of Hosieree, Yekaterina, was kind enough to spend some time for an interview with Tights For Men.

Introduction
Hosieree has been in business on-line since 2005, selling internationally, and offer a wide range of hosiery products that includes tights, stockings, thigh highs, pantyhose, leggings, socks, knee-highs, and lingerie, plus products for bridal and maternity.  Their hosiery brands are quite diverse, with names like Trasparenze, Falke, Oroblu, Fiore, Gabriella, Cecilia de Rafael, and Levante, among many others (30 and growing).

The interview
I presented several questions for Hosieree about their business, products, customers and future plans:

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.

Tights for tanning… what?

OK, we’re in the midst of winter, a time when our skin is gradually getting more pale with less sun exposure.  Do you visit a tanning salon?  Do you take a tropical vacation and get a deep tan in that short time?  Do you use an artificial tanning product?  Or, do you just cover up with opaque tights and wait for spring?

Women are often quite preoccupied with tanning in the warmer months. On average, I see far more women baking in the sun for a tan than guys do.  Even in this day and age, when we’ve come to learn so much about skin melanoma and how dangerous the sun’s rays are, people still love to bask in the rays of the sun with minimal clothing.  Apparently, malignant melanoma is Britain’s second most common cancer in 15 to 34-year-olds, responsible for 2,000 deaths in England and Wales every year.  Thankfully there is high SPF (Sun Protection Factor) lotion available, where you can more adequately control how much sun exposure you get.  And while sales of sunblock lotion has been increasing, the sales of artificial tanning products has also been on the rise.

Poll: How do your tights typically wear out?

This is the first poll I’ve tried on my blog.  Now that there’s decent traffic going pretty regularly, I thought perhaps my readers might enjoy participating in a poll.  Here goes!

In the poll below, please choose the top 3 reasons for your tights wearing out.  I think I’ve pretty much covered the bulk of them, but I’ve also added an “other” selection.  Please comment if you select that, as I’d like to hear about other ways… and that is, ways only rated “G” (for general audience)!  🙂

As a follow-up, you can visit an article I published about how to make your tights last, HERE.