Review: Kunert Blue sheer tights

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12 Jul 2017

Review: Kunert Blue sheer tights

By Paul Duane

Pantyhose made out of garbage? From Germany?

Yes, and they are wonderful.

German hosiery maker Kunert is the first to make pantyhose from ECONYL® yarn, which is produced from recycled textile waste and old nylon fishing nets recovered from the ocean. They didn’t stop at the tights, the packaging is made out of eco friendly cardboard without any unnecessary plastic components.

I don’t speak German, and you might not either, but I think you’ll get the idea:

This was much easier to understand:

Let’s set aside the awesome green – cred that these nylons have and just talk about them on their own merits. Much like German luxury cars – Kunert quietly gets all of the details very, very right. Every seam is immaculately constructed:

Kunert gives every pair of it’s hosiery a tag with their logo on one side, and the style name of the hosiery on the other, for those of you who like to keep track of which style you are wearing. I realize that most of you won’t see why this matters – and for casual hosiery wearers it totally doesn’t. For those who wear hosiery often enough that it matters how long each pair lasts, it can really help you keep a mental note of which styles are wearing well and which aren’t. Most hosiery becomes nameless once you’ve taken it out of the package, worn it once, washed it, and returned it to your drawer. Not Kunert – they proudly wear their name.

The Blue pantyhose are interesting – overall I’d tell you they have a matte finish, as you can see in these photos:

But then they can render a bit of a shine, too:

 

The weave is consistent and not prone to separation. the color consistency is excellent.  In terms of fit, I found the leg to be a bit long, which is a forgivable offense. Hey tall people – take note. You will appreciate the Blue.  As you saw in a previous photo – they have a sheer toe, but the seem is rather substantial. Personally I don’t think you should ever wear hosiery with open toe shoes, but if you are inclined to, now you know what you are getting into.

I am brutally hard on my hosiery. I wear them in a working studio, I live with a couple of super excitable friendly dogs that have a special 6th dog-sense for when I’m wearing nice hosiery, which motivates them to scratch and jump all over me.  You can take the number of wearings I get out of a pair, multiply it by 2.5, and that’s probably what a normal person will get out of them.  That being said, I’ve worn my Kunert Blues out on a several occasions so far and they show zero sign of stopping.

In terms of feel: They have a very soft, cotton-esque feel when you touch your legs. Very comfortable. Many hosiery connoisseurs are looking for something with a very silky feel when your legs rub together (like with a good pair from Cecilia de Rafael or Platino): not happening with the Kunert Blue. It’s cottony softness all the way.

In summary: I really like these nylons. I love that they are made from waste, I really like their understated look on my legs (which is perfect for some occasions), and they are proving to be very durable. A very practical pair of luxury pantyhose.  I’d be very happy to stock up on these as a go-to every day pair.

Get yours at https://www.hosieree.com/products/KunertBlue15.html

03 Dec 2014

Topic Salad: NY grand jury fail, mexican cartel blues, ebola cures

By Paul Duane

Let your computer or mobile device help find a cure for Ebola:  https://secure.worldcommunitygrid.org/reg/viewRegister.do

Mitch McConnell trying to tweak campaign finance laws: http://billmoyers.com/2014/12/03/mitch-mcconnell-rider-roll-back-campaign-finance-laws/

Legal marijuana in the USA is driving Mexican drug cartels out of business: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/12/01/367802425/legal-pot-in-the-u-s-may-be-undercutting-mexican-marijuana

Texas stays the execution of a mentally challenged man: http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/03/justice/texas-panetti-execution/

Rand Paul is not a Libertarian: http://reason.com/blog/2013/05/13/rand-paul-assures-evangelicals-that-he-d

Predicting couples success rate: http://www.businessinsider.com/lasting-relationships-rely-on-2-traits-2014-11

 

 

15 May 2014

Review: Hue French Lace Sheers

By Paul Duane

I’ve tried a few different styles of Hue hosiery in the past, and though the product seemed to be decently made, the sizing was never quite up to par, so I have not given them much attention. I was in Macy’s recently and noticed that Hue had redesigned their packaging. I was curious if the product had been redesigned, too. Upon further inspection, I found that they had some new sizing options that looked interesting, so I picked up a pair for myself and one for a friend.

First impressions: This is a 90% nylon 10% spandex construction. In my experience, this is a yarn constituent range in which a lot of very different outcomes are possible in terms of look and feel. Sometimes it goes really well, sometimes it’s a disaster. Upon removing them from the packaging, I noticed that this is not a boarded pair of pantyhose. The most curious thing about these pantyhose is the
panty section. It’s labeled as a “french lace with invisible control top”. It might be easier to show you a picture before I try to describe the effect:

Kira Distler modeling Hue French Lace Pantyhose.

Floofie models the Hue French Lace pantyhose. Click on the photo to see an exclusive nude photo shoot of her in these pantyhose.

Yep. That’s a “french cut lace panty” along with some good old fashioned control top lines.  A complete contradiction in aesthetics. Hue failed hard here. The whole idea behind the lace panty section is to allow outfits that may show a lot of leg, so that pesky control top line doesn’t show up. I wore them with some very short dressy shorts, and occasionally when I was sitting, the panty portion was visible, peeking out from the shorts.  This is not hot.  As I pulled them on, the fabric seemed to stretch and distribute nicely over my skin. It was black yet had some transparency to it still, which is how a good pair of jet black hosiery should be.  The more transparent whilst still giving color on the outline of your legs, the more elegant they are.    The toe has an invisible reinforcement, which lived up to it’s name nicely.

Wearing: The sizing chart proved to be very accurate and my pair fit very well. They stayed put all night long. The non-control panty was very comfortable. As for feel (or “hand”, as they say in the business) – these pantyhose felt pretty good. They felt reasonably silky to the touch. When rubbing your legs together, they don’t feel all that silky against one another. A silky feeling when rubbing your legs together is the hallmark of a truly excellent pair of pantyhose / tights / stockings. They are slightly less silky than Hanes Silk Reflections. I wore them with some 3 1/2″ heels and had a long night out – started at a photo gallery event, then a busy night club, and finally to an after party. I’m not going to lie to you – I fell asleep in them, and the next morning I found some very small holes starting to develop in the upper thigh section of the the legs. It looked like some of the weave started to pull apart. 

Summary: Even if you overlook the ridiculous panty section, at $8.00 / pair, you should just pick up Hanes Silk Reflections, as they are the same price but with a slightly silkier feel and better durability.  In all fairness, I’ve had Hanes fail after one wearing, but I’ve also had pairs of them that last for 4 wearings.  In the low and mid grade hosiery world, the quality can be a bit random.  If HUE wants to send over 4 more pair for me to re-audition, I’ll be happy to post a new and improved review.

 

23 Jan 2014

Review: Preston & York Sheer Pantyhose

By Paul Duane
Preston & York Pantyhose

Preston & York Pantyhose reviewed.

A review of the Preson & York control top sheer pantyhose:

For those that aren’t familiar with this brand, it’s the store brand offered by Dillard’s department stores. Dillards is a fairly nice establishment, so I  was very curious to see how their private label hosiery brand would measure up.

I’m kind of picky about the color of my hosiery. Out of the package, these had a sort of traditional “tan” look to them. As they stretched out over my skin, they took on a nice, sheer consistency, almost disappearing on my legs. I have fair skin and these were not super obvious on my legs to the naked eye. However, there’s something about flash photography that makes them look a bit pasty and unnatural as you’ll see in this photo (left).

Preston & York sheer pantyhose

Preston & York sheer pantyhose in light nude (right)

Sheer hosiery fabrics have a certain reflective quality to them. In real life, those reflections are coming from light sources at varying angles of attack.  When a flash photograph is taken, the light source is immediately next to the lens, or what will essentially be your “eye” into the scene. This causes the reflection to bounce off the fabric and straight into your eye, essentially. It’s like seeing a glare in a mirror.  That being said, take the photos with a grain of salt.  For more really geeky discussions about photography, visit my photography website.

Back to the hosiery at hand:  To the touch, these pantyhose have a reasonably silky feel. I’d give them a 7/ 10.  When rubbing your legs together, they fall short, being kind of rough. I’d give them a 5/10.

The control top was gently firm. It wasn’t too restrictive, but kept everything in place.

As for durability, I put them through a long night of attending a film screening, doing a photo shoot at a busy night club, and some afterpartying that went into the wee hours.  The reinforced toe held steady.  The fabric on the leg stayed intact, without any spontaneous holes developing, which was promising. Somehow a 1.5 inch hole developed in the very middle of the panty, right behind the gusset.  I still can’t figure out where that came from. It’s an odd thing to have happen to a control top, and rendered them unworthy for a second wearing.

Being a $9.00 pair of pantyhose and developing a hole on the first wearing is not good news for Preston & York. That puts their cost per wear at $9.00, which is a cost per wear that should merrit a far more luxurious pair of pantyhose. I’m sure I just got a bad pair, but even so – bad pair or not – this is a real world expense that any customer will have to be prepared for.

In summary: don’t waste your money. There are far superior pairs of hosiery to be had out there.

If Preston & York would like to send more pairs for additional evaluation, we’ll be happy to check them out and revise this review.

 

05 Jul 2013

Best Legs Contest on The Paul Duane Show

By Paul Duane

GBEX10_lgI wear a few hats during the course of a month. Aside from running Hosiery Review, I am the creator and host of a late night talk show, The Paul Duane Show. It’s a late night talk show, live in Salt Lake City.  Readers of this blog will be interested to know that I wear outfits that incorporate pantyhose and heels on stage as I host the show. I decided that it would be fun to share the love of legs with the audience, so we did a Best Legs Contest.  I invited women from SLC to come and compete on the show, and compete they did!

shapings logoWe were very fortunate to have the show and contest sponsored by Shapings.com.  They sent some wonderful pantyhose for each of our contestants to wear; the Gabriella Exclusive 10’s.  This is an “entry level” hosiery from the Polish maker, but let me tell you – they feel and look 10x nicer than anything you can buy from an American hosiery maker, all price considerations aside. They are the silkiest feeling hosiery I’ve ever worn. A more complete review of them will be forthcoming in a separate post. For now, just know that if you want a real treat in the hosiery department for under $8.00 USD, this is what you need to buy. Get them here: http://www.shapings.com/pantyhose/exclusive-10-pantyhose.html

lmsorenson_17may2013-11

Many beautiful ladies on stage…

lmsorenson_17may2013-1The final two contestants. The girl on the left was decleared the winner by our celebrity judges.

Below is a highlight video of the contest:

21 May 2013

Review: Nordstrom Sheer Gloss Pantyhose

By Paul Duane
img_1142

On stage while hosting The Paul Duane Show. You can see the sheer and glossy character of them in this shot.

With summer approaching, I began a search for some new go-to nude pantyhose to rely on this summer. I wanted something that was very sheer, very lightweight,  long lasting,  something that gives my legs that little something extra that makes people look three times, and – something with a luxurious, silky feel.  In the past I’ve been able to find hosiery that meet any 2 of these criteria at any time, finding all traits in one pair has been elusive.

I noticed on Nordstrom.com that they had a new style of Nordstrom branded pantyhose: Sheer Gloss.  That piqued my curiosity. I bought a pair and have been very pleasantly surprised at the results.

Out Of The Package:

Right out of the package, they seemed appropriately long in the leg. Sometimes this points toward a pair of pantyhose that will be a tad tall in the sizing, and this proved to be the case. It wasn’t by much, but it made me wonder if I could have gotten away with wearing one size smaller than I usually would expect to buy.  These pantyhose are made in Italy for Nordstrom, and that became immediately obvious. The Itallian hosiery mills are well known for their superior quality.  This is an $11.00 pair of pantyhose that has a low rise panty portion, flat seams, an invisibly reinforced toe, and a 10 denier leg.  I bought them in black.  As I pulled them up, they fit perfectly. The fabric appeared to be silky right out of the package, and as they stretched over my legs, the silkiness really became obvious. They are both very silky to the touch; they also feel really nice when you rub your legs together (not all ultra sheer hose can brag this).

A Quick Lesson About Hosiery Manufacturing:

playdoughextruder

Nylon is extruded kind of like this, but on a microscopic scale.

Pantyhose are typically made up of two kinds of yarns that are woven together to create the fabric that makes up pantyhose: Nylon and a more elastic thread such as Lycra, Spandex, or Elastane. Nylon is typically being the major component in pantyhose, comprising 75% – 95% of a typical pair. When Nylon is manufactured, it is extruded into tiny threads of different shapes. Some threads are round, some are oblong, some are square, some are triangle shaped. Different shaped threads impart different characteristics to the final fabric. Think of the Play-dough extruders that you used to play with as a kid, and you’ll have the right idea.  When the hosiery mill wants something that has a more matte finish, they will use a round thread. The round threads refract the light in different directions, lending the non-shiny, matte appareance. If they want a glossy finish, a triangle shaped thread is used.  These Sheer Gloss pantyhose  had a nice transparent quality to them, although due to the inherent glossy finish of the fabric, they can make one’s legs look kind of blanched when photographs are taken using a direct flash.  Photos aside, to the naked eye, these pantyhose really live up to their name: sheer gloss. Most certainly a triangle shaped thread at work.

In The Real World:

I wore them on stage as I hosted my talk show, The Paul Duane Show, and then to an afterparty that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. They completed the first night of wearing without any damage.  I washed them and wore them for a second night. At the end of the second night, they developed some very small pinholes where a few yarns had broken, but runs did not develop. A small, almost invisible dot of clear nail polish secured the threads and set the stage for a third and fourth wearing.  They did not actually fail until after I had come home from the fourth night out in them. I was walking around without shoes on, and a hole was created in the foot. I live in a place with old reclaimed wood floors that are wrought with imperfections: not a place to wear hosiery without shoes. 537454_10151318746061862_1967522928_n

These pantyhose cost $11.00 per pair (or 3 / $30 ) which brings the cost per wearing to $2.75 (or $2.50 if you buy in bulk).  This is an excellent value, in my opinion, especially when compared with the copious failure rate of what I used to consider the old stand by, Hanes Silk Reflections (they are pretty nice to wear, but I often only get one wearing out of them, at $8.00 per pair).

Fit: 9 / 10

Feel: 9/10

Look: 9/10

Longevity: 4 solid nights out on the town!

Cost per wear: $2.75

I’m a fan. I’ll be purchasing some of these pantyhose in nude shades soon. If my experience with them changes in the future, I’ll update this review accordingly.

 

 

30 Nov 2012

Review: L’eggs Silken Mist Run Resitant Ultra Sheer

By Paul Duane

A new varation of nylon / lycra fiber has hit the market that is being billed as “run resistant”. L’eggs Silken Mist is the first widely available pantyhose in the states to utilize this new yarn and weaving technique. It’s touted as being sheer, silky, and incredibly durable.  Naturally, at Hosiery Review, we had to test these claims.

I picked up a pair of the L’eggs Silken Mist for $3.78.  At this price, my expectations are not terribly high. I bought them in “black mist” Ultra Sheer Leg style.  I’ve yet to encounter an off-black variant that I’m really crazy about.  They usually end up looking grey or an odd taupey-grey.  This pair was the latter, and although not a deal breaker, you do want to be careful what colors you wear them with, as this is not a color-neutral fabric. It leans to the warm side of grey.

Construction features were as expected: a control top panty,  sheer toe, and conventional “round” seams (as opposed to the more luxurious flat seams in higher end hosiery). The control top panty was actually quite comfortable. It provided some degree of firmness, but it was nothing I felt the need to escape from.

Going on, they stretched to a very sheer consistency. L’eggs doesn’t ever specify a denier rating for their products, but I’m going to estimate these around 12 denier. This is a very sheer yarn; for the first time I was actually looking forward to getting a run in them to see how they’d handle it. To the touch, they were very silky, i’d give them 8/10.  When rubbing your legs together, though, they showed a very different characteristic, being a bit rough. Leg to leg silkiness is  5/10 .   They were just a tad bit matte in terms of sheen. The weave is very fine and this pair really seemed to want to disappear into my legs. I’m guessing that a nude pair of these would truly disappear and look very natural on one’s legs.

I wore them to a party, a bar, and an afterparty, wondering when they would meet their fate.  I ressisted the temptation to stick a ball point pen through them in the name of science. It wasn’t until the wee hours of the night, right before going to bed, that I discovered a very small hole in the toe area of one foot. I am guessing that it developed from walking around barefoot sans shoes on some rough antique wood flooring. At last, a hole! In almost any other pair of pantyhose (especially this cheap and sheer), a run (or “ladder”, as they call it in europe) would have screamed skyward up my leg. True to their promise, this run really did resist expanding. Of course, one could easily force it to run, but let’s keep in mind: any hole that doesn’t explode into a 24″ run is kind of a miracle of science.  It remained about 1″ long. I dabbed a small drop of clear nail polish on it and I’m certain this pair will be more than sturdy enough for another night on the town.

Summary:  I think this is a wonderful utilitarian pair of pantyhose. They look rather elegant, they feel very silky to the touch, and if they were just more pleasant when rubbing one’s legs together, I’d be incredibly stoked on this new revision of the Silken Mist line.  At an initial cost of $3.78, they are on the better side of average for cost-per-wearing.  Overall, I give L’eggs Silken Mist Run Resistant Ultra Sheer Leg a 7 / 10.

08 Oct 2012

Review: Secrets In Lace Signature Pantyhose

By Paul Duane

photo courtesy of Secrets In Lace

I recently took some new hosiery out on the town: Secrets In Lace Signature Pantyhose (in black, of course!).  The Secrets In Lace product photography and branding is so gorgeous and elegant, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some actual product. They retail for $19.99, and after shipping, we are talking about a $25 pair of pantyhose. In this price range, there are certain expectations of quality that must be met.

Out of the package:  Removing them from the package, they loosely roll off of their packing card to reveal some interesting details:

  • fully boarded
  • flat seams
  • RHT (reinforced heel and toe)
  • “Secrets In Lace” logo embroidered at the waist
  • 20 denier
  • non-control top / sheer to waist

In the world of hosiery, there are growers, and there are showers: Some hose come out looking tiny but stretch immensely to fit your body. Others come out looking quite large and thus don’t stretch much to create a perfect fit on your legs.  These pantyhose are
the later. I was somewhat surprised at how long and roomy the legs looked.  Sliding into them, I noticed that the fabric seems to be well woven and dyed: the color distribution was nice and even. The panty portion slid right up and sat squarely on my hips as if they were custom tailored just for me. In terms of fit, this pair was superb. The panty portion isn’t at all restrictive, yet it felt perfectly secure throughout the night. The sheer to waist panty meant that these hosiery felt good on your nether region skin. Ladies, don’t bother wearing panties with something this nice – enjoy the ride.   Let’s talk about the feel of the fabric:  In terms of silkiness to the touch, I’d rate them a 7. When you rub your legs together, they don’t feel particularly silky together; I’d put them around a 6  in that department. They are slightly less silky than Hanes Silk Reflections. In terms of looks: I’d say they are on the robust side of 20 denier. They are sheer, but they are definitely not ultra sheer and don’t quite have the elegance of a nice pair of 10 denier hosiery.

After a long night of being out at a busy bar, and then back in my office for several hours, it was time to take them off and assess the situation. They held up perfectly. No unraveling, no spontaneous micro holes developing, none of the seems showed signs of stress. I’m betting that this pair of pantyhose has 4 more wearings in them. Should that figure change, I’ll log back in and update this last section to reflect the actual longevity.  If we are to relate these pantyhose to cars, I’d say these are like a Honda Accord with every upgrade available and a few after-market upgrades. Solid, utilitarian, reliable, and beautiful in many ways – albeit not as elegant as a fine German automobile.

We are an affiliate with Secrets In Lace. If you’d like to purchase these, or any of their other fine vintage styled stockings (or the ridiculously sexy  Pamela Anderson signature line of stockings!), click through this banner to reach their online store.

**** UPDATE ****

I don’t think Secrets In Lace carries the Pamela Anderson line anymore. BUT, if you’ve made it this far, you deserve to be rewarded. Pamela, in her day, was a goddess. Here is some eye candy to reward your journey:

 

02 Sep 2012

Victoria’s not so nice Secret

By Paul Duane

This was a bit disappointing.  For years, Victoria’s Secret has been selling some really great hosiery products. I’ve been a fan of them for years.  It turns out that Victoria’s Secret has been cutting some corners when it comes to the manufacture and marketing of some of their hosiery products.   Here’s the short of it:  Victoria’s Secret contracted with a company called Zephyr to design and manufacture some of their hosiery:
the Lace Top Fish Net Stockings, Fish Net Thigh-Highs With Backseam, and Signature Stripe Thigh-High With Bows, to be specific.  The Zephyr hosiery were made in Italy and had some very high end construction and design features.  The product photography, used on the packaging and in other marketing materials, was done using the Zephyr product. Some time later, Victoria’s Secret cut deals with some of Zephyr’s own subcontractors to manufacture hosiery with less expensive materials and construction techniques. The cheaper hosiery were made in Canada.  Victoria’s Secret then continued to sell the lower quality Canadian hosiery in the packaging that showed the Italian made hosiery.

Below you can see some photos of the Italian made hosiery vs. the Canadian made product.  Fortunately this manufacturing snafu does not appear to affect their line of full length pantyhose.

 

Photos courtesy of Gioconda Law Group.

26 Aug 2012

review: H&M 20 Denier Tights

By Paul Duane

Up for review: H&M 20 Denier Tights.  They were only $5.95 for a 2 pack, and the photo on the packaging really caught my attention.  I wore them out for an evening at a great local bar.  Here are the specs:

  • They run slightly tall.
  • Sheer to waist
  • flat seems
  • invisible reinforced toe

They have a good, uniform color distribution. These particular pantyhose / tights are reasonably silky, probably on par with what you’d pay $5.00 for in a pair of grocery store pantyhose.  They made it about 12 hours before developing a small run in the invisibly reinforced toe.  To their credit, the run didn’t make a b-line for my knee, it just stayed put.  These tights are definitely worth what I paid, but there are slightly better values out there.

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