Review: Platino Clean Cut 40

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21 Feb 2018

Review: Platino Clean Cut 40

By Paul Duane

Platino’s Clean Cut line of pantyhose is famous for it’s luxurious shine and slippery feel. Certainly one of the most sensual looking and feeling pairs of pantyhose on the market, they are also very reasonably priced, usually right around $20. Often less. It’s no wonder that lovers of the leg hold them in such high esteem.  In addition, their namesake feature: the laser cut, elastic free waistband is wonderfully comfortable. I often hear women complain that they don’t like pantyhose because they are constrictive, scratchy, and uncomfortable.

 

Pro tip: if you regularly find pantyhose to be itchy, I’d be willing to bet that you aren’t shaving your legs very often or very well. Give your self a proper close, smooth shave, try again (with some Platino’s), and then you can thank me.  You’re welcome.

See? Doesn’t that feel nice?

These sheer tights are 40 denier – and honestly, they lean toward the heavy end of that. These are wonderful for the cold months. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they were actually 45 denier. They still do great in the shine department.

Sizing / fit: Ok this is kind of weird: the Clean-cut 40’s fit totally differently than the Clean-cut 15’s. I got some 40’s and 15’s in the same size. I wore the 40’s last week, and the 15’s today. The 40’s are much more generous in their fit – specifically – they run a bit tall. I know some of you taller people have a hard time finding pantyhose that won’t sag in the crotch – you are going to LOVE these. I’m not particularly tall for my weight range, so the pair I got were actually a tiny bit too long in the leg.  That’s easy enough to solve, next time I’ll order a size smaller. Just be aware that they are very generous in the leg length when you are ordering. The conventional wisdom of rounding up if you are between sizes does not apply here. The 15’s, on the other hand, fit exactly, perfectly to size, without an inch to spare.

As for construction, they feel rock solid. I wore them all day including time in the studio, running errands around town, and at home with the dogs. At the end of the day, they showed zero signs of wear stress. I can tell I’ll be getting many wearings out of the Clean-cut 40’s.

Obviously these are good for showing off those legs in cold weather. Those of you who have to wear nylons as part of your work uniform such as airline attendants, I think that you’ll really appreciate these.  Keep in mind the shine on these – your legs will attract a lot of attention and admiration. Be sure that’s the effect you are going for; that’s not appropriate in all situations.

 

Order your Platino Clean-cut 40’s right here:

 

11 Sep 2017

Review: Cecilia de Rafael Divine 9 sheer tights

By Paul Duane

On today’s episode of WTF to do in SLC, which was followed by Act II of “Clean up all of this goddamn mess from Burning Man”,  I wore the Divine 9 denier super sheer tights by Cecilia de Rafael.

Amanda looks vastly better in them:

 

… but I wear them nonetheless.

In terms of looks, I love them. Super sheer, they add that ever so slight amount of perfect to your legs. They are the kind of tights that most people won’t notice, and won’t believe you when you tell them you are wearing them.  I love how they look.

In terms of fit, they’ve got a back panel in the largest size. They definitely stretched in all the right places and felt completely natural when all the way on. SUPER comfortable.

A few detail shots of the construction:

As for durability, they made it through a full day of shooting and running errands all day. That’s the first hurdle. We’ll see how they do on subsequent wearings. I’m going to predict that the next couple of wearings will go just great. 

And yes, the truck is still caked in playa dust from Burning Man. I just got home a day ago and haven’t even started unpacking or cleaning up my gear. Sad face.

In terms of feel – to the touch, they have a nice, soft, mildly silky feel. When you rub your legs together, they feel – for lack of a better term – “cottony” – although soft, they do not create a silky, slippery feel, one leg upon another.  That being said, the fit and look of them were good enough that I was happy to overlook the lack of slippery feel (a characteristic I enjoy in hosiery).  I’m on camera quite a bit and I feel that they looked outstanding on camera, so for that alone, I’m a big fan of these. Subtle, but still created the right look.  I’ll be wearing them again.

Get yours here: https://www.hosieree.com/products/CeciliaDeRafaelDivine.html

30 Jul 2017

Review: Philippe Matignon Jade sheer tights

By Paul Duane

Maybe it was swanky signature logo on the packaging that set up my high expectations for the Philippe Matignon Jade pantyhose.

Maybe it was the rumor that this style is Kate Middleton’s favorite (the Duchess is known for her penchant for nude pantyhose, and is credited with bringing them back into vogue).

At any rate, I was excited to try them out. Today’s adventure that these sheer tights must endure:

  1. photo shoot with model Zoe (shooting her in pantyhose for Hosieree‘s social media… so meta! ) which means I’ll be on the floor, moving things, and will inevitably kick off my heels and walk around in my bare / stocking feet for a few hours (which can be murderous on sheer hosiery)
  2. photographing the SLC Jazz Festival (who knows that that will bring)
  3. come home to a pack of stupidly excitable dogs who will jump all over me and lick me to death when I walk in the door.

First, a few details on these tights:  In terms of construction, they are semi-boarded in the foot, sheer toe, sheer to waist and have light reinforcing around the seams in the waist. Stitching in the waist is flat-seamed, which is standard for hosiery in this price point. The toe seam is small, neat, and should you insist on wearing hose with open toed shoes, the Jade pantyhose would be a good choice.  The fit was great; they stayed on very comfortably – no constant adjusting needed. As for feel – to touch them, they feel pretty average. Smooth, but not slippery. When you rub your legs together in them, they have a reasonably silky feel to them, a 7/10 in that department.

 

Where these nylons really shine – pun intended – is in their appearance. They create a gorgeous, subtle glow on your legs – enough to get people looking and wondering why your legs look so damn good. Even at very close range, my model, Zoe, had to ask if I was wearing tights.

There are different reasons for wearing sheer hosiery. If you are wearing them as a layer, or for the silky tactile sensation -there are slightly better offerings out there. If you are going to be showing some leg and want your legs to look extra magical without it being super obvious, AND you want a nice feel – the Philippe Matignon Jade pantyhose should be in your hosiery drawer.

I get why Kate likes these nylons. They really are gorgeous. 

Get yours here: https://www.hosieree.com/products/PhilippeMatignonJade20.html

P.S. They did not survive being attacked by the dogs.  That dog is certainly going to doggy hell for this.

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

06 Jun 2017

Review: Kunert Chinchillan 20 sheer tights

By Paul Duane

Today’s review marks my first experience with German hosiery maker Kunert. A friend assured me that I would enjoy them – she was not mistaken. I’ve worn them out on two rigorous occasions: a busy party, and a day at work in the studio followed by going out for drinks. Kunert goes so far as to claim a “no runs guarantee”.

Game on, Kunert. I am famously hard on my hosiery, let’s see what you can take.

Some construction observations, right out of the package:

  • Semi – boarded, sheer toe.
  • They are supposedly 20 denier, feel more like 15 or 12 in my hand.
  • Attention to detail is outstanding: The style name, Chinchillan, is embroidered in the waistband:
  • Not only does this pair of nylons feature the super comfy, stealthy flat seams, they’ve done an impressive job with doubling the weave right around the seams. This is a classic stress point where a cheaper pair of hosiery will begin to fail under stress. Incredibly nice job here, Kunert. 
  • They are obviously proud of their work, look at that tag:

Fit and Feel: 

  • They stretch on very comfortably. I got a size that is technically one size smaller than I should be wearing, but they fit well anyway.
  • They definitely feel more sheer than 20 denier. More like 12-15 den
  • Waistband sits pretty low on the hip. These are not your mother’s pantyhose that go half way up your rib cage.
  • Top portion is loose and comfy. The upside, it’s super comfy. Downside, I had to give them a little tug now and then to keep them exactly where I wanted them. My guess is that if I was in a the next size up, this may not be an issue. Ladies, those of you who complain about pantyhose tops being tight and restrictive – you will love these.
  • I got them in “candy” color: I have *very* fair, Danish skin. The Chinchillan imparted a nice light, golden caramel color to my legs. On the package, they are labeled as being “matt-shimmery”. Normally I’d say these are two opposite points on a continuum with matte and super glossy being the two ends. Somehow, these manage to give an ever so slight shimmer to the outline of your leg while remaining matte and relatively undetectable on your skin. Very subtle, refined look. I’m a big fan of how these look on the leg.
  • Feel: Touch your legs while wearing them, and they feel not silky to the point of being slippery, but very soft. Certain styles of pantyhose feel very slippery and silky when you rub your legs together in them. Definitely not the case with Chinchillan.  I’m fairly certain the tactile qualities of these nylons are due to the run-resistant weave and the yarns used: 72% polyamide, 28% elastane.

I put them through two days of wearing, one of which included lots of time working at my desk, followed by a fantastic warehouse party; the next day I wore them to work in the studio. I kicked off my heels and walked on the 100 year old wood floors, climbed ladders, moved photo gear around in them.

Those gorgeous old wood floors are notorious for tiny little rough edges that are absolute murder on sheer hosiery. I really didn’t expect the Kunert Chinchillans to survive my day in the studio but they did! They were still in perfect shape when it was time to go downtown to an upscale bar for drinks with an associate.

The people at Kunert obviously have their act together in the manufacturing process. This is a very high quality pair of nylons.  I’m loving how they make my legs look. If you like that bare-but-holy-shit-why-do-your-legs-look-so-amazing look, you should definitely get a pair.

And here I am wearing them in my weekly WTF to do in SLC piece:

 

21 May 2017

Review: Glamory Classic 20 tights for men

By Paul Duane

One of the best kept secrets in the world is that many men love women’s hosiery.

…and not just women’s legs when adorned in them. A massive number of men love to wear tights, nylons, and pantyhose, themselves. (Ladies, I assure you that you know at least a couple of guys who do this, but you’ll never know) Although many of their wives and girlfriends will be forever kept in the dark about this sartorial secret, there’s one group that knows all about it:

Hosiery makers and retailers.  Online hosiery retailers know this best; a surprising percentage of their customers are men.  Several hosiery makers have tried creating and packaging pantyhose “for men”.  Could there be a more convoluted marketing dilemma? Do the fellas like them because they are a woman’s item? Would they consume more of them if the stigma of crossdressing was reduced with more manly packaging?

I have tried “pantyhose for men” a few years ago from a company that was endeavoring to create an entire brand of sheer hosiery just for men. I ordered one pair and never bought more. I was unimpressed. The fabric was a bit rough, and even though they had a fly opening, that feature has never been important to me.

German hosiery maker Glamory is the latest to bring such offerings to the marketplace.  I’ve already reviewed their Thermoman 100 footless tights (love them) I’ve put their Classic 20 sheer tights for men through their paces, and I’m here to report back.

Here’s what I’m looking for in a great pair of nylons:  luxurious feel on my skin, the right color, great fit, durability, and price. They’ve got to feel good, look good, fit well, and not break the bank.

Glamory’s Classic 20 feature a reinforced “panty” area – henceforth to be referred to as the boxer brief top.  At the top of the thigh, the fabric shifts gears a bit from the elegant, smooth weave of the leg, into a more course yet not totally opaque consistency.

Moving further up, the area right around your groin is made with a much thicker fabric that facilitates the fly opening. These are absolutely made to be worn as underwear.  The opaque knit of the groin region turns these into something one could lounge around the house in around mixed, albeit intimate, company. One other note about the boxer brief top: It was wonderfully comfortable. Whereas women’s hosiery can be comfortable, it’s still a bit of a stretch at times… The Glamory Classic 20 are obviously tailored to fit a man in this area. I’m a big fan of the fit. Wonderfully comfortable from toe to waist in a way that precious few women’s pairs are.

They feature a boarded foot and reinforced toe, which I appreciate because the toe is an obvious failure point as your hosiery are put through normal stresses of wear.  I wasn’t expecting a super nice fabric on the leg – an expectation inherited from my previous experience with men’s hosier from an unrelated maker. I was very pleasantly surprised! They felt really nice! I didn’t feel like I was wearing something made for a man – the leg fabric was soft, quite silky, and did a great job of being both sheer in appearance but definitely 20 denier in toughness.

The only drawback for me personally was that weave change at the top of the leg. I wear a lot of very short shorts, and sometimes that weave change can be visible (especially when sitting down).

All things considered: I’m impressed. My favorite feature of the product is the slightly modified patern that allows more room in the butt and groin area. These are definitely tailored for a man’s dimensions.  Get a pair for yourself at  https://www.hosieree.com/products/GlamoryClassic20Men.html

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.

 

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.

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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