hosiery Style Guide

Tights

Stretch material which covers your toes up to your waistline giving you the confidence to wear skirts or dresses. Tights minimize blemishes and contour your leg shape. Tights are available in different deniers, see ‘Denier Guide’.

Leggings

Leggings are made from stretch material which covers from as low down as the ankle line up to the waistline. Leggings have become very popular and can come in a variety of materials/denier and colours.

Stockings

Stockings cover your toes up to your thigh and need to be held up by suspenders.

Hold ups

These are stockings which have a silicone covering around the top of the stocking which grips the stocking to the thigh, therefore not requiring suspenders.

Knee highs

Covers your toes up to your knees; made from stretch material these have a stronger elasticity at the top to keep them up over the calves. They come in a variety of materials/denier and colours, many women wear natural skin tone hold ups with shoes.

Suspenders

Straps which hold up stockings, they are adjustable and hook onto the stocking. Suspenders often come on the bottom of basques, slips and corsets. If your garment does not have suspenders consider wearing a suspender belt which fits around your stomach and allows you to adjust the lengths of the suspenders to the appropriate length for holding up your stockings.

Denier Guide

If a pair of tights are 10-20 denier they are classed as Sheer; the legs are seen and have a slightly coloured sheen to them, these are ideal for achieving a bare leg look.

If a pair of tights are 20-40 denier they are classed as Semi-Opaque; the legs are seen but have a deeper coverage therefore a stronger colour to them.

If a pair of tights are 40-70 denier they are classed as Opaque; the legs are much less visible and are more of a solid colour, bright coloured tights often start at this denier.

Tights that are 70+ denier are a thick opaque and your legs should not be seen through, the colour selected should be strong and vibrant giving your legs a smooth contoured look.

100+ denier are normally made from thick wools and provide a good layer of warmth during cooler temperatures.