Tag: Hosiery

Wolford Neon 40 Review

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As promised recently, today, we’re giving you our review of the Wolford Neon 40 Tights. (Side note, I hate the word “pantyhose” and usually use the UK “tights” or just “hosiery” instead. Most people have no idea what I’m talking about…)

A few years ago, a friend of mine, who also happens to enjoy fine hosiery said “Monkey, come here, feel this!” At which point, I decided that everything I thought I knew about quality hosiery was wrong and that my credit card would soon hate me for it. Yes, that’s how I found out that Wolford existed as a company and I am both better and worse off for the knowledge.

Cost

There’s no sugar coating this. If there’s one downside of this, and really any, Wolford product, it’s the cost. At $50/pair, it’s not a light purchase. They do usually wind up paying for themselves with many more than the typical number of wears but that initial price is a bit of a tough pill to swallow.

Packaging

No-nonsense packaging. Wolford has chosen to use the crinkly clear plastic around a card rather than a cardboard envelope. I can’t say that I care too much what they use as long as it doesn’t destroy the product. I can safely say it does not destroy the product. The tights come folded around a card with pictures of Wolford products, much like other brands, but they even seem to be folded more neatly than most others.

Look

These wouldn’t be called “sheer” by any means at 40 denier. They’re not opaque tights but not quite sheer. We’ll call them semi-sheer but I don’t think that’s a category that actually exists as an actual hosiery category so you’ll just have to go with it because they also put it on the packaging.

We generally prefer true sheers but I can make an exception for the Neon 40s because they are flawless. Out of the package, the weave is always perfect throughout the product. For $50, they should be, but I’ve tried other expensive brands that don’t have the same flawless feel that the Wolford’s have. This is a signature feature of the product that makes their stuff worth buying.

There is a light shine on the black color we’re showing here. I’d say it’s on the low end of shiny. The natural colors (such as Cosmetic) tend to be much, much shinier than the black, with more of a powdery sheen to them.

Feel

Now for the good part.

Externally, these feel smooth but not slick. More of a really nice-feeling utilitarian than “sensuous” like the CDR’s we will review soon. They are so smooth, they seem nearly immune to snagging on rough skin.

The waist band is firm but not overly compressing due to a reinforced area near the waistband which eases the transition and smooths the hip contour.

Feel-wise, they’re present, you always know you’re wearing something. Fortunately, the always-present feeling somehow “feels like wearing quality.” During the winter, they’re a nice balance between sheerness and a heavier warming fiber weight. During the summer, they’re a bit warmer than you would typically want but not oppressively so.

The material also just seems to stay in place. No saggy gussets here!

Durability

Today’s test was MO’s first experience with them but Fiona has had pairs last months of weekly wear. This isn’t scientific because we don’t tend to timestamp our pantyhose but 20+ wears is easily achievable.

In the cases that they do snag or get a hole, it is largely our experience that they don’t run very much, if at all. Something about the weave is such that they remain very wearable even with a bit of damage.

One feature is that they have an invisible reinforced toe–you can find it if you’re looking for it, however it’s barely noticeable. The extra durability there is nice, but it’s hard to say how much stronger it is than the rest of the garment.

All that said, another friend bought these for themself and their partner on my recommendation and both wound up running badly the same night. This has never been my experience, so I don’t know if it was a bad batch or user error but I must report it here for completeness.

MO’s Take

I feel very secure in these, which is unusual in pantyhose. I don’t feel like I’m going to snag on things by just walking around.

At 5’2″ and 110lbs, I fall near the upper end of XS. I can get away with it but the small seems to fit a bit better. I just feel like I have more room to move and the fibers don’t feel overstretched.

The weave just feels consistent throughout, it looks consistent, and it feels overall like a very high-quality product.

Fiona’s Take

Even after a cat pokes a hole in them, they don’t tend to run.

They continue to feel good, even after repeated wears.

I’m never concerned about getting a big run when I’m out and about.

You have more leeway than typical on picking a smaller size before they run from being overstretched; however, they feel much better when the size is right so err on the larger side when choosing.

Choosing a size too small will probably cause the waist band to cut in too much.

Conclusion

9/10, would (and do) buy again. They’re extremely long lasting, feel good, and look great. I’d like to see them a bit shinier and have a more sensual feel, but as an everyday wear pantyhose, they really can’t be beat.

Sheertex Sheers Review

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This is our first hosiery review for the site. In the coming reviews and posts, you will learn that the denizens of the Boots and Cats Bungalow have a strong appreciation for sheer hosiery. That’s my fault and I’m not in the least bit bothered with this assignment of blame.

Back in spring 2018, a new company, later named Sheertex Sheers, started a Kickstarter campaign for “Indestructible Sheer Tights”. With claims of sheer, soft to the touch, and indestructible we had to try them. Have you seen our hosiery budget around this house? It’s somewhere around the GDP of a small nation. This sounds like a “win-win” as the business folks like to call it.

Months later, after missing the Christmas delivery I was promised because they ran 50 pairs short, I finally received them this week. Let’s get down to the review.

We couldn’t cat scratch test these because the cat didn’t want to touch them.

I’d love to start with how they feel but that isn’t the first impression. That would be the smell. The overpowering smell. In fact, I can’t escape it with MO sitting next to me, taking one for the team wearing these pantyhose. It’s an unpleasant blend of petroleum and death. I might be exaggerating the death part but it’s more dramatic that way. Also, I might be getting cancer from the fumes de-gassing off of these tights. Let’s just say they need a process for letting the tights fully de-gas before sending them out.

(NOTE: The cat sat on her lap and didn’t purr as loud as normal. We can only presume this was chemical warfare related.)

The Packaging

Let’s build the suspense for the tights and talk next about the included wash bag from the campaign.

…

That talked about in its entirety due to the complete lack of its existence. Instead, we can talk about the included “velvet bag.”

If their intention was to give us a sense of a premium product, a plastic lined cheap velvet bag was the worst way to do it. Trust me, this bag didn’t leave a positive impression. I’d rather have seen it wrapped in a plastic baggie than this. It’s a waste of money and resources on something I’m going to throw away.

Indestructible?

The first claim on the campaign was indestructible. Let’s test them out!

They’re good against the stretch test.
Still good against the nails.
We poked a knife through it. It took quite a bit of force to make that happen. So, I’d call it pretty good here.
I expected better here. The run should have not been so easy to create.
It took quite a bit but they were no match for the stiletto heel stomp test. (The stomp test was one of their highlighted tests.)
These work slightly better for velcro than other hosiery but they are, by no means, immune.

Overall, I’m pretty impressed by the strength of these pantyhose. They might not be “indestructible” but they are stronger than the average bear.

How do they look?

We enjoy hosiery for it tactile and aesthetic appeal. Really, it doesn’t matter how indestructible they are if they don’t look and feel good.

Sexy is not the descriptor I would use.

I’m gonna be straight up here. They look terrible. They’re more of an opaque weight (60-150 denier or so) vs a sheer (10 – 20 denier). The coloring looks diseased (maybe the degassing gave them cancer?) and uneven. The vertical striations are more reminiscent of the cheapest of cheap pantyhose. I guess if you never want to buy pantyhose again and don’t care what they look like, these would be fine. These are more of a “my employer requires me to wear these damned things so, fine, I’m wearing them are you happy?” kind of situation.

Top: “Sheerly” Genius, Bottom: Cecilia de Rafael Super Lucido Eterno 20 (20 denier)

How do they feel?

I’m having trouble getting close enough to them to feel them but I’ll take one for the team. They feel like… mediocre tights. The kind you buy in the winter as opaques so you can still wear a skirt/dress when it gets chilly out. They aren’t sandpaper but they aren’t pleasant, much less sensual. The deliberately cheap “other guys” sample included in our Kickstarter backer kit feels better to the touch.

Cat says no.

MO’s take:

I’ve gotten better feeling pantyhose out of eggs.

Ew, rubbing my legs together feels terrible.

They feel like the kind of tights that made me not want to wear tights when I was a kid.

They feel like shitty compressions socks.

My experience has been that many people who hate hosiery of all forms have not experienced the feel of nice hosiery. These do nothing to help the cause of spreading the joy of hosiery to the world.

Kickstarter Promises vs. Reality

  • 10x stronger than steel
    • Not buying it.
  • Anti bacterial
    • I’ll get back to you when I’ve failed to grow a culture in them.
  • Moisture wicking
    • Can’t really say. It’s 30F outside right now. Somehow I’m skeptical this is any more so than any other hosiery.
  • Soft to the touch
    • Yes, it is softer than steel.
  • 30 Day money back guarantee
    • I haven’t tried for this.
  • Proprietary rip-proof knit
    • Sure, I’ll give them this one.
  • Dig-Free waistband
    • This was one bright spot. The waist band was comfier than average.
  • Chaff resistant
    • I think they mean chafe resistant. Most decent pantyhose are a great way to fight chafing in general. These haven’t been worn enough to say they are anything special.
  • Sheer
    • Hahahahahahahahaha… no. The campaign talks about using <30 denier fibers. Yeah, I’m not buying it for a second.
  • Tested up to 50 wears
    • OK, sure. I’m not sure why anyone would willingly wear these 50 times but I’ll give them this one.
  • Naturally cooling
    • Some hosiery is cooler than others. I’m skeptical.
  • Reinforced seams
    • If the fiber is so indestructible, why?

Conclusion

These are just terrible 1/10. Would not buy again. If you want great looking, great feeling, and long lasting hosiery… Go buy some Wolford’s. The Neon 40s are half the price of these and will last through months of use.