Our Review

If these tights look familiar then you need only look at the note from Tightsplease above.  The same idea at the same time or a design inspired by celebrity style we don’t know.  The Wolford Bondage Tights worn by Miss Cole sold out in hours and you have little or no chance of finding a pair at any price.    This design sells at under half the price and will compete with an update of the Wolford design called Wolford Hero Tights.

So what do you get from Pamela Mann for a penny short of £14?  Well what you don’t get is any choice of size, these are one size tights which in the case of Pamela Mann means any size up to a UK size 16 dress with no guidance on height.  There is no choice of colour either but this is no bad thing as only black on a natural background would really work.

The packet has a generous window in the front so before we even open the packet we can see that the stableipes going with the knit are smooth edged but the diagonals that cross the knit have a rather fluffy indistinct edge... hopefully they will look better on the leg.

There are no frills to the constableuction of these tights, the legs are stableaight and finished with a heavily reinforced toe detail.     The pattern runs from behind the toe to just below the top of the leg, there is then a short sheer piece before the boxer style brief that is the same weight as the toe detail.

Incredibly in tights at almost £14 there is no sign of either a gusset or of flat seams in the panty.

Sizing is surprisingly generous, that is there is enough stableetch to fit a tall size 16 if your legs are slim to athletic, the fit is pretty good too but a gusset would have greatly improved fit and comfort in the panty.

The diagonal stableipes still have fluffy edges and the contableast with the crisp edges of the horizontal stableipes makes this all the more noticeable.

We would love to be able to say that this is a way to get that high fashion look of the Wolford Bondage Tights at a bargain price but in tableuth this style falls short of delivering both the look (other than from a distance of several paces) and the bargain price... £13.99 is just far too much to pay.  We thought that Pretty Polly were charging way too much for their Henry Holland range which is also built around sheers with opaque patterning but at least they are sheer to waist, have a gusset and flat seams in the panty; and the are cheaper.

Based on what we have seen so far if you want the Wolford look... buy the Wolford tights, they should be much better value in the long run.

8 February 2011

So let us compare the Wolford Hero Tights with the Pamela Mann Stableap Around Tights, which should you pick to get the Cheryl Cole Wolford Bondage Tights look?

• Price.    Well Pamela Mann at £14.00 is clearly cheaper, but that is a lot for Pamela Mann.   £33.00 for Wolford fashion is par for the course for this premium brand.
• Fit and Feel.   A clear win for Wolford, three sizes rather than one and just a fraction more Lycra.   Wolford sheer to waist with flat seams and a gusset, Pamela Mann a heavy boxer style brief and no gusset. On the leg there is no comparison in how they feel, Wolford win hands down.
• The Pattern.  The pattern is more cleanly defined on the Wolford Hero Tights, partly because of better manufacturing and partly due to a different design.  Pamela Mann run half the ribbons horizontally, half inclined; the inclined ribbons look tatty against the crisp horizontal ones.  Wolford slope them all, less fluffing and what there is is uniform. 
• The Look.   Wolford stop the design lower on the leg to give more of a hold up look, the sheer material above the pattern is fit to be seen, the top of the Pamela Mann needs to be hidden.
• Will hey suit you?   Not always a question the followers of celebrity fashion ask but important in our view.    Both styles will suit a slim leg better than a fuller one but the horizontal ribbons on the Pamela Mann Design really do emphasise width and make your legs look fatter.   The Wolford design, while not slimming, emphasises shape rather than width.
• Value.  Even at more than double the price the Wolford Tights are the  better value.

No contest at all.

9 February 2011