Month: October 2020

Well, I got a credit card bill today. But I hope that I have the antidote for this depressing event in the shape of premium tights from Max Mara. The packet is rather short of notes. But you can see from the picture that the main features of these tights are a leaf pattern up the back of each leg and a mock stocking top at mid-thigh. There are 4 sizes, and as far as we can tell just one colour, black.

First impressions are excellent. Indeed, the stocking top detail is not simply a printed on the pattern; it is a band of heavier lace knit of a completely different texture to the lower leg. Above the stocking top design, the sheer material appears ever so slightly sheerer than below.

The lower legs are slightly shaped at the heel and finished with a sandal to detail. The upper leg joins a high leg lace panty. The panty is finished with flat seams and a cotton-lined gusset. The largest size, size 4 (XL), has a comfort gusset rather than the cotton-lined gusset.

Sizing is accurate. The Lycra in the fibre provides both an excellent fit and a bit of extra stretch for taller ladies who prefer the large size with a cotton gusset rather than the XL with comfort gusset.

The design really works, the lace in the panty matches the lace in the stocking top. We love the fact that the mock stocking top even has a mock seam at the back. If we were to be critical, we would say that carrying the leaf pattern on above the stocking top was a mistake.

The pretty lace panty really makes any other underwear superfluous. In fact, anything more than a tight plain string panty would look wrong.
The positioning of the stocking top means that with shorter skirts or knee-length skirts with a split you will be showing it off at least some of the time. But who wants to spend nearly £20 on tights and not turn a few heads?

For more Max Mara products, click here. For more reviews, click here.

Fashion tights are all well and good. But for sheer class and style, nothing really beats a top-quality pair of sheer tights. Regular readers will know that many of our favourite sheer tights are 15 denier styles from German and Italian makers. It is perhaps the most competitive part of the luxury hosiery market. Although of course, recent price hikes from more ordinary makers mean that these “luxury” tights from Max Mara are cheaper than many, if not most, fashion styles.

So what do you get for £12.95? Well, you get sheer to waist tights made with sandal toes, shaped heels, flat seams and in the smallest 3 sizes a lined gusset. In short, pretty much everything we look for in sheer tights.

You also get perfect even colour, great fit on the legs, a soft finish and a general feel of quality.

Some care is needed in choosing the correct size. The four sizes cover a wide range of heights and weights. But a good half of the total range is covered by size 4. With Max Mara, this is an XL size with a comfort rear gusset. The sizing is accurate. But the comfort gusset felt rather loose in the seat and struggled to stay up through a day of wear. As is often the case with Italian tights with a comfort gusset, we would suggest trying a Large size (3) if you can. The stretch of size 4 suggests size 3 should cope with weights up to 80kg (176lb) and heights up to 180cm (5’11”).

Would we put these tights in preference to 15 denier rivals like Falke Seidenglatt 15 or Falke Pure Matt 50? No, but if we couldn’t get the Falke or we wanted a colour that we could only get with Max Mara Madrid tights, we would be 100% content to wear these instead.

For more Max Mara products, click here. For more reviews, click here.