We don’t see a lot of hosiery from Pierre Mantoux. But when we see a pair of their tights arrive for review, it always brightens up our day. They put us in mind of another northern Italian company that makes exciting is sometimes fragile products. If Falke is Mercedes, then Pierre Mantoux is Maserati.
These soft, smooth, entirely shaped sheer to waist tights don’t only look and feel gorgeous. They give that feeling of strength and quality that only quality hosiery can. The detailing is very good with a small, lightly reinforced toe detail, a shaped heel and flat seams in the panty. Smaller sizes have a cotton-lined gusset, but the XL size has a comfort gusset/rear panel. You need to pay close attention to the sizing as XL is size IV, wherein for most brands, size 4 is large. The only real difference between sizes III and IV is the extra hip measurement that the comfort gusset caters for.
Sizing is most certainly on the snug side of accurate so pay close attention to the size chart. Certainly, don’t try to get away with size III to get a cotton gusset if you need size IV. The comfort gusset works in this style, and the generally slim styling means it fits well.
Once you have these tights on, you can see that the finger band (under-welt as Pierre Mantoux call it) carries a jacquard knit diamond pattern, it also takes a Pierre Mantoux motif on each hip, but it is not easy to see. The waistband is similar to the finger band (about 3cm) and is entirely plain.
Fit and finish are both excellent. Smooth to the touch, strong even colour. Our one issue is that these are described as glossy tights, and our test pair was most certainly matt. As matt semi-opaque tights, they are excellent, well made, strong, and a delight to wear if you are of a slimmer physique.
If these had been genuinely glossy, we would have been giving them a strong recommendation. As it is, we would suggest that you look at Pierre Mantoux Veloutine 30 for a slightly softer semi-opaque for the autumn. Both styles are top quality.
For more Pierre Mantoux products, click here. For more reviews, click here.