Month: July 2021

These are confusing times for connoisseurs of hosiery. Pierre Mantoux is, without doubt, a premium brand and the description on the packet rear, which we have repeated above, reads like our wish list for a fine pair of tights. So why the confusion? Well, recently, there have been dramatic price rises from many hosiery manufacturers, to the extent that even pretty average brands are selling fewer well-specified sheer tights at more than the £8.95 asked for these.

So let us repeat what we have here. Top-quality sheer to waist tights that are soft to the touch and beautifully made. They have invisibly reinforced toes, shaped legs for a perfect fit, a cotton-lined gusset (sizes I-III) for freshness, flat seams for comfort strength, a smooth silhouette, a deep soft waistband, and a finger band for durability.

Sizing is on the generous side of accurate, so you can avoid the comfort gusset in size IV unless you need the extra width in the hips. Perfect even colour and an impeccable finish.

Great fit and all-day comfort, with tights that look and feel as good at 6 pm as they do at 6 am. These are serious competitors for the very best from the likes of Falke. More of a matt finish than Falke Seidenglatt 15, sheerer than Falke Pure Matt 20, they compete head-on with Falke Pure Shine 15. 

We can offer no higher compliment than to put this style in that company. Add the fact that they are cheaper, and Pierre Mantoux are on to a winner. Give your legs and your credit card a treat with these lovely tights.

For more Pierre Mantoux products, click here. For more reviews, click here.

Regular readers of our reviews will know that there are two constants in our world. Firstly Pierre Mantoux makes incredibly sexy tights, and secondly, we are obsessed with sizing and how inconsistent it is.

Pierre Mantoux provides a comprehensive size chart that explains their sizing in the Italian, French, Spanish and German system and includes measurements for the USA. There is also a column for the UK based on dress sizes, but this doesn’t seem right as the UK dress size 30-32 is not small. It’s a tent!

The only real danger is that if you are used to buying your tights in size L, you maybe should be looking at XL in this brand based on experience. Our test pair came in size III/L, so we will soon know.

First impressions of the tights. Sheer, light and top quality. More objectively, these 15 denier tights are sheer to the waist with flat seams and a cotton-lined gusset. No reinforcement in the panty other than a couple of tiny patches adjacent to the gusset and a finger band to give a solid transition to the waistband.

The foot end is where these tights stand out, though. Reinforced toes and sole running into an entirely shaped reinforced heel. The heel is a pyramid style one connecting to a back seam. The seam is knitted in and runs to just below gusset level.

We love the shaped reinforced heel. The key to getting your seams straight is setting them properly at the heel, and this design makes that easy. Thankfully, there is enough length and stretch in the foot to set the heel correctly, even if you have large feet.

No complaints about the sizing. Size L was perfect on our model, who wears size L typically in German brands. Sizing is accurate then, but a tiny bit more generous than the size chart suggests. Fit is fabulous, like a second skin from waist to toe.

The finish on the leg is pure class, perfect even colour throughout, ever so sheer and that certain something that only quality hosiery can provide.
As for the seams, they run straight as a laser without any adjustment. Paired with the pyramid heel, they give a killer sexy look that is hard to beat.

Would it have been better if the seams ran to the waistband? No, in this case, probably not. It would be hard to improve on this look. Only genuine, fully fashioned stockings could make the seamed look better. Great tights that are well worth the money whether you are buying them for yourself or a loved one.

For more Pierre Mantoux products, click here. For more reviews, click here.

If you spend time looking at any topic for too long, you start to ask questions and worry about things that don’t occur to other people. In this case, the question that has bothered us is that although we see a lot of 20 denier and 30 denier hosiery, 25 denier is a rarity. (3 other styles, in case you wondered, two from Wolford and one from Marks & Spencer. Two support styles and one with Lurex).

Then along come Pierre Mantoux with a genuine sheer to waist fashion style in 25 denier. Lycra 3D, you expect to be soft, and these tights certainly are not light but super smooth and soft. If we had not known the denier in advance, we would have struggled to guess; I think we would have gone for 20 denier rather than 30. The 3D makes it harder to judge.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves there! There are five sizes to choose from, and you need to take a little care in selecting, mainly if you are used to the system used by other top quality brands. Size 1 is small, and size IV is extra large. This largest size has a comfortable rear panel rather than a traditional gusset. In all sizes, the seams are flat and well finished.

The legs are shaped at the heel and finished with a reinforced toe detail. From there upwards, they are sheer to the finger band, which is contiguous with the reinforcement on either side of the seam (T-band detailing is how some brands describe it). The finger band carries a feint “Pierre Mantoux” motif on each hip.

The sizing is spot on, remember to read the chart carefully. For once, the comfort gusset in the XL size does not spoil the fit. The colour on the leg is perfectly even and just a little denser than from a 20 denier sheer, with a matt finish, of course. These tights may be soft and smooth, but they give a feeling of quality and strength too. A super-classy sheer that justifies its price tag.

For more Pierre Mantoux products, click here. For more reviews, click here.

After reviewing quite a few pairs of light summer tights recently, we rather expected these eight denier tights from Pierre Mantoux to be from the same mould, but they weren’t.

First off, the material had a far stiffer feel to it. Then there was the detailing. Sheer to waist, but unlike summer tights, these have reinforced toes. The rest of the detailing is typical of regular good quality sheer rights, shaped non-reinforced heels, flat seams in the panty, a cotton-lined gusset and T-band reinforcement for strength.

Sizing is slightly unusual in that size III is very slightly larger than the German size III, but in the German brands such as Falke, this is medium/large Pierre Mantoux call this large. Size IV (XL) has a comfort gusset rather than a cotton gusset and is the same size as the German Size IV (L). But fortunately, the sizing is accurate, and so long as you are careful and patient, there is plenty of stretches. But note that these are not tights for the very tall or full-figured.

If you use all the available stretch, the fit is very close indeed. Eight denier is very sheer and gives a subtle and flattering finish on your legs. Once upon a time, we had issues with the durability of Pierre Mantoux tights, but not with these. After a full day of wear in the office, they came off as good as they went on. Interestingly the effect of a day of wear was to take some of the weight off the feel.

Somehow Pierre Mantoux has transitioned from premium-priced yet fragile tights to durable, high-quality ultra-sheer tights at very reasonable prices. Stunningly good sheer tights for girls who like their hosiery very fine.

For more Pierre Mantoux products, click here. For more reviews, click here.