Category: Gerbe

Gerbe Soie 50 Tights really missed the mark this time.

No, you did not misread the fibre mix, these are 100% silk tights. Gerbe makes these tights in just four sizes; 1-4.

As soon as you open the packet you can see these tights are different; the whole surface texture is just different. The second thing that you notice when you open them out is that they look huge, in fact, size four measure 70” or 178cm from waistband to the tip of the toe.

The regular Gerbe waistband is replaced with a knitted weld that looks more like something from a cheaper brand, whereas the brief is finished with flat seams and a reinforced gusset.

Sheer to the waist in construction with the shaping of the legs at the heel and invisibly Reinforced toes.

When you put these tights on all that length disappears into the width needed to get around your leg. There is no stretch to speak of although we can report that the sizing is accurate. We must stress that you must not stray outside of the size chart guidelines.

The finish on these 50 denier tights is matt, so you don’t get the sort of glossy finish you may imagine.

Now, silk is a natural material so you would expect more variation in fibre than with man-made Nylon, but sadly we have to report that on the leg our black test pair looked like cheap semi-opaque nylon tights. If you are going to try these tights, the pale colour will be the one to go for.

Despite doubting that tights could be made of silk we have wanted to try these ever since we heard of them. After much anticipation, it is disappointing to have to report a rare failure by Gerbe.

For more Gerbe products, click here. For more reviews, click here.

Gerbe Men’s Satin 8 Tights are great for men!

Tights for men are not something you see every day, indeed this is only the sixth fashion style that we have ever seen and three of those were unisex styles from Levee who went into administration last week. There are of course non-fashion tights for men but nothing close to 8 denier.

There are four sizes covering heights and weights. From a weedy 5’2” and 132lbs (158cm 60kg) to a rather scary 6’7” and 242lbs (200cm 110kg). Our test pair arrived in XL so time for our webmaster to do more than just technical stuff!

As with the other Gerbe styles for men, the brief is heavier than the legs but unlike the others. It is still quite sheer (around 25-30 denier), and there is a single seam at the back rather than two with a panel in between. At the front, there are two seams either side of a triangular panel that provides the “pouch” that only men require, and in this panel is an opening for those bathroom moments.

The legs are super sheer and have the look of high-quality hosiery of the type that a lady would wear to a high-class evening event. Perfect even colour, a slight sheen to the finish.

The matt finish brief fits perfectly on the male form and is comfortable to wear. Sizing is spot on.

Just one question troubles us…just when would a man need eight denier sheer tights? Particularly in the black as we tested them. The Muscat shade you could wear with shorts, but they look wrong unless you have hairless legs. £21.50 is a sensible price for what is a high-quality garment but not if you are going to keep it covered up.

Comfort may be one answer; they feel so comfortable that you can forget that you have them on. Does a man need a better reason?

For more Gerbe products, click here. For more reviews, click here.

Gerbe Gardenia Tights are classics!

We have another from the Gerbe 2004 fashion collection.

Indeed, one of the more extreme designs, based on 15 denier sheer to waist tights with all the usual high quality features you would expect from Gerbe. Flat body seams with just the narrowest of reinforced bands either side. A cotton lined gusset, and of course the excellent Gerbe waistband.

Somebody then had the idea of adding a pattern dots all over, and a floral motif on the left ankle. Classy evening hosiery needs a backseam of course…and a seam needs reinforced heels.

When you could see a pattern emerging, they went for a sandal toe rather than a reinforced toe, but they did run the seam under the foot. Perhaps the “heel designer” felt thwarted by the lack of reinforced toe, so they added one more unique twist, the Gerbe name on the back of the heel.

So apparently they did not adhere to the “more is less” theory of design.

The fit is excellent, and these tights are very comfortable. The styling looks far less extreme once you have them on. The diamond shaped dots look good on the front of the leg, and the seam on the back sits perfectly straight, helped by running the seam to the waist and having the heel detail. The Gerbe names on the heels are quite discrete, the flower above the left ankle was perhaps the only detail that went too far. Certainly, very eye-catching with a cocktail dress, and you can be pretty confident you will be the only lady wearing a pair. Just take note of the red detailing, particularly on the black coloured pairs, introduce another colour to your outfit at your peril.

For more Gerbe products, click here. For more reviews, click here.

Gerbe Futura 40 Tights are the best of the best!

Just when it looks like Autumn is about to burst into life here in England, the weather forecasters are talking about snow at the weekend. So time to put the sheers back in the drawer for a few weeks to get the opaque tights out.

40 denier is an excellent weight, sheer enough to flatter the leg during warm days, but sufficient for colder days. The fact that these tights are from Gerbe, one of our favourite makers makes almost happy there is colder weather as an excuse to try them.

Not cheap at £19.50 but as soon as you open the packet you can feel the quality. We have always liked the way Gerbe have made their waistband, and this time it is even prettier with a criss-cross design between the Gerbe motifs. The seams in the panty and around the silk-lined gusset are flat and perfectly finished.

Sheer to the waist of course, but when you get to the feet, there is a great surprise. Not just shaped on the card, these tights have a fully developed sewn heel. No expense has been spared in the detailing.

Gerbe says “progressive tightening to tone the legs”. Well at the feet these are very tight tights if you have weak fingers you probably won’t get them on. The toe and heel detailing ensures that fit is perfect and that movement is not restricted. Once you have these tights on you, feel embraced rather than squeezed.

The fit is perfect, and the sizing is by the charts.

The finish on the leg is matt with a slight sheen in the right light. Colour is of course perfectly even. Reasonably soft to the touch and just so all your senses get an equal share there is a lovely swish when you cross your legs.

These are among the best 40 denier opaque tights we have ever seen regarding fit and look and feel. Add in the graduated compression that does make for happier legs, sitting or standing, and we would say that these should be your first choice if you need to wear 40 denier tights all day.

For more Gerbe tights, click here. For more reviews, click here.

Gerbe Fox Trot Tights are great but risky…

Gerbe fashion tights are always exciting, and as these are from their “limited edition” range, we have high expectations.

We had expected a 40 denier semi-opaque with an appliqué design. But what we found on opening the packet was a full lace garment. A real throwback to the 1980s designed wise but created with Gerbe flair and modern techniques. The 1980s are right in fashion again now in case you have not been paying attention!

The toe detail is immense, robust and opaque but then it is tulle lace all the way to the waistband. (Anyone else spots that the packet description says they are tulle tights?). The waistband is plain and smooth and deep at 4.5 cm. Other quality features include shaping at the heel, flat seams in the panty and silk lined gusset.

The lace pattern is very well worked, the overall pattern is made up of a series of large square panels each containing a smaller pattern of which there are three variations that repeat in a spiral up the leg, from a distance the look is just lacy, but up close you can see the thought that went into the design.

Sizing is on the generous side of accurate with plenty of stretch. The fit is excellent from hip to toe.

One risk with a lace tulle design like this is that it does not have the strength of a plainly knit material; in the case of a test pair, there was a small flaw at the edge of one of the details in the pattern that rapidly turned into a run some 12 cm long. Having paid just pennies short of £16 for a pair of tights this would be very frustrating, it certainly should not happen but be aware of the risk with this type of hosiery.

Smart, stylish and comfortable but a potentially risky purchase.

For more Gerbe tights, click here. For more reviews, click here.

Note: At the time of writing, we are still a few weeks away from seeing these tights on sale. But they feature all that we like from Gerbe; their very conformable waistband, flat seams and silk lined gusset. Many thanks to our model for posing for a few photos to let you see what they are like.

Gerbe Enigme Tights are something you should check out!

There was no sizing on the packaging of our pre-production sample and taking them out of the packet these tights looked quite short. Of course, we had no information on the fibre content either but stretching them in our hands they pulled very well; so we guess there is at least 10% Lycra. The test sample was a perfect fit for one of our tallest testers; as you can see in the pictures. We have no reason to think that the sizing is any less accurate than is usual for Gerbe.

These tights, as is usual for Gerbe, are made with cotton-lined gusset and flat seams, legs are straight, and heels are shaped.

These tights, as is usual for Gerbe, are made with cotton-lined gusset and flat seams, legs are straight, and heels are shaped.

The design feature of these tights is the thin stripe pattern going all the way up from the reinforced toes to the lovely 2 cm deep Gerbe-waistband.

The lacy material and the stripe-pattern mean you have to take extra care with putting them on; so as not to get snags or the pattern twisting around the leg. The effort is well worth it because the fit is excellent and they look stunning. The feel on the leg inside and outside is a little coarse, but that is made up for by the elegant look.

We have no idea yet what colours they will be sold in but the colour of the grey pair we tested looked brilliant. Great tights for showing off when autumn comes! So at least there is something to look forward to even when summer comes to an end!

Watch out for them!

Review Update

No sooner do we finish our review and we get more information from Gerbe. These are limited edition tights made in sizes 1-4 only.

There are three colour Bourgogne (Burgundy), Bruyere (Grey as modelled by our Model) and Noir (Black)

Currently only available direct from Gerbe, but we will hopefully get them at our shop soon.

For more Gerbe tights, click here. For more reviews, click here.

Gerbe Effect 20 Tights are ALMOST perfect!

We have not seen support or control hosiery from Gerbe before. However, they tell us that this style is one of their best sellers.

You can see at once that these are atypical of the sheer and fashion hosiery we are used to seeing from Gerbe. There is the usual signature waistband that we like so much on all Gerbe tights, but aside from the perfect flat seams, the panty section is nothing like what we are used to seeing. It is a piece of engineering heavy and stretchy at the rear, denser and firmer in the front where a V-shaped panel fills from the gusset to the hipbone. The gusset is silk lined.

The control panty finishes level with the gusset where it gives way to the sheer, 20 denier, legs. The legs are completely unshaped and finished with a toe that is rendered visible by being sheerer than the legs.

We cannot comment on the sizing as our test pair was supplied as a sample direct from the factory. Gerbe makes these tights in sizes one up to 5

Although Gerbe makes no claims in this area, it did seem when putting these tights on that there is some compression at the ankles, a significant bonus on control top tights if you spend a lot of time on your feet or sitting.

With the tights on you can see that the panty is more complicated than it first seemed with four distinct zones. The design is such that your tummy is held in, but your bottom is merely lifted a little.

The legs are beautifully sheer with a smooth matte finish, the fit is perfect and the colouring flawless.

As control top tights these are near perfection. They shape and flatten without constricting in the panty and sheer and sexy on the legs. Even the control top somehow manages a certain allure.

For more Gerbe tights, click here. For more reviews, click here.

Gerbe Corsaire Tights is a definite recommendation!

The current fashion, in the UK at least, is for “footless” hosiery. This can mean anything from tights that come down from the ankle to correct Capri length just below the knee.

There is no doubt that some styles look better than others and you have to be careful to choose one that suits the length and shape of your legs. It is a sad fact too that tights that stop between knee and ankle can leave an unflattering expanse of leg. We have noticed some ladies wearing sheer hosiery to cover their calves under their thicker Capri length opaques, but this is much too hot for the warmer months. Gerbe has come up with the ideal solution, Capri length opaques with a sheer lower leg.

These tights are made in 4 sizes, from 1 to 4. Ignore the size chart that lists sizes 1-8, as only four are made. Considering that there is 10% Lycra in the mix, you should have no trouble finding a perfect fit. We tried the size 4.

First impressions are of a typical pair of opaque tights but as you take them off the card and see the lovely Gerbe signature waistband and the sheer shaped lower leg and foot it is clear these are different tights. The flat body seams and silk lined gusset, together with the high-quality sandal toe adds to the impression of quality.

Size 4 will fit a tall UK size 16 quite comfortably. There is plenty of length in the leg, and the fit is excellent.

The finish on the Capri section is matt and slightly rough to the touch. We would estimate the denier at 40.

The lower leg is beautifully smooth and soft, 10-12 denier with a stylish lace transition to the upper leg.

We much prefer these to footless tights as the whole leg keeps them perfectly in place and there is no constriction at the cuff. The sheer covering on the lower leg is far more flattering than bare skin.

A stylish addition to your wardrobe in either black or purple.

For more Gerbe tights, click here. For more reviews, click here.

Gerbe Butterfly Tights is good but doesn’t quite reach it…

At first, these tights look just like standard slightly bright semi-sheer Gerbe tights. This isn’t a bad thing at all.

They feel delightfully smooth and soft in hand, almost like stretchy silk.

When you open them out, you notice that the shaped legs are decorated with a butterfly motif on the outside of each calf. The motif is repeated above each shaped heel.

The waistband is the very high quality that we expect from Gerbe complete with Gerbe motif.

The panty is of the high leg style, with flat seams and a cotton lined gusset. This style is an excellent alternative to true sheer to the waist, as it allows the tights to be worn without underwear but maintains the appearance of sheer to waist even with a very short skirt.

The fit is excellent, and the sizing is in line with the published size chart. There is not much extra stretch, so if you fall outside the chart, we suggest you give these tights a miss. That would be a pity because these tights feel lovely on the leg, and they have a satin lustre that is a pleasure to look at.

Not everything is perfect though. We were not convinced by black butterflies on beige tights, choose your colour combination carefully. The invisible reinforced toes were beautifully made and designed to last; sadly they are not invisible!

Lovely tights, but we would I think prefer them without the butterfly. We will endeavour to identify and test the style they are based on.

For more Gerbe tights, click here. For more reviews, click here.