Category: Jonathan Aston

Jonathan Aston has been inspired recently offering some great designs, and this season with names like Freeze and Arctic tights. They have been inspired in the naming too. Perfect for the weather.

The presentation of these tights is smart too. They are in an open packet but rather than some complicated piece of cardboard around the outside there is a big ribbon with a Jonathan Aston motif; the ribbon has a sticky strip to allow you to rewrap your tights should you wish.

Cotton is the dominant fibre, so it is no surprise that there is a sock-like feel to these tights; not always a good sign when it comes to fit with tights.

There is a choice of three sizes to fit up to a maximum height of 5″10 (182cm) and hips of 48″ (120cm). Setting aside the inconsistency in unit conversion this is generous sizing.

Unlike socks, these tights have no shaping at the heel. There is a plain reinforced toe then the pattern runs straight to the waistband. The panty is well finished with flat seams and a gusset.

There is considerably more stretch than the fibre content would suggest, and the maximum height is easily accommodated. The styling in the hips is quite slim so we would recommend perhaps 44″ as a maximum, not 48″.

The cotton-rich material is warm rather than sweaty. One word of warning though if you plan to venture out in cold, wet weather; cotton won’t keep you warm if you get it wet.

The patterning gives an impression of colder climate and cosiness while the vertical elements emphasise the length of your legs are visually slimming. If we were pedantic, we would have liked legs knitted left, and right-handed for symmetry. But that is perhaps a detail only a pedant would notice.

Warm, well made, comfortable, perfect styling for the season. Another triumph for Jonathan Aston.

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Jonathan Aston added a new dimension to their range of tights in the summer of 2012 by introducing the “JA Collection”. To quote the packet notes; “The JA collection of legwear from Jonathan Aston is specially designed to be of the moment. All the styles and colours have been selected to reflect the current fashion trends”.

At the risk of appearing cynical, we would have to say that we can’t see the difference between this range and their standard output. And indeed quite a few of our partners are not mentioning which styles are in the JA collection. But that may be the point. With designer collections like that inspired by Mark Fast (he is the designer knitwear) coming through soon perhaps JA is looking for an identity for their standard fashion offerings.

Anyway, these are one size tights to fit up to 5’10” and 42” hips, made in Italy. As well as one size there is one colour, nude with a contrast black back seam. A different combination of what we saw when Jonathan Aston last produced contrast seam tights.

JA presents these tights with a white card down the leg to show off the seam detail. But, in the packet, unfortunately, this made it all too clear that there were knitting faults in the sheer material even before we opened the box. Not good at just pennies under £9 a pair.

The design is well considered, the legs are made unshaped with the toe and sole reinforced and in the contrast black colour. An ingenious use of the double layering knitting to add design as well as strength. The reinforced foot runs into a pyramid heel detail that gives a transition to the seam. The seams run to the waistband.

Mostly sheer to waist, these tights have T-band reinforcement in the panty; that is heavier, stronger material either side of the central flat seam, around the lined gusset and as a finger band. The T-band detailing is in the contrast colour, as is the waistband. 

Sizing is frequently the Achilles’ Heel of one size tights. At first, we thought JA had failed to put the idea off with this style. However, with patience, we did manage to get our test pair to fit a model right at the top end of the size range. See our page How to Put Your Tights On for details of how.

Once on all our previous doubts were dispelled. The knitting faults were thankfully not visible on the nude material. The seam ran straight and was very well defined; the contrast detailing in the panty was a suitable alternative to panties. Only one grumble remained, the reinforced toe was longer on one foot than the other. But we would wear this style with closed-toe shoes anyway.

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Jonathan Aston Carnival Tights are another perfect product!

We have to start this review with an apology; the plan was to have a full set of photographs, but we ran out of time on the last shoot; fortunately, the picture from Jonathan Aston gives you a perfect look at the main design feature.

Available in black with a bright pink back seam (as our review sample), or bright purple with a bottle green back seam as pictured above.

Jonathan Aston have great faith in the stretch capacity of their tights, as these are made in two sizes to fit a range of heights and weights from 4’9” to 6’0” (145-183 cm) and 90-205 lb (40-95 kg). Although we should stress that the maximum height and weight together are not recommended.

We are pleased to report that once again Jonathan Aston has managed to combine high fashion design with a good quality of manufacture. There is the most lightly of reinforced toe details, then it is entirely even sheer material all the way to the finger band, up the front of the legs anyway. The back of the leg can’t be called sheer to the waist as that is where the 10% polypropylene appears in the form of the Aztec inspired design. The panty has well made flat seams and in a sophisticated piece of detailing the strengthened areas either side of the seam and around the lined gusset are highlighted with the same colour as the design pattern.

Sizing is spot on, and the fit is good too, just make sure that you have the pattern evenly stretched for maximum comfort and visual effect. The finish has a slight shine which shows off the perfectly even colour very well; we would say however that the look on the leg is very dark for 20 denier.

The design ran perfectly straight up the back of the leg with none of the issues sometimes experienced with seamed tights. Quite clearly whoever designed these tights took account of the fact that legs have curves!

With such a robust design only the most daring will wear these tights for work, but for the weekend or a night out, they are a great fashion statement. Our recommendation is to wear with black as adding another colour will be too much, and you are unlikely to be able to match your outfit precisely to the small palette of colours available.

A real winner from Jonathan Aston..highly recommended!

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Jonathan Aston Burlesque Midinet Tights are nothing special.

Fishnets have never been more popular, sexy and sassy these midi net tights are a real must have for the fashion conscious woman of today who wants a slightly more extensive net than every day fishnet size.

We approached the last style of fishnet tights promoted under the Burlesque name with a degree of scepticism; would we just be getting everyday cheap fishnets or a slightly updated version of a standard design and be paying top price for the film endorsement. As it was, we were highly impressed!

Here we are, back to a far more fundamental fishnet, simple seamed toe, the small seam in the crotch area and a plain waistband. Instead what we feared the other design would be! On the plus side, there are two sizes but entirely who they are designed to fit into anyone’s guess. The only upper limit on sizes seems to be the waistband, the fishnet part of the garment will pretty well stretch to any extent.

With a great deal of care, you can get the material evenly spread between the toe and hip and then you can tell that the midinet is between a classic fishnet and a maxinet, quite big holes but not so big that your toes will stick out. With the legs set correctly and the waistband on your waist, the fit in the hips and bottom area is not good. The waistband would quickly pull up to the nipples on most people.

Bog standard fishnets in a fancy wrapper. One to consider only if you have a particular need for a fishnet that is between classic and maxi.

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Jonathan Aston Burlesque Tights are sexy but pricey.

Many celebrities have been used to promote hosiery recently with both pop stars and movies being used to gain extra exposure. I think we can safely say that Cher, who turns 65 later this year, is comfortably the oldest. Having just turned 30, Miss Aguilera is a baby by comparison.

The film Burlesque simply full of hosiery, and many of the styles on the show are available from Jonathan Aston, the particular style we have to look at is a twist on the classic seamed fishnet, the seam being gold in this instance. They are available both in black and natural and are not to be confused with Jonathan Aston Seamed Fishnet Pantyhose, which is black on black and a different fibre composition.

There are two sizes to choose from A/B, and B/C which, if the size charts are to be believed are hugely different, the larger size coping with both far more height and width in the hips.

We love the way these fishnets are made; there is a free cotton lined gusset and no seam in the panty other than the feature gold seams that run from the heel to the waistband. The waistband is narrow but durable and carries a textured design to lift it above the crowd. The toes are finished with a simple seam.

Sizing is accurate, and the Lycra in the fibre provides a solid fit, the comfort of which is greatly enhanced by the gusset.

The bulky seam sits perfectly straight with no great effort. In our opinion it may start just a little low on the leg and over time could rub at the back of the heel, but these are party tights and looking good is what counts. Without a doubt, these tights will get your legs noticed.

A class apart from the previous seamed fishnets we have seen from Jonathan Aston yet, even carrying the added burden of a movie endorsement the price is competitive, be sure to shop around for the best deal.

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Jonathan Aston Produce Another Great Quality Product!

We were not quite sure what to expect from an “animal backseam”, but it soon became apparent when we opened the packet. Consider a standard seamed stocking and then replace the sole, heel detail and seam with a pattern rather than a plain colour and widen the seam by a factor of about five and you start to get the idea. The pattern on this Jonathan Aston product repeats in the finger band that provides a transition from the sheer body to the waistband.

The seam detail aside, the construction is what you would expect of a quality sheer tight. The straight legs are finished with a sandal toe detail, and the panty has both flat seams and a lined gusset.

There are two sizes, and the sizing is entirely accurate. The weight of the material feels heavier and stronger than the ten denier description would suggest and there are enough strength and stretch to go a little beyond the recommended sizing. These are well fitting and comfortable tights.

Our test pair was in the purple shade pictured. However, there is alternative to black. The colour is perfectly even and, unusually for sheer tights, is quite vibrant too.

Of course, the main design feature of these tights is the seam and heel detail. The heel detail sits well even if you have larger than average feet and we had no problems getting the seam to sit and stay straight. Jonathan Aston calls the design animal, but we are not sure what animal they had in mind. To us, it looks far more like a kind of camouflage pattern; either way, it looks good.

Jonathan Aston continues to produce tights that combine imaginative design and high-quality manufacture.

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These Jonathan Aston Tights with Lycra are an unlikely treat!

These are one size tights, so if you are at the extremes of sizing, a Large or Small fit could be an issue.

Construction is quite basic and straightforward, sheer to waist with straight legs, a lined gusset and raised seams in brief. Probably not of the same quality as the Jonathan Aston Gloss Opaque Tights.

The 7% Lycra in the fibre gives a reasonable level of stretch so that even a 34” leg was covered comfortably.

Once you have them on you can see that the panty section is different knit to the legs. This is only an issue if you plan to wear these tights with a very short skirt or shorts.

The fit is perfect, and it has to be said that these are some of the softest tights we have ever tested. They look good too with, primarily, a matt finish. The Lycra also gives a little sparkle in direct sunlight.

Made in a range of colours for Autumn/Winter, there is bound to be a shade that suits your outfit and taste.

We set out expecting not to like these tights, but in the end, we found that there was nothing to dislike and would highly recommend them. We would still buy the gloss opaque in preference as the price is only a little higher, but this style has a far more extensive range of colours.

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