Category: Pretty Polly

I think we all know that specific patterns can change the way we perceive shape and size. For example, vertical stripes make you look taller, hoops make you look wider, and checks have an enlarging effect. All these tricks are deliberately used by fashion designers and advertisers daily.

Contrast colours are also used in sophisticated ways. Only recently, an already very curvaceous celebrity enhanced her curves further by having shaped black side panels on an otherwise white dress taking inches off the look of her waist. Pretty Polly has tried with these tights to vary the colour in a way that draws the eyes away from the edges of your legs. The same visual trick as used in that curve emphasising dress. So does it work?

At their heart, these are 40 denier matt finish one size tights. The tights are made in the lightest of the shades of grey, with the darker stripes printed on the inside and outside of each leg. For some reason, we had imagined it would be the other way about. The legs are unshaped and finished with an invisible reinforced toe detail. The panty is a boxer style with well-finished seams but no gusset. We would have hoped for a bit more in tights at £12.50. Take away the clever printed design, and you have a very ordinary pair of tights indeed.

Fortunately, the clever printed design does work up to a point. The constantly changing shade of grey makes it quite hard to focus on the outline of the leg at all, and the effect is slimming. We asked one of our ladies who have particularly shapely legs to test these tights out for us. As you can see from the picture, there is a slimming effect. But at the expense of all those lovely curves! One gripe with a test pair was a line about 2mm wide down the outside of the leg where the colour seemed to have been double printed on the overlap.

You should undoubtedly try these tights. But Pretty Polly really should use the idea again based on better quality tights. Preferably made in multiple sizes (ladies wanting a slimming effect may not be the average size), with a gusset for better fit and more attention to quality control on the printing. Excellent design concept, but the quality does not justify the price.

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There are opaque tights, and then there are truly warm winter opaque tights. These are intended to be the latter. Pretty Polly describes the fibre as “a blend of premium natural fibres”. A slight stretching of the truth as in making viscose the natural material. Often bamboo or wood pulp is heavily processed to create the final fibre, said it does have a look and feel of cotton or fine wool.

As for the tights themselves, they are made in two sizes as is usual for Pretty Polly these days. But they do claim the larger size will fit up to a height of 5’10” (178 cm) and hips of 48” (122cm). Construction is simple but with good quality details. The legs are unshaped but uniform weight and finish to the toe seam. The panty is the same weight and finish as the legs and features flat seams and a gusset for optimum fit and comfort.

Sizing is more generous than Pretty Polly suggest. At least there is an excellent stretch to cope with an averagely proportioned 35” leg. Which is a lot of leg for someone of 5’10”. The Lycra that provides the stretch also ensures a perfect fit from hip to toe. The look on the leg is typical of natural fibre tights. But the heavy processing of the fibre, although not very “green”, does provide a far more even colour than wool or cotton manages. The styling means they are suitable to wear with any length of skirt/shorts combined with any footwear style.

Warm, comfortable, versatile, pleasant to look and quite sensibly priced, these are the everyday tights for autumn and winter.

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With all the fancy expensive natural fibres like angora and cashmere being used to promote warm opaque hosiery this winter, it is quite a surprise to see tights made of synthetic polyester. But take a look at that fleece jacket you slip on on cold mornings and check out that it is made of 100% polyester. So here we potentially have a fleece for your legs with just a little Lycra for a snug fit.

Pretty Polly has not gone mad with the styling. The legs are just straight tubes, but they have kept weight and finish even from hip to toe. In both sizes, the panty is finished with flat seams and a gusset. From the outside, these tights have the same look and feel like most other heavy opaque tights. But on the inside, Pretty Polly have produced a very soft fleecy finish. Incredibly soft and instantly warming. Sizing is accurate. The 8% Lycra provides a good fit and enough extra stretch in length for girls significantly taller than 5’10” to wear the larger size.

It is best not to over-stretch for the best look on the leg and the maximum warmth from the fleece lining. Also, at full stretch, you can see a band around the legs. Just below the gusset that marks the transition from leg to panty; this matt band is annoying because the look and feel above and below is the same, and it means that you have to pair these tights with shorts or skirts long enough to cover it.

If you like very heavy opaque tights and feel the cold, these tights are perfect for you. We would even recommend them for outdoor pursuits as an alternative to thermal underwear. Aside from the one small niggle about styling, we wholeheartedly recommend these very sensible and durable tights from Pretty Polly.

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Angora Tights from Pretty Polly of Derbyshire England. Luxurious hosiery with the most expensive natural fibres handcrafted in England. Read the back of the packet carefully, and you see first of all that these tights are made in Turkey. Nothing unusual in that, of course, lots of brands manufacture their tights in countries like Turkey or China where employment costs are lower. So why the outrage?

Well, if these tights were pies, they never could call them “Angora”. You see, with pies, you have to list the ingredients in order of composition. So a meat and potato pie is mostly meat, and a potato and meat pie is mostly potato. 13% Angora means 87% other stuff; these are “other stuff and angora tights” Rant over, what are the tights like?

Well, they have a soft woolly feel to them, precisely what we would expect from Viscose. Made with straight legs, they are entirely uniform in weight and finish from hip to toe. The panty has outstanding quality flat seams and a gusset to aid fit. As with other Pretty Polly styles, there are just two sizes, small/medium and medium/large, to cover the height range 5’0” to 5’10” (152-178cm), but there seems to be a good amount of stretch.

Indeed there is enough stretch for the larger size to cope with an athletic 34” leg, and the Lycra provides for a perfect fit and provides stretch. The look on the leg is just like quality woollen socks, and the feel is very soft. Lovely and warm for a winter’s day, these tights are perfect for wearing with the shortest fashions or paired with a knee-length skirt and boots for a more sophisticated look.

We can’t help but feel that the Angora was included in the fibre blend as much for the name as to the extra warmth and softness it brings. But these tights do perform as advertised. £12 is not a bad price in this market either. Particularly given that you should get plenty of wear out of this type of hosiery.

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The feel in hand is undoubtedly that of “nylons”. The legs do not look over long, and the feet look very short. The seam is a woven-in pattern that stops short of the panty area. The panty is finished with flat seams and a cotton-lined gusset. The detailing on these tights both in terms of design and manufacture is very good.

On the leg, the fit is excellent. The look and feel do not quite capture the essence of vintage nylons. This is a result of the Lycra in the yarn. There is enough Lycra to allow the foot to stretch so that the heel detail is on the heel, even on larger feet. Length in the leg is in line with the size charts, and with careful stretching, our tallest model could get them up to her 34″ legs.

She commented that if you are that tall, you should wear panties on top to keep them up. On the “nude” pair tested, the seam was rather too pale to be seen. For this reason, we would suggest that you stay with classic black unless you are looking to make a very subtle fashion statement.

We had two fears with these tights: that being made in only two sizes, small/medium and medium/large, they were unlikely to be generous in size, and that the sole and heel detail on this sort of tights is usually sized for a size 4-5 foot so on a larger foot the Cuban heel detail is lost. We are pleased to report that, in this case, our fears were largely unfounded. If you stay within the published size chart sizes, you will find that these are the best fitting of the seamed tights tested and the most comfortable (except perhaps for the Wolford Individual 10 Seamed Tights). A very practical alternative to fully fashioned stockings. Beautifully smooth and sheer tights given that little extra something by being seamed.

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Our recent reviews of Pretty Polly have been rather negative, so we thought we should push another style up the queue and see if we could say something positive. One thing to clear out of the way straight away is the idea that these tights in any way replace socks. What we have here is an alternative to plain opaque tights and reviewing against plain opaques; perhaps we can be positive.

Basic construction is straightforward with an unshaped opaque lower leg and an opaque panty. In between, the upper leg is sheer and around 20 denier. Unlike some mock hold-up tights, the transition is made to look and feel like the top of a sock, much more stylish. The top, though, sits a little lower on the leg, as the name suggests, just over the knee. The plain panty is finished with a good quality seam that sits flat in wear. There is no gusset in the panty, but this does not compromise fit and comfort for once.

Incidentally, there are two sizes S/M (5’0″ to 5’6″, 97-155lb, 34″ -40″ hips) and M/L (5’4″-5’10”, 11-174lb, 40-48″ hips). Sophie is S/M for hips, M/L for height, perfectly in the middle for both. The larger size fit perfectly. Unless you are particularly short and petite, the larger size will be the one to go for. We found that the lower leg and foot were light enough to cope with a sock worn over in cold weather. Perhaps slightly defeating the idea behind the design but considering these tights as a stylish alternative to plain opaques is a good thing.

Colour in the sheer part of the leg was not so even as we would have liked. But that part should be mostly out of sight. The best we have seen from Pretty Polly recently. But we still feel they are a little expensive for what they are. We can’t help but think that Pretty Polly is taking great style ideas and marking up high retail prices to maximise margin. Their accounts may love that approach, but we don’t.

When all is said and done, though, there is little direct competition for this style. And they kept one on us warm all day.

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These tights are supplied in an open packet, so if you buy in a high street store, you can both see and feel them before you buy. But of course, you will be buying online and anyway, your legs should neither look nor feel like white cardboard. Extricating the tights from the packet requires some care but once done, we can tell you that the feel is typical of any fishnet, and the look differs from a Micronet fishnet only in that around one in forty holes the net are filled in.

The detailing is very good indeed, with both a very small, short and narrow, reinforced toe and a generous unlined, opaque gusset. Both of these features should greatly increase comfort and improve the look. The waistband is narrow but strong and has a textured design, like a Jonathan Aston style we recently reviewed. There is surprisingly little stretch in both the legs and the waistband. The legs will stretch to fit a leggy 5’10” but as far as 42″ hips are concerned. Well, let us say that you need to be very honest about your measurement. The waistband will go over a pair of 42″ hips if you coax gently. If your hips are anything more than 42″, you won’t get these tights on.

We took great care with these tights, but still, the fishnet ripped at the seam with the gusset. The seam is so light and narrow that this is probably inevitable. On the plus side, the failed seam at the gusset did not run into the leg. The failure of the seam is a great pity as otherwise. These are comfortable and well-fitting tights that look great on the leg. We love the look and are available in black and mulberry, the look, and the spot effect is an excellent alternative to regular fishnets.

We wanted to like these tights. Really we did, but somehow they failed to impress. We don’t know whether it was the failed seam or the very restrictive sizing. It was a nice style change for those with slim hips prepared to chance £6 on a pair of tights they may only wear once.

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It is great to see a piece of actual British invention. Still, the innovation is quite hard to see too. So setting aside those initial negative thoughts, what are these tights like? Well, they are, in essence, a pair of mixed weight tights. Not unlike what we have seen before except that these are mimicking a pair of hold-ups. The bottom part of the leg is knitted heavier and features a cuff much like the top of a sock. There is no shaping at the heel and no reinforcement at the toe either. The look and feel are very much like a 60-80 denier opaque tight. The material used does give something of a feel of a sock, but a light sock.

The sheer leg failed to deliver even colour. As you can see in our picture, there was a lot of banding. For £10, we expected better detailing in the panty. On the plus side, the panty is nicely styled to look like “big pants” and is reasonably opaque. But the lack of gusset for comfort and hygiene and the lack of flat seams was a disappointment.

So, is it a complete disaster? Well, no, not really. If you are reasonably slim in the hips, then the panty does fit comfortably, and the light socks mean that you can wear regular boots and shoes.

Sizing is on the generous side of accurate, but the effect of the sock is somewhat spoiled if you overstretch it. The banding on the sheer leg will be an issue if you wear shorts or short skirts, but with longer winter skirts, not too much leg will be on show.

In our second picture, things look much better. We can’t help but feel that these tights have been made down to a price rather than up to a quality. There is some gain in terms of comfort from the combined garment, and if you wear tights with socks and boots and need new tights, you could consider this option.

We are trying to be positive here but struggling. We might reconsider purchasing these if we needed tights and socks combined to keep warm with heavy boots. If we wanted to stay warm, standard opaque tights are just as good and probably cheaper. If we wanted the sheer tights and socks look, we would buy some new socks to wear over our tights. Somehow Pretty Polly has taken what is a good idea and created a pretty poor product.

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Unlike their 15 denier equivalent, these tights come in the more usual wide packet. The other significant difference aside from the denier of the legs is the panty style, which is styled low leg rather than the high leg. There is nothing to suggest that these are anything other than regular opaque tights on opening the packet. Only when you open them out, you feel the difference in weight and texture between the legs and the panty. On closer visual inspection, the transition line between the almost cardboard feel of the panty and the soft texture of the legs is visible. What is also clear to see is that the styling of the panty is high leg! Not in line with the description or the picture on the packet but a real plus from our perspective.

The legs are straight and finished with non reinforced toes. Legs and panty look to be quite generous for length in our M/L test pair. As with the 15 denier version, there is an S/M size for ladies up to 5’8 tall and 42” hips and M/L for everyone else. The panty is finished with flat seams and a cotton-lined gusset. Sizing is indeed generous for length, and you can comfortably go beyond the suggested heights on the size chart. As for fit on the hips, well, these are designed as control top tights. At the top end of the sizing, they will be tight.

The legs have a good even colour and a lovely matt finish, much like any 60 denier matt opaque. The panty changed entirely once on. A little body heat was enough to get rid of that cardboard feel, and the high waisted high leg control portion of the panty did an excellent job. You will note we said high leg portion. For once on, you can see that the panty is in two parts; the firm controlling high leg panty and a lighter low leg transition to the legs. The cost of these tights is in line with 60 denier opaque tights of the same quality, so the control comes free. Perhaps not the most stylishly detailed panty we have seen but very comfortable with effect control.

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Not to be confused with Pretty Polly Cool Occasion Tights that use a unique fibre mix to keep you cool. These are 100% nylon tights that deal with the problem of crotch ventilation by the simple expedient of having an opening where the gusset would typically be found. The three sizes are all designed for heights up to 5’8 or 5’10”, only the hip size varies much from size to size, with a spread from 36” to 54”. Why there is no small size we don’t know. Perhaps Pretty Polly feel that ladies with hips smaller than 36” or less than 5’0” tall don’t have ventilation issues.

It has to be said that these tights look very much like supermarket multi-pack tights on the first impression. Detailing is relatively unremarkable with a reinforced boxer style brief attached unshaped legs finished with reinforced toes. The seams in the panty are of the raised type, relatively small and reasonably well finished. The same “seaming” is used to finish the edge of the open gusset. In our XL test pair was slightly bigger than the usual gusset opening in a pair of tights.

Considering that these are 100% nylon tights, there is quite a lot of stretch, and the fit is excellent. The Colour is even, and the matt finish provides a subtle if unremarkable finish. The boxer style brief sized for hips up to 54” in our XL test pair was too generous for any of our testers. Be sure to buy the right size for your hips. There is enough stretch to go down a size if you are borderline.

The open gusset will appeal to some, as to how effective it will depend on the underwear you pair these tights with. A cotton-lined gusset gives you the option of not wearing other underwear, and no gusset is more limiting. The degree of ventilation when wearing panties cannot be compared to what you would get from wearing stockings or hold-ups. The open gusset saves nothing in manufacturing costs, and at £4.00, we think these tights are a little expensive. You could get the same effect from any tights with a gusset simply by spending a couple of minutes with a pair of sharp scissors.

All in all an interesting concept that doesn’t quite work for us. Average everyday tights at a slightly inflated price. Although they provide a rare opportunity to buy Lycra free tights, and much as we like the fit Lycra gives, we know many people yearn for the 100% nylon tights of years gone by.

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