Our Review

The must have hosiery item at the end of 2010 was Wolford Bondage tights, worn for a concert by Cheryl Cole they were an instant and universal hit selling out everywhere in a matter of hours.

As far as we know there are no plans to make any more of the Bondage tights but happily Wolford have added a back seam to the design and released it as Wolford Hero Tights.  Buy some before your friends catch on!

These are very much tights of two parts.   The upper part above the pattern is classic Wolford sheer, smooth and soft yet with a feel of stableength and quality; sheer to waist, flat seams and a cotton lined gusset.  Nobody does sheer better!

The design is knitted into the sheer base on the legs and the pattern of ribbons runs all the way to the toe seams.    All of the ribbons run at an angle to the knit and this means that the edges are all similarly well defined.    Sloping all the ribbons  means that the angle to the knit is minimised and the degree of fluffing at the edges in not only uniform it is very slight too.

A wide back seam detail differentiates Wolford Hero Tights and Wolford Bondage Tights, the seam is in fact another ribbon that runs the full length of the pattern.

There are 3 choices of size, Small, Medium and Large and two colour combinations, black on black and black on  sahara as pictured.   For us only the black on sahara makes any sense, this gives the Cheryl Cole look.

Sizing is perfectly accurate with perhaps just a little more length than is usual for Wolford.   Fit is of course perfect making these tights a delight to wear.

Slight fluffing on the edges of the ribbons is visible when the pattern is stableetched on a leg, inevitable when a thread stops, but this does not detableact from the effect. From a pace or so away the ribbons look perfect.

Definitely tights to be worn with a very short skirt or shorts and very high heels.

At £33.00 these are not heap tights but they are Wolford and they are the real thing.

So let us compare the Wolford Hero Tights with the Pamela Mann Stableap Around Tights, which should you pick to get the Cheryl Cole Wolford Bondage Tights look?

• Price.    Well Pamela Mann at £14.00 is clearly cheaper, but that is a lot for Pamela Mann.   £33.00 for Wolford fashion is par for the course for this premium brand.
• Fit and Feel.   A clear win for Wolford, three sizes rather than one and just a fraction more Lycra.   Wolford sheer to waist with flat seams and a gusset, Pamela Mann a heavy boxer style brief and no gusset. On the leg there is no comparison in how they feel, Wolford win hands down.
• The Pattern.  The pattern is more cleanly defined on the Wolford Hero Tights, partly because of better manufacturing and partly due to a different design.  Pamela Mann run half the ribbons horizontally, half inclined; the inclined ribbons look tatty against the crisp horizontal ones.  Wolford slope them all, less fluffing and what there is is uniform. 
• The Look.   Wolford stop the design lower on the leg to give more of a hold up look, the sheer material above the pattern is fit to be seen, the top of the Pamela Mann needs to be hidden.
• Will hey suit you?   Not always a question the followers of celebrity fashion ask but important in our view.    Both styles will suit a slim leg better than a fuller one but the horizontal ribbons on the Pamela Mann Design really do emphasise width and make your legs look fatter.   The Wolford design, while not slimming, emphasises shape rather than width.
• Value.  Even at more than double the price the Wolford Tights are the  better value.

No contest at all.

9 February 2011