Tights Fashion

We usually start our reviews by looking at how a pair of tights is made and then go on to the sizing, fit and overall look. This time for reasons that will become obvious, we are turning the whole process on its head. Jonathan Aston has been one of our favourite makers of late. Jonathan Aston has been producing some really stunning designs and coming up with exciting new ideas.

The concept here is graduated colour, a smooth transition from dark at the toe to pale at the waistband. There is a choice of colours, but our test pair came in grey which we love; thank you Essex’s Legs.

Most of the colour transition is between ankle and knee, and the effect is visually stunning, there is no other hosiery like it. Add accurate sizing, comfortable fit, and a smooth, soft matt finish and all is well in our world. Look and feel is far lighter than the 50 denier weight suggests incidentally.

Which brings us to how they are made and why things are not quite perfect. Jonathan Aston creates the pattern by printing it on in much the same way as Celeste Stein produce their huge range of designs; this means making sheer to waist tights with unshaped legs that can be flattened for printing. (Not actually sheer to the waist, but the transition from leg to panty is hard to spot).

In the panty, there is a gusset but not flat seams which are unusual for Jonathan Aston these days. The only real negative is the same one that plagued all the Celeste Stein designs. No matter how flat you iron a pair of tights before printing each side you will always get a line down the inside and outside of each leg where there is no printing. The line is only visible close to, but it does distract from an otherwise gorgeous design.

Not a style you would wear with open-toe shoes. Why? Because there is evidence of the basic pale grey/white of the tights showing at the seam where the print has not reached. So not perfect, but we will be wearing our test pair to destruction!

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We always look forward to getting new styles from Jonathan Aston because they always take risks with their designs. Others such as Trasparenze offer high quality but tend to work to a formula, albeit as stunningly effective one; the Henry Holland range from Pretty Polly is the closest to Jonathan Aston but is safer and the quality doesn’t always justify the price. Jonathan Aston tights are very well made these days. They come in 3 sizes as you would expect of quality Italian hosiery. But perhaps best of all, from a reviewer at least, quite a few of the designs don’t quite work.

With this design JA has done for straight legs with no reinforcement at the toe, they are (aside from the strap pattern) sheer to waist. What they have done is make to identical halves and joined them with a flat seam in the panty and a gusset. Very cleverly they have incorporated the reinforcement either side of the panty seam into the strap design.

As I said, three sizes defined in terms of hip measurement and height. Size C fits up to 5’10 (182cm) and 48” (120cm) hips, size B is just a little shorter and 4” smaller in the hips. Sizing is a bit on the slim side so go up a size if you are unsure. The straps pattern will look most effective when least stretched anyway.

To get the most out of the available stretch, take care when putting these tights on and stretch carefully and evenly; you will need to take care anyway to get the pattern straight. I can almost guarantee that the first time you see someone wearing this design, the pattern will be twisted. Don’t let it be you!

The design works, but it is not slimming so avoid if you have heavy legs. We tested black on black. We would say buy black on natural. It will look much better. Well-fitting and comfortable but not soft to the touch, tights for looking at not tights for touching.

All together another winner from Jonathan Aston, but only just, which is where edgy fashion should be.

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The title of one of the Jonathan Aston Collections for Autumn/Winter 2011 is “On Show”, and the show is from Las Vegas with this the signature style and others being named after Vegas casino favourites such as Blackjack and Poker.

Sizing is unsurprisingly in line with the rest of the range. Three sizes to fit up to 182cm (5’10” according to JA but 6’0” by our calculation), 79 kg and 120 cm hips. There is only one colour, black.

We go a lot on first impressions, and here Jonathan Aston has done well. The brief is not a boxer style cut square partway down the leg but a brief with low cut leg, far more stylish. The panty is opaque and features flat seams and a lined gusset.

The upper legs are sheer and have a long ribbon “suspender” detail front and back. From mid-thigh downwards, there is a combination of opaque and sheer circular cut-outs with a wide stripe front and back. Shaped at the heel, the legs are finished with reinforced toes.

Take care to get the striped straight front and back, and you have a very sophisticated look. Not tights for girls with heavy legs though. The slimming effect of the central vertical stripes is more than offset by the horizontal elements of the design. If you have long slim legs that lack a little shape, then these tights will enhance the curves you do have.

Great design, great fit and accurate sizing to fit up to a 34” leg, we like these tights. The panty is opaque enough for you not to need any other underwear.

Not so linked to the casino as say. The Blackjack tights with their playing card motif but effective design and well-executed.

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Jonathan Aston has come on immensely as hosiery brand in the last few years. The current talk of the hosiery world is their FAST Collection. This style comes from the Vintage Legs Collection, which has impressed us before.

The packet gives no clues to the styling beyond the picture and a window showing the seam. What the package does have though is a size chart. Well done to Jonathan Aston for making three sizes to covers heights from 5’4” to 5’10” and hip sizes up to 48”. We have to suspect that the actual range will be bigger as many brands cover that range with one size.

First impressions on opening the packet are slightly mixed. On the plus side, the feel is excellent, smooth and soft combined with a feeling of strength and quality. On the downside, it is apparent at once that Jonathan Aston has not attempted at all to shape the legs in any way. That said these are £10 tights which are not expensive in today’s market. On the credit side, the panty features a lined gusset and is made with flat seams.

Another plus is the non-reinforced toe. The underside of the foot is made in the same contrast colour as the backseam. Grey on our test pair but there is a red option too. The foot detail tapers to a point to form the heel detail, and this then becomes the seam, all neatly knitted in and well defined. The seams run to the waist which removes any limits on style and length of the skirt and ensures the seams run straight.

Sizing is very accurate indeed, but with enough stretch for the largest size to cope with a 34” leg, so perhaps more than 5’10”. The Lycra does more to aid fit than provide stretch, and the fit is perfect indeed.

The heel detail looks good on the leg with no real clue that the tights were not shaped. The foot is long enough to ensure the heel detail is correctly positioned even on a long foot.

The finish is excellent, smooth and soft to the touch and perfect even colour. The grey seam is visually compelling on the black background.
If you like opaque tights but want a bit more style, then these are the tights for you, warm, concealing, stylish and sexy all at once

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If you are as old as our webmaster, it is quite likely that as a child, you had a Fairisle pattern pullover in your childhood.

Of course, the tradition goes back much further than the 1960s. To bring the style to 21st Century hosiery is a bold move by Jonathan Aston. As you can see in their packet, these tights look remarkably like a pair of socks. This is also reflected in the fibre mix.

The impression of socks is not lost when you take them out of the packet. It is only when you open them out that is finally clear that the two straight legs are joined by panty at the top.

The panty is finished with flat seams there is a comfort gusset (rear v-shaped panel) to help with fit. Like the panty, the toes are finished to a good standard.

Any thoughts of socks are dispelled once you put these tights on, they fit very well, they feel very comfortable and most important of all the look very stylish too. Whatever length you wear your skirts and whether you prefer boots or shoes in the colder months these tights will add that little something extra to your look. Wearers of essential opaque tights will be begging you tell them where you got them.

The cotton in the mix ensures that although these tights are warm, they will not make you hot and sweaty. Our only reservation is that the pattern stops mid-thigh. Going a little higher would have given a better look with the very shortest skirt and shorts.

Buy some before the weather gets too hot! Snow forecast for Easter by the way.

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Jonathan Aston has had a few misses with their designs over the years. But recently they got their act together and are matching the House of Holland Collection from Pretty Polly both in terms of style and quality. This style revisits the theme of tights styled on stockings and suspenders, and the picture is full of promise, only a little less bold than Trasparenze.

The good news is that there are three sizes to choose from covering the full range of heights from 4’9” to 6’0” and weights from 90-205 lbs. (124-183 cm and 40-95kg). As for colour, all we have seen so far is black/black; so black they thought it worth repeating!

40 denier is the predominant weight of these tights. The straight lower leg and the high leg panty and suspender are this weight with the 15 denier parts being the upper thigh as you can see in the picture above and small panels on each hip between the “suspender belt” and the waistband of the “panties” below.

The panty section has flat seams and a cotton-lined gusset. The whole garment has a quality look and feels to it.

Sizing is accurate but not exceptionally generous. Some careful stretching will be required if you are a leggy 6’0”. You need to take care because it would be easy to carried away stretching the 40 denier lower leg and suddenly find you have put a thumb through the 15 denier part. Once on, the fit is excellent, and they are as comfortable as any 40 denier opaque.

We love the panty, suspenders and stocking top detail. It doesn’t try to look like the “real thing” it just takes styling tips from it. The result is that you get the allure without feeling you are being fobbed off with some imitation. Clever design well delivered. On the subject of the design. Although there is no label to tell you which is which these tights do have a front and a back to them. Make sure you look carefully before dressing!

Colour is right and even throughout. The panty is opaque enough that you do not need any other underwear.

A great fun alternative to 40 denier opaque tights that deserves a place in your hosiery drawer. Like when you want to feel a little sassier.

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