Tights Fashion

 Aristoc Bodytoner Hourglass isn’t cheap, but well worth it!

Please Note: This is part two of Aristoc Bodytoner Hourglass review

I had never worn any tights like these before, with the panty designed to come up so high to just under your breastbone. For me, it initially raised a lot of questions about how comfortable and practical there are to wear. These were entirely answered fully after wearing them for a while.

Opening the packet for the first time you notice the panty is slightly larger than usual and not the most elegant with the compression band for the waist, seeing how sheer and elegant the legs looked to give me more confidence that these were going to look nice on.

Knowing how difficult some control top tight is to put on I was initially concerned about laddering the sheer legs while putting them on, the legs in these had a lot more stretch than many tights and went on like a dream. The insert card contains a few pointers to put them on and advises you to stand up which made it a lot easier.

It was strange I have to say putting the panty right up over your waist and realising how high it comes up. You can feel them on and pull you in a little; I soon realised that there was little movement around the lower rib cage and this is, why combined with the elastic welt, they stayed up very well for me even after 6 hours of wearing.

I do not think they would be a direct replacement for traditional foundation wear like a girdle or corset, then how many ladies wear those these days? For a modern alternative there was a small reduction in my waist and indeed smoothed out a few bulges.

These are great to wear with a close fitting evening dress; I would say they do not look like the most romantic hosiery ever. The legs of these tights are very sheer and yet durable, with a very silky finish, as close to silk as I have felt without it being silk on my legs. The control element of these tights is noticeable without being constrictive.

Once you get over the concept of wearing these tights especially if you’re young, I agree with Aristoc that 75% of ladies will benefit from wearing them.

Aristoc also claims they are comfortable to wear when it comes to going to the powder room. I am probably in agreement, compared to magic knickers they are a lot easier. For long hot summer days, they might be a little uncomfortable to wear all day. With close-fitting garments in colder weather, they are great.

On the downside, they cost a more than others in the same range, but sometimes it’s worth paying a little more for something to wear for a special occasion.

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Aristoc Bodytoners can help create that hourglass figure!

Note: This is part one of Aristoc Bodytoner Hourglass review.

A note on sizing…The Aristoc Bodytoners range is sized quite differently to regular tights. All sizes are designed for heights 4-10” to 5’10” with only your hip measurement/dress size determining the size you require. You may find that, although you usually wear large tights, you can wear the Small/Medium in this range.

The Bodytoners range is made up of 8 items each designed to either shape or smooth a specific part of the body. Except for the Bodytoner Shorts and Bodytoner Waist Toner, these are all tights designed to show off your legs too.

Of all the range, it is this style that has got all the publicity, and rightly so, as these tights combine all the features of the range into one garment. The combination of waste toner, shaping shorts and sheer legs makes for quite an intimidating looking clothing. These are quite unlike anything we have seen before, but if you are going to wear hip, thigh and waist shaping, it makes some sense to wear just one garment and avoid bumps and ridges at the joins.

The construction looks excellent with flat seams in the body, a cotton lined gusset and beautiful slightly shaped sheer legs with lightly reinforced toes. Aristoc has borrowed the Gerbe waistband design we like so much, but of course, with this model, it sits not on the waist, but just below your breasts.

You put them on just like any other tights; the strong brief makes them perhaps easier to put on than regular sheer tights. They are very comfortable too; the sheer legs have no compression, fit perfectly, have perfect even colour and have a beautifully smooth, soft finish.

The long leg brief/waste toner combination is never going to be called sexy, but it does what it needs to do, by staying where you put it and smooths your curves. The compression band shapes the waist but does not constrict it. The brief is designed not to flatten your bottom, but to lift it. These tights are the perfect all-in-one foundation garment for wearing under close-fitting outfits, just so long as your skirt is not too short, and your top isn’t cut low at the back. The legs are good enough for the smartest evening function. We have no hesitation in recommending everyone to buy at least one pair!

What if you ladder the legs? Well, it is a fair question given that ten denier tights are not everlasting. We would suggest that you remove the legs carefully and keep the remainder as a foundation garment to wear with regular tights.

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Aristoc Bodytoner Tights is both smooth and sexy!

A note on sizing…The Aristoc Bodytoners range is sized quite differently to regular tights. All sizes are designed for heights 4-10” to 5’10” with only your hip measurement/dress size determining the size you require. You may find that although you usually wear large tights, you can wear the Small/Medium in this range.

These tights give an excellent first impression, soft in hand, smooth to the touch and a beautiful sheen. More objectively the panty is finished with flat seams and a cotton lined gusset, the sheer legs are slightly shaped at the heel and finished with a sandal toe.

A word on the panty. Control tops can often be an ugly appendage to a pair of otherwise lovely sheer legs. In this case, the impressions are of a pair of satin finish panties high leg briefs, finished with a broad waistband carrying the Aristoc motif.

The factor 8 compression in the leg is apparent when you stretch these tights over your feet to put them on, but after that, it is very subtle. The legs feel strong and durable and extend to cope with even very long legs (We tested the Small/Medium on 34” legs, and they were perfect). The best news is that you are the only one who will know you are wearing support tights, the fit is excellent, and the finish is sheer with a silky sheen in the right light.

The panty is comfortable too with a V-shaped front panel giving just a hint of control in the tummy area. Worn without underwear, you get an entirely smooth silhouette.

The one slight problem we found was that the waistband tended to roll when you sit. A pity they did not use the weld design on the Hourglass Toner Tights.

All in all, some of the best control tops we have seen, combining style, sexiness and practicality.

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Aristoc Floral Lace Pattern Tights fit well and is gorgeous!

Aristoc makes these tights in two sizes, both to fit heights 4’10” to 5’10” (147-178 cm) with the Small/Medium size fitting hips 34”-42” (86-107 cm) and the Medium/Large size fitting hips 42” – 48”  (107-122 cm). Just like the Model T Ford car you can have any colour you like so long as it is black. We tested the larger size.

First impressions were pretty good. When you spend £12 on a pair of tights, it is comforting to feel something substantial when you slip them from the packet. As these are 100% nylon relying entirely on the knit stretch, they look enormous too.

Construction is quite simple on the first inspection; then you notice that there is no seam at the toe, and you realise that the seam up the back of each leg is not a decoration, but it is the actual construction seam. These seams like the seams in the panty and around the unlined gusset are raised and well finished. Flat seams clearly would not work as a feature on the legs so we can forgive the absence of flat seams in the panty too, as it would make no sense to mix two seaming methods in one pair of tights.

The lace design is in the form of climbing flowers. The lace covers the entire garment except for the waistband. The waistband is beautifully detailed and on a par with Gerbe, Wolford and Fogal.

The trick when putting these tights on is to make sure that you get the seam straight under your foot and over the middle of your heel. Do this, and you will be rewarded with a straight seam up the back of your leg.

There is far more stretch than we anticipated, so the larger size could easily cope with a 34” leg. The sizing in the panty is spot on. Of course with quite heavy material and no Lycra there is some tendency to bunch behind the knee when you are seated, but this in no way detracts from the look. The waistband is very useful so you should not spend your evening pulling your tights back up.

These are tights for the evening rather than the working day. If you haven’t bought your hosiery for your Christmas parties yet then look no further.

Our tip: Wear over a pair of glossy sheers for a little more warmth and a healthy glow through the lace. Or for an eye-catching look wear over a pair of bright coloured sheers.

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Arisoc Fishnet Tights are a real catch!

These fishnet tights are real “micronets”. The first impression in hand is that they are highly elasticated. This is a good thing as they only come in two sizes, both intended to fit 4’10” to 5’10” with only the hip size differing. As our testing model is 6’2″ size was a concern.
Construction is seamless aside from around the circular cotton lined gusset. The waistband is about 12 mm deep and is just a band of elastic.

The high Lycra contend did give enough stretch to fit, and once on the fit hip to toe was better than most net tights. Once smoothed evenly the colour was very even, although some care is required to avoid “banding”.

We also tested these fishnets over a pair of ultra sheer Charnos Transparent tights. The effect was very nice and highly recommended, both look and feel was improved.

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Aristoc Crystalli Tights are well made, but a little pricey.

These are sheer to waist tights styled with a twist on the classic seamed tights idea, a vertical crystal pattern on the back of each leg.

The tights we would estimate at 15 denier, they are well made with a broad waistband for comfort and a finger band and reinforcement either side of the flat seams in the panty for strength. The dot-dash-dot pattern of bright metal studs will cover just 9”-10” on your calf, eye-catching but not so stylish as a full-length seam design.

Aside from the stud design, these are classic sheer to waist tights with flat seams in the panty and with reinforced material on either side of the central seam running into a finger band below the waistband. The toes are lightly reinforced.

Both sizes Small/Medium and Medium/Large are sized for heights 4’10” to 5’10” with just the hip sizes varying between them. Christina tested the smaller size and found the sizing and fit to be good. This time we tried the larger size and found the fit to be good and the sizing accurate to generous, if you are borderline between sizes, you may prefer the smaller.

Perhaps a little overpriced at £9.00 but they will get your legs noticed.

The packet photo must be a pre-production sample, perhaps too expensive to put into production.

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Aristoc Cotton Sheen Tights are expensive but well worth it!

Aristoc has wholly reinvented their range of opaque tights for this season with many of the previous products moving over to the Pretty Polly range (yes Aristoc and Pretty Polly do share an owner).

The first thing to say about the new opaque tights from Aristoc is that they are made in Italy and much more expensive than we are used to, up in what was once exclusively Wolford territory.

Aristoc has been using just two sizes for a while now, in common with many other manufacturers, as this reduces the number of items in their inventory by 33% so reducing costs and supply chain issues. We thought when we saw our test pair arrive in Medium/Large that they were staying with this policy but then noticed that Small/Medium & Medium/Large are now joined by Extra Large to fit up to 6’0” and 54” hips. So back to three sizes with big tall girls catered for appropriately. Well done Aristoc!

The sheen on these tights reminds us of previous styles from Aristoc; it has an almost liquid quality, that they have done with cotton rich tights is very clever. Inside the texture is fleecy and promises to keep you warm, outside a sexy but subtle sheen.

Texture and finish are constant from behind the reinforced toe (with run stop) all the way to the simple waistband. There is no shaping to the legs. The panty feature flat seams and a light gusset, no sense lining it as the tights are cotton anyway.

Natural fibre tights can sometimes struggle to provide an even colour and finish, but Aristoc has overcome that particular issue. There is an excellent choice of colours too, black, brown and, our favourite, purple. Perfect for the season.

The fit is excellent, and sizing is spot on, with enough length if you are leggy for your height. Very comfortable to wear you feel wrapped up and cosy while looking very stylish.

Worth £20? Yes, every penny. You indeed should buy two pairs in each colour, as you will want to wear them on every cold day and will have to take them off to wash them!

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Aristoc Cotton Fresh Tights are an average call back to the 70s.

Our reviewer was taken back several decades to when she first saw these tights. Apparently, they look a lot like tights from the 1970s!

Of course, these are nothing like tights from that era, not least because back then there was no Lycra.

The knit of the legs does have a superficial resemblance to that used in “micromesh” tights from that era, and this does have the benefit of making them very soft to the touch. The legs are straight and feel far sheerer than 20 denier. The panty is of the boxer type and our test pair being extra large there is a rear comfort panel and a generous cotton lining in the gusset area. Smaller sizes just gave a cotton gusset. The toes are reinforced as are the soles of the feet, the feet also being cotton lined.

The look on the legs is matt and entirely unremarkable. The fit is OK, and the sizing is by the size charts, but these are not tight fitting tights.

While there will be some more mature ladies of a fuller figure, who would wear nothing else we could see nothing remarkable in these tights to justify paying £4.50 a pair.

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Aristoc Chain Backseam Tights is a good quality product, and worth the price

These tights, or instead their packaging caused quite a bit of comment when they arrived here, so much so that we ended up reviewing them straight away.

Firstly, there is what they did not say, which is that there is no mention anywhere of the denier.

Then there is what they did say; “Knitted using luxury yarns then hand finished and packed in our factory in Derbyshire, England”. This seems a very clumsy way to say “knitted and hand finished in England using luxury yarns”, but that is not actually what it says at all. We have a sneaking suspicion that the knitting may not be done in England at all, and the fact there is no “made in” anywhere only adds to our suspicions. We would rather like English brands to knit their tights in England, and if they are knitted in Italy (reasonably good quality) or China (not as good quality), we would like to know.

As for the tights, they are sized to fit heights of 4’10” to 5’10 (147-178cm) with the two available sizes defined by hip measurements, 34”-42” (86-107cm) for Small/Medium and 42”-48” (107-122cm) for Medium/Large.

Legs are straight and finished with a reinforced toe, the chain seam detail in Lurex thread runs from the back of the toe, under the foot and up to the top of the thigh. The panty is a classic low leg brief cut, some 40 denier in weight and finished with flat seams and a cotton lined gusset. Smooth and soft, there is an impression of quality throughout.

Our general preference for sheer hosiery is sheer to waist, but here the big panty is the right way to go. It provides more strength and structure to the top of the tights and that in turn helps to get the seams straight; it also makes more sense than running the Lurex chain detail to the waist and provided a natural break. Designed as party tights that might be worn with short dresses having the opaque top solves the underwear problem, you don’t need any! The top gives a very smooth silhouette and will preserve modesty should the need arise.

The sheer legs have a great, even colour and the chain seam is the best use of Lurex that we have seen to date, making it look classy and expensive.

Sizing is spot on, and the fit is perfect. It is well worth the £12.50 asking price; this is a must-have accessory for that little black dress and killer patent heels in the upcoming party season.

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Aristoc Cashmere Blend Tights are expensive but well worth it!

With last year’s range of Aristoc opaque tights passed over to sister brand Pretty Polly, Aristoc has launched a new premium range at prices we are more used to seeing from the likes of Wolford.

£25 is a lot of money, but with the thermometer dipping below zero, the thought of cosy cashmere is too much to resist, even though it is only 8% of the yarn.

In keeping with the premium price, Aristoc makes their current range of opaque tights in three sizes, and they supply the tights in a classy box packet.

First impressions are, it must be said, instead of socks, both in look and feel, but very soft good quality socks.

Detailing is very straightforward with average weight and finish from hip to toe and no shaping in the legs. The panty has good quality flat seams, and there is a cotton lined gusset that is far lighter than the tights.

Our test pair came in the medium size intended to fit up to 5’10” (178cm) tall and 48” (122cm) hips. They looked small but turned out to offer masses of a stretch, so that they comfortably fit a 35” leg (a lot for a girl of 5’10”). Our suggestion would be to use the hip sizing as a guide rather than the height sizing.

The fit is exceptional for heavy natural fibre tights, making these very comfortable tights indeed.

Colour density is surprisingly good even for a natural fibre. It can’t compete for sexiness with nylon, but the look is classy and will go with autumn and winter fashions perfectly.

Worth the money? Yes, absolutely. A couple of pairs of these tights will keep you feeling warm and cosy and looking stylish all through the winter months.

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