LFFM Digest I: Getting the right size!

Hi Creative and Fashionable friends!

Today's Legwear Fashion For Men (LFFM) Digest will be on the topic of "Getting the right size!" I will be sharing this from my own experience. 

Some might ask.. "So what size hosiery will fit me?" 

I know that there are both men and women who read this blog and yes obviously both men and women do have legs, hence this question bothers both genders. So how?

1) Get to know what is your height and your weight in both Metric and Imperial units of measurement. Why? Because some vendors may use metric or imperial standards for their product size charts.

2) Find out as much information as you want on the hosiery product you are about to buy. Why? The more you know the better it is. And on what information I'm referring to.. Aha.. It's about ratings from customers who have bought and tried it on before. The best I would recommend is reading it in detail from bloggers who do detailed reviews on the hosiery product, as they mostly provide the most information on fit and comfort. I will be providing links to them at the end of this.

3) For the men out there, since we are the much larger built individuals, we most likely be looking at the plus and the extra tall sizes especially for hosiery product marketed for women. Most men can find themselves fitting easily into smaller sizes for hosiery that are made specially for men. 


How do you know if you got the right size?

Well it is pretty simple, putting them on would be a breeze and you will feel comfortable all around, if they were opaques, opacity should be even throughout the legs,(however do take note that some opaque tights, especially when your legs bend regardless of how good the fit is will still show some stretch)if they were sheers you wouldn't see too much stretching all over and uneven colour on the legs. Fit so well you probably forgot you had them on in the first place!

Then it comes to the topic.. How to know whether you got a wrong size? 

#Smaller Sizes

Photo from http://mylifemysonmyway.blogspot.com

There are many tell-tale signs especially when you put it on, for sizes that are smaller some of the signs are pretty obvious like tighter fit(tights with no support qualities) other signs are if there are reinforced briefs, brief lines will appear to be lower than usual riding down your lower thighs, as a rough gauge they usually should just appear about 1 to 2cm or lesser measuring below your crotch.(yes I know some the guys find the reinforced brief showing on girls to be pretty hot but to be honest with you, it's very unsightly for a girl) If you wore undersized opaque tights, you may end up looking like wearing semi opaques due to over stretching of the fabric and not to mention, you find yourself struggling to put them on and no to mention potentially ruining them. And girls I really recommend wearing sheer to waist tights if you are intending on wearing those hot pants, unless you really want unwanted attention... 

#Bigger Sizes

Photo from http://splars.blogspot.com/

You probably may think wearing something bigger might work out.. Well.. yes and no but usually it won't work out too well. Depending on the content of Lycra in the tights, higher meaning better stretchability and leg hugging ability and of course better durability. Larger tights will cause sagging around the back of the knee cap area which is pretty uncomfortable and unsightly, pulling your tights could probably work for a bit but you gotta remember that with the oversized tights you got, the waistband is already pretty high.. Or unless you could fold the waistband outwards and down. And if you don't pull up your tights.. you may end up probably looking like her on top.

#One Size

I haven't really tried these but for the one sized women's hosiery, they actually do have a limit to what size they would fit up to, the guys out there could take the risk and try... Also I realised that  hosiery that just go one size are usually manufactured by mediocre hosiery brands. Premium and good hosiery brands usually have more sizes that will fit right for different individuals. 

#Tall Size

For individuals with longer legs, you aren't left behind! Many premium brands like Fogal, Kunert, Cecilia de Rafael, Gerbe, Aristoc, Hudson, Activskin, Levante, Trasparenze, Charnos, Miss Oroblu & the list goes on provide for customers with longer legs. You may have a slender body with long legs, I do not recommend buying larger XLs because what might just happen will happen to you in what I have written in the #Bigger Sizes point. Always look out for reviews on what you're about to buy, ordering online from tightsplease and UK Tights offer choices of filtering your searches hence making your product search hassle free. 


Conclusion:

You could trial and error for sizes if what you're buying is affordable or cut that cost and refer to point no. 2)

I have compiled a list of hosiery bloggers who review hosiery from a male perspective:

Hosiery For Men
Tights For Men
Le Collant Selon Arnaud (French)
Legwear Fashion For Men

Female perspective:
Fashion My Legs 
Fantasy Stockings
Pantyhose Pantyhose

Next topic on LFFM Digest will be on "How to put them on!" Do keep a look out for it!

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh