Weekly Vibe #183

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!

Welcome to Weekly Vibe #183! I have only just recovered from flu which I had from mid last week and last week was National Day for us in Singapore and we had a long weekend holiday! With the release of Pokemon Go, most of us(including me) went Pokemon hunting!! Hahaha!

On the previous I have also just ended my military reservice and we went out for a nice dinner and me of course in legwear.. *winks* and oh gosh my short hair... :(

Going back to civilian work was quite uneventful for me because I fell sick and there were so much work waiting for me... :(

I'm currently working on a Star Wars cosplay character which you will know from seeing this picture!

Last week also marked my first year being with my Lightsaber combat academy, The Force Academy! I have documented my journey in a video! Check it out! You would likely find me in every other duels in tights.. :P

It seems like Oroblu have got some new fashion tights! Check it out if you haven't!

Oroblu Joyce Tights

Oroblu Beverly Tights

Oroblu Lydia Tights

These are some styles I would recommend the guys! You can check them out more via UK Tights!

I'm currently in the midst of preparing some new contents to be released! So do stay tuned!

That's all I have for you all this week!

Thanks for reading!
Andreas

Weekly Vibe #146

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!

Welcome to Weekly Vibe #146! Sorry for not posting last week as I was coping with a personal problem hence I decided to push it to be done later. The past week and the coming week for anyone living Singapore and neighbouring regions are not having it great, most of us are either coughing, having sore eyes from the horrible haze, lessons in schools have to be cancelled, people are encouraged to stay indoors and if heading to the outdoors have to be wearing N95 grade respirators and this how it looked 4 days ago!

It's fine if it's some fog but it's actually smoke from burning forests in Indonesia, well how it got to be this bad? I'm not going to talk about it because it's going to get political and I don't wish to get political about things on this blog. But I really hope things do get done so I can quickly get out and do my Street Legwear Fashion posts without wearing a respirator! But hey I still did something!

Last week when the air was better I slipped on of the my favourite tights which UK Tights sent to me as one of our anniversary gifts!

Man the Tiffany Quinn Sheer Front Stripe tights are really awesomely cool! I do look forward to doing a Street Legwear Fashion look soon with these really spiffy looking tights!

And seems like Autumn is here and another phase of hosiery frenzy is here! Autumn has to be one of the most interesting seasons for hosiery as the climate is just perfect, you aren't shivering in cold but you can still feel comfy with a coat on and of course a nice pair of autumn tights! Hosiery designers during the autumn season come up with many great designs and here is a little trend check so far from some of the big hosiery retailers have also started selling them too! 

UK Tights have started selling new Oroblu, Le Bourget and Girardi Autumn series!

Wow and if you know me probably by now what really caught my attention are Girardi Genevieve Tights I don't know about you but they just look so cool!

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have problems pulling this style off!

Charnos and Aristoc too have released their new series of autumn hosiery and you get them via MyTights!

Well that's all I have for you this week! I'm looking forward and praying for better sky!

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

Happy Jubilee Singapore!

Hi friends!

Happy 50th Birthday Singapore!

We have came a long way from a fishing village to one of the most influential and prosperous nation! And what best way to celebrate is with a long break from Friday to Monday! (Well I had to work on Saturday) Since I just got home, I will posting up the Weekly's tomorrow!(Monday) 

Have a great weekend!
Andreas Lucius Loh

Goodbye Mr Lee

Hi friends,

Sunday was the State Funeral for Singapore's founding father and first Prime Minister, indeed the entire week had been an emotional and dark week for every Singaporean including myself.

Indeed many tears were shed for the great man but it's also through this entire mourning week, we can see how united we as a people are. I'm sure the late Mr Lee would have been very pleased if he saw. 

Thank you so much Mr Lee that you have given up your life for the country, truly there are no individual that has reached the level of contribution you made for the nation. You are an astounding visionary that has brought this nation which started off as a fishing village and that many thought could never make it into a nation that is now a bustling metropolis that has impacted the world over!

As a mark of respect, I will start blogging again in the coming weekend.

Thanks for reading.
Andreas Lucius Loh

Rest in Peace, Mr Lee Kuan Yew

Hi friends,

Today is indeed a sad day, one of Singapore's founding fathers Mr Lee Kuan Yew left us in the wee hours of Monday morning.

He will always be remembered as the man who led the transform of Singapore from a fishing village to what it is now.

Singapore then in the 1960s Photo credit: Maleny Steve's Flickr

Singapore now in the 2010s Photo credit: Myself

Rest in Peace, Sir.

Thanks for reading.
Andreas Lucius Loh

Weekly Vibe #55

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!

Welcome to the 55th edition of LFFM's Weekly Vibe! The biggest highlight this week has to be the the Swissotel Vertical Marathon I did on Sunday! 

It is 73 floors high with 1,334 steps leading up to the top! 

I found out about it from a fellow vertical marathoner when I finished my 2nd vertical marathon and to hear it about its number of floors really scared me at first... a whooping 73 floors! Well for the previous 2 vertical marathons I have done were all just 40 stories high(probably 40 is a little too much for you) When I saw that the registrations were up I was pretty hesitant because I didn't know if I could do 73 stories! But anyways I took the step of faith to go for it.

During the week I caught a flu bug that affected me throughout the week and needless to say it affected me on race day too as I was still coughing but everything else was fine already and I kept having dreams of climbing up that hotel building twice! Anyways I woke up and got ready and went down to the hotel and I noticed there were some guys actually wearing compression legwear for the event and boy was I glad!(and yes I was wearing my A866) at flag off I saw a friend who was photographer snapped a photo of me here

lol that face!

 Climbing up the first 20 or so levels were quite okay and I started feeling the stress of my throat as I started coughing up a little and of course my legs started getting tired by the 40th but I decided to just keep going on regardless and kept counting... 50...60.. 70... 3 more levels! And finally meeting that light at the end of the tunnel! OORA! I have finished!

Went past the marshals and they looped the medal over my neck.. I know YES!! I HAVE MADE IT!!!! 

The view was breathtaking too and I was really really panting and feeling my chest burning because of the coughs. I took a HDR shot of the scenery here

I held the medal on my hand and felt soo happy! And it felt like a online gaming achievement thing of "Achievement Unlocked: Climbed Swissotel's 73 storey building."

I was flagged off with a senior marathoner in his late 50s and I was really glad didn't give up and went up all the way too! And he helped me take a photo!

And that my friends, is how I actually look, top to bottom after losing 12kilos! 

I was really glad that Activskin's tights reall play a part in my journey of weight loss and all of my sporting activities. I am not done with weight loss and vertical marathoning yet! More will be done next year!

If there are any kinds of support legwear you're looking for in sports or marathons, look no further.. because Activskin WILL SUPPORT YOU ALL THE WAY! :D

That's all I have for you guys this week! Have a great week ahead!

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

Weekly Vibe #33

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!

Welcome to the 33rd edition of Weekly Vibe! :) This week was a very smoky week if you lived in Singapore and around the region because of the haze.

Photo from yahoo.sg

Hazes at high levels are life-threatening to the ill and the elderly and is a gradual killer as well as these smoke are emitted from forest fires and it had reached hazardous levels for the past weeks but as of yesterday and today, the haze has reduced and visibility finally got better! 

This week was pretty busy for me in the studio as I had to clear up my backlogs before I could leave for my reservice for the military over the next 2 weeks. I went back to base on Wednesday with a new uniform and was so looking forward to seeing the guys I have been slugging out my life with when I was in my military active days! I also helped out on a Saturday to move our studio to a new location and it was really exhausting for me, we started packing at 8am and finally got down with unpacking and ended at 11pm! Man! I was so tired when I got home and had a good sleep but woke up still feeling really tired and sore from moving all the heavy stuff. 

Now for the hosiery updates!

Tightsplease is having a discount for a couple of their products and the one really want to highlight are the Wolford hosiery products are actually on discounts as high as 50% off! Follow the link here! 

I really enjoyed wearing my Wolford Velvet De Luxe 66 tights on Sunday and I just realised something about how wearing the right underwear will affect the hose you wear as well and it will be a post I will be writing up soon for the days to come!

That's all for this week!!

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

Weekly Vibe #17

Hi Fashionable and Creative people!

Once again welcome to LFFM's Weekly Vibe!! This week would be the 17th edition! I had quite a week actually. My friend Vanessa brought me out to celebrate my birthday and guess who I saw at ION Orchard? We saw Jackie Chan!! Yes THE Jackie Chan!! Well I totally lost the nerve to take any photos of him and so sad to say... No photos.. but I was glad I did get to see him for real as I probably wouldn't ever see him that up close during his own personal shopping time with his friends and family.

I caught a pretty bad cold this week as well and I'm still in the process right now of recovery. I did try something new last night though, I slipped on my A866 Full support opaques and wore them to sleep. I realised that the heat retention was really great on the lower part of my body, as if I didn't think I needed my blanket at all. 

I'm currently also working on an article series on hosiery.. do keep a look out for it! 


Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

Interviewed by Hosiery Advocate, Eugene

Hi Creative and Fashionable Individuals!

+Eugene Wong  aka Hosiery Advocate has posted up another part of his interview with me and this time was mostly surrounded on the topic of where I reside in, Singapore. You can read all about it here!

Eugene also has a online hosiery boutique "Hosiery Advocate's Boutique" and he stocks up brands such as Silks, Energizers, Silk Desires, Transparenze, Jockey & Viola.(but note that only the first 3 brands are listed on the catalogue)Also he has 2 other brands called Radiant Ronda and Utility Hosiery that are in experimental stage, which one can only order specially through contacting Eugene. Hosiery Advocate's Boutique ships them worldwide. They stock mostly Canadian hosiery brands. The prices are quite competitive with other online hosiery stores. I will most likely place an order in February and do reviews on some of the hosiery products! You can also visit the Facebook page here

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

New Tights Order: January 2013

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!

I recently ordered a pair of tights from Newlook Marketing a Singaporean online hosiery store, this time I only ordered one and it's a Sarah Borghi 50 denier patterned tights called "Line". 

I have ordered from Newlook Marketing before, and the time it takes to deliver is pretty fast, it takes about 2 to 3 days for them to arrive. They costed me SGD$13.90 or US$11.33 or GBP7.05. I ordered a Size 4 which is an XL for these. 

Close up of material.

http://www.newlook.com.sg/sarahborghi.asp?style=SB10915

If you don't know, Sarah Borghi is an Italian brand is widely known to produce good quality hosiery.
Also Newlook Marketing has a wide range of legwear, socks, lingerie, undergarments for both male and female on sale, they ship internationally and are sold at good prices. Have a look!

I will post up a review soon on the Sarah Borghi's Line tights when I get my hands on them and put them on myself!

Thank you for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

2 Months in Tights and Shorts

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!


I just realised that I have been wearing tights really often with shorts on my off days especially on sundays to church and my brothers and sisters in my church cellgroup has grown so accustomed to it and I don't feel weird at all wearing it with shorts, I believe it is really about matching your clothes tastefully to match your legwear. Like one of my church brothers who told me.. it really does take a lot of guts to wear out like that, a church sister also said that I have grown in my area of boldness in what I wear. And those were positive remarks that I take which strengthens my resolve! I have commented to them that I'm not mainly wearing it for health reasons but for fashion reasons and I am indeed starting a new trend. But seriously, not every guy would accept tights as a normal clothing item. Just like there are some women who do not wear hose at all.
I just hope this would encourage more men who wear them to wear them out openly!


Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

In Focus: ActivSkin A857 Thermofabric Ribbed Light Support Tights

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!

Here is my review on ActivSkin A857 Thermofabric Ribbed Light Support Tights
 

At first look the Activskin ribbed tights look pretty small to fit my rather broad body, I was actually a little apprehensive about support hosiery as I didn't like putting them on due to the fact that it might be real hard to put them on... but when I pulled the first leg up, it felt really stretchy and really really smooth, soft and comfortable!! I wore out these with shorts to church and I had no negative comments! I had a church brother in my cellgroup that complimented me and said that it takes guts to wear them out like that. I suppose that's the perk of being in a contemporary church! Hahaha! Anyways, on the light support that the product says that it gives, I don't really feel my legs were gasping to breathe but my legs feel good for the entire time, not full of aches and pain by the end of the day. It isn't as sheer as it looks on the picture that Activskin provides, it is pretty opaque as you can see in the photos below. The ribbing isn't very obvious from far but only at closer inspection.

 Cowl flap collared T-shirt: NEWLOOK  Shades: H&M   Shorts: THOMAS SMITH Tights: ACTIVSKIN Shoes: TOPMAN
Bag: BLACK SHEEP COLLECTION  Model & Photographer: A. LUCIUS. KUNSTWERKE

Price: US$15.99

Material content: 93% nylon microfiber and 7% Lycra® spandex

Sizes offered: M to XXL

Colours: Black

Pros: Soft, Stretchy, Smooth, Good opacity coverage, very stylish, keeps your legs comfortable by the end of the day & not too expensive.
 
Cons: No fly, but then again without the fly it made it cheaper, may/may not need to wear underpants when wearing them(the regular brief wasn't thick enough to protect from the rough slight brushes against the pants zippers.
 
http://www.glieberman.com/a857-thermofabric-ribbed-light-support-tights/

Overall I'm very pleased with the A857 Thermofabric Ribbed Light Support Tights. I give it a rating of 5 out of 5 stars.

New Tights Order: October 2012

Hi Creative and Fashion people!

I recently placed an order on 2 pairs of tights from ActivSkin. Two of them are manufactured by G. Lieberman & Sons, Ltd.

One of them is the A866 Thermofabric Full Support Tights with Fly 

There was only black for this variant and  it is priced at US$19.99

The other one is the A839 Thermofabric Opaque Light Support Tights

There is only black for this and it is priced at US$14.99

This is my 2nd purchase with Activskin and I'm really enjoying their products! In fact actually the A839 is for my mum! Hence I will not be reviewing the A839 but the A866 and I'm absolutely looking forward to receiving them and trying them on! Stay tuned for the reviews and fashion styles for these tights!

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

New Tights Order : September II 2012

Hi Creative and Fashion people!

I recently placed an order on 2 pairs of tights from ActivSkin. Two of them are manufactured by G. Lieberman & Sons, Ltd. By our very own Mantyhose man Steve Katz!

One of them is the A857 Thermofabric Ribbed Light Support Tights 

There was only black for this variant and  it is priced at US$15.99

The other one is the A894 Thermofabric Camouflage Tights with Fly

There is only camouflage colour for this and it is priced at US$24.99
 
There is an extra charge of US$19 for shipping globally. Total cost was US$59.98

This is the first time I'm paying about $72 Singapore dollars for 2 pairs of tights which is pretty expensive but I'm absolutely looking forward to receiving them and trying them on! Stay tuned for the reviews and fashion styles for these tights!

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

Edit: Steve Katz is the co-founder of G. Lieberman & Sons, Ltd. instead of Steve Newman.

In Focus : ADRIAN City Tights

Hi Creative and Fashionable people!

Here is my review on ADRIAN's City Tights :

I ordered this and the ADRIAN Argyle Grating Tights from Legwear4men a few weeks back. At first look it is pretty similar to the ADRIAN Grating Argyle Tights as they are both 60 denier. I got an L size for this one, it feels soft at first touch and the softness is felt throughout as I had them on. The male comfort panel is indeed comfortable. Opacity coverage is good overall and it also gives a slight shine. The skin show stretch shows at the heel, knee cap and the thighs(possibly because I got pretty broad thighs). These are Sheer to waist, no reinforced toes.I also noticed that they aren't very stretchy. However they feel pretty robust which I believe will last for many wears. I'm weighing at 93kg or 203lb and my height is 179cm or 5'10 I recommend getting a XL if you are around my weight and height. Overall they feel pretty comfortable to be in. I give this tights 4 out of 5 stars.

Price : £6.99

Material content : 60 Denier Tights 85% Polyamide and 15% Lycra

Pros : Soft, Good opacity coverage, economical for a European brand, good male comfort panel

Cons: Lacks stretchable qualities.

http://tights-for-men.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26&products_id=165

Grey Sweater : NEWLOOK  Glasses: H&M  Green and Black Tartan Pants: J. FEDDERS Tights: ADRIAN  Shoes: TOPMAN
Model & Photographer : A. LUCIUS. KUNSTWERKE

Thanks for reading!
Andreas Lucius Loh

In Focus : Aristoc 120 Denier Cotton Sheen Opaque tights

Hi Creative and Fashionable people! I thought I'd give a review on the Aristoc 120 Denier Cotton Sheen Opaque Tights:

As a follower of Hosiery For Men's blog I read that there was an exclusive competition in the March 2012 blog post where the winners would win a pair of tights and so I retweeted the Tweet in which Tightsplease tweeted, and I found myself one of the lucky or blessed few to have won a pair of Tights!

Priced at £20.49, it definitely isn't your cheap drug store purchase sort of tights. Being in Summer all year round Singapore, I wonder how was I going to wear this 120 denier tights.. it was definitely the sort one would wearing during colder months.. Nevertheless I did try wearing it out on days where I felt colder and it was a really nice fit! The seams were flat, "legs" were long for my legs, it gives ample warmth with its cotton blend  and it is definitely an Aristoc seal of quality. The only thing I probably didn't like was that the waist was pretty high past my navel. It is pretty long lasting and it is still lasting me through. Although it is 120 denier, it's coverage looks more of a 80 denier kind. Overall I give this pair of tights 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Material content : 120 Denier Reinforced Toe Cotton Gusset 58% Nylon 38% Cotton 4% Elastane

http://www.tightsplease.co.uk/brands/aristoc/cotton-sheen-tights/

Top Down view of Aristoc 120 Denier Cotton Sheen Tights

Cowled Collared Red checkered Shirt: NEWLOOK  Glasses: H&M  Shorts: THOMAS SMITH  Tights: ARISTOC  Shoes: TOPMAN  Photo & Model: A.LUCIUS. KUNSTWERKE

Thanks for reading! :)

Andreas Lucius Loh

The Genesis

Greetings all! I am Andreas or some may call me Lucius by my middle name, I am an Artist who works as a Photographer in a Baby Photography Studio based in Singapore. I have a website for my artistic services on here.

The reason why I came up with this blog is because I feel that there is more to menswear than just the typical suits, shirts, tie and shoes. My main focus here would be the controversial and not-so-new pantyhose for men.. or some coin it as "Mantyhose" along with other apparels for men. I have been inspired by many bloggers such as Hosiery For Men, Hosiery Advocate & Tights For Men who mostly do reviews on various hosiery that would fit men. The one thing that really pushed me to start this has got to be attending the ACA(American Creativity Association) Conference 2012 at Singapore late August in 2012. Challenged to be creative, I decided to do and start something new and creative.

I have always liked the look and the feel of tights, it gives a very nice and smooth finish to the wearer's legs portraying perfection to the legs. And of course not to mention the warmth, comfort and medical benefits some patterns would give. Most importantly, there are much more to play with in terms of mixing and matching with other clothes, now I'm not looking at crossdressing but mixing tastefully and correctly with other mens' apparel. (For the record, I am Straight and as straight as a metal ruler could be.)

I have to say that I really admire Chan Kraemer the owner of Mantyhose.net who have in a way paved the way for "Mantyhose" to be made known to the world that men too can don tights and look great and manly at the same time! I also salute the famous Italian fashion designer Emilio Cavallini who came up with bold and yet creative styles of unisex pantyhose!

Photo of Chan Kraemer from Mantyhose.net

Image from Emilio Cavalini's website http://www.emiliocavallini.com

I see Men's Hosiery like how Elizabeth Smith Miller(1822-1911) saw with pants, just in case if you don't know who she is.. she was the first woman also a Women's Right Advocate and financial supporter who wore pants and that caused a reform in women's dress code... with repercussions of course.. one could imagine the persecutions she would have faced. But look now! Women wear pants freely without being sniggered at. 

Designs by French Designer Yves Saint Laurent

I would like to end with a quote by George Bernard Shaw:

Thank you for reading as I had the pleasure of blogging it! :)

Andreas Lucius Loh