Russian Radio Show – Pantyhose Battle of OMSA and Filodoro brands, Part 2

Posted on January 20, 2015 by admin

seamless pantyhose, 40 den, Superlativa 40 by OMSA on my legs

A photo of Jessica in OMSA pantyhose

Isn’t it rare to hear a good show on the radio? Official Russian radio station Mayak (means Lighthouse) had this show (Top Russia) out with Sergey Stillavin as a host. They would review some product each week and even do voting competitions. For whatever reason this show no longer exists.

I personally disliked how Sergey addressed his colleague, Victoria, about her not wearing pantyhose and thus not being like the rest of the women. There is a reference to that here (Mean criticism or blunt truth?). The caller Alla from Moscow also in a sense disappointed me, she is a typical Muscovite who almost caught up to all the American women. Women from other parts of Russia do whatever they can in order to keep their man happy.

Read Part 1 – Pantyhose Brand Comparison on Russian Radio Mayak РІР‚вЂњ Sisi, Filodoro, Omsa, Golden Lady, and Glamour

Now only 2 brands made it into semi-finals — OMSA and Filodoro.

Stillavin: Last week we had 5 contestants and now we are selecting the finalists. We were talking about pantyhose and stockings too. Out of 5 contestants the ones that made it to the finals are Filodoro and OMSA. Please express your opinion. Women and hosiery sales people are especially welcome. Which brand out of the two is best?

Stillavin: A week ago we found out that Victoria Kolosova doesn’t use pantyhose, they are too tight on her.

Victoria: They are not too tight, they are itchy.

Stillavin: Could that be because you don’t shave your legs, Victoria?

Victoria: Sure, Sergey. Do you think I should walk around hairy like an orangutan?

Stillavin: Now we are choosing at TopRussia the best brand of hosiery in Russia. OMSA against Filodoro. Left behind are Golden Lady, Si Si, and the last place is for the most non-glamorous brand called Glamour. Who should win today, OMSA or Filodoro? Ladies, please voice your opinion and explain, is it the price that matters or some kind of durability? I remember one week ago a lady called and said that she wears one pair of pantyhose for 3 weeks. This resulted in lots of comments from women, they don’t believe her, say it’s impossible.

Vahidov: Listen, today I found official classification of pantyhose in Russia.

Stillavin: Let’s listen to Alla for her expert opinion and then the classification. Good morning, Alla! Tell us, Filodoro or OMSA? What’s better?

Alla (caller, 27 yrs old, Moscow): Neither! Sorry, but I am with Victoria on this one. You said that pantyhose itch and for me they itch too. Even if they don’t itch like OMSA Velour, they fall down, their elasticity is not good enough. What is the point of all these new technologies? For this reason I don’t like pantyhose.

Victoria: Correct!

Alla (caller, 27 yrs old, Moscow): But if I would be to choose between Filodoro and OMSA, I’d say OMSA. There are some that I use when I need to wear a skirt.

Stillavin: Wear it purely for the man? Like let’s say on New Year’s Eve?

Alla (caller, 27 yrs old, Moscow): No, I don’t agree to such sacrifices for a man.

Vahidov: Listen (about classification), pantyhose is classified by the type of finish, such as bleached, evenly coloured, fast-knitted. Classified by the type of knitting: smoothly knitted, plastic knitting, platinized, fleece, jaccard, or pressed method. Depending on the structure, such as pantyhose with briefs and without briefs. I don’t even know what it is!

Victoria: Briefs support part of the buttocks.

Vahidov: There are winter pantyhose, fishnet, shiny. Even in the classification there is a type called “sexy”.

Victoria: “Sexy”? Is that with holes in them?

Stillavin: Just with a word “Sexy” written on them.

Vahidov: And even a more interesting point, there is pantyhose that is machine-knitted and hand-knitted. I can’t imagine, how can someone knit pantyhose by hand?

There is also classification by occasion РІР‚вЂњ regular wear, sporty, medical. Regular wear pantyhose can be either for daily wear or for dressy wear. Listen, that’s a nightmare!

Stillavin: We have only 4 minutes left until the end of the voting. I am so sad that Victoria is not an expert in pantyhose. She is not like other women, you see. She’s got a squeaky voice and an owl’s glance.

Victoria: But you still can’t leave me alone. “Owl’s Glance”…

Stillavin: So they ask me why I treat Victoria like this. But how else can I treat her? She doesn’t wear pantyhose, doesn’t put on nail polish, doesn’t wear lipstick. She only puts on some powder in the morning and goes straight to work.

Vahidov: (towards Victoria) Your husband doesn’t like pantyhose?

Victoria: I haven’t noticed him wearing it.

Vahidov: Victoria, pantyhose is synthetic, correct?

Victoria: Of course!

Vahidov: Well, if it’s synthetic, will it absorb women’s sweat?

Stillavin: Women don’t sweat at all.

Vahidov: Usually they sweat only behind their knees.

Vladimir Pastuhov: By the way, about sweat and buying pantyhose before winter there are some recommendations. Pantyhose should contain wool, cotton, and lycra (without it pantyhose will sag). Today microfiber pantyhose are very popular РІР‚вЂњ these are polyamide threads consisting of a huge number of thin threads. Such pantyhose are soft, smooth, and velvety. They are warm and durable, but their price is higher. Acrylic pantyhose are not expensive, they are soft and warm, but they fringe fast and lose their good appearance. Such pantyhose are ideal for wearing under pants.

Vahidov: Just got a message from Samara. She says both brands are so-so, cheap and not durable. This is about OMSA and Filodoro that ended up in the semi-final. She prefers stockings instead of pantyhose when she wears a dress or a skirt. In the middle of cold winter only tough Russian women can wear pantyhose. Is this true?

Stillavin: All the rest wear leggings!

Vladimir Pastuhov: And lastly, when choosing pantyhose it’s important to see if they look clean and if the package is intact, if all the information about the company / denier /size / colour is present. Also, pay attention to the smell of the product. (Maybe they mean to avoid second hand pantyhose?)

Victoria: Pantyhose don’t emit any smell through the package.

Vladimir Pastuhov: Pay attention to the seams, they must be flat and when stretched they should almost disappear.

Stillavin: OK,guys, today OMSA is winning and Filodoro is losing! We can already congratulate OMSA brand! Or, whoever produces OMSA brandРІР‚В¦

Vahidov: Golden Lady produces OMSA!

Pantyhose Brand Comparison on Russian Radio Mayak – Sisi, Filodoro, Omsa, Golden Lady, and Glamour

Posted on March 31, 2013 by admin

This is a radio show from Russian Radio Mayak, lead by Sergey Stillavin and friends. It is sad to say that this show just closed down in 2012.

Left to right: unknown, Vladimir Pastuhov, Victoria Kolosova, Rustam Vahidov, Sergey Stillavin

In this particular show they discuss 5 popular brands on Russian market – Filodoro, Omsa, Golden Lady, Glamour, and Sisi and the public votes. Some people phone in to express their opinion and some leave messages by SMS.

We should make an important note here that Omsa brand is actually owned by Golden Lady. This we can easily learn from their website. It is mentioned in the show by one of the hosts too, but the question about exactly HOW these 5 brands were chose is not answered. As you see below, some callers expressed this concern too.

PANTYHOSE BRAND COMPARISON

Sergey Stillavin	What a sweet topic we are going to have today!

Victoria Kolosova	Pantyhose?

Sergey Stillavin	I am trying to be docile, especially topics that are about women. I myself actually stopped wearing pantyhose when I was 6.

Sergey Stillavin	Today we are going to choose the best brand of women’s pantyhose. This is very important! I spoke to small business owners who have small shops and kiosks near subway stations about products that bring the most revenue in high traffic areas. They said that the best thing is to sell pantyhose because it is a renewable resource. Nobody today bothers to stitch up and fix runs in pantyhose.

Victoria Kolosova	My friend a while back taught me how to fix runs (reconstructing the weave) and I knew how to do it. She had a special hook for doing that. If you are having insomnia, doing this is the best way to fall asleep!

Sergey Stillavin	Here is Victoria with her stories about pantyhose. We’ll also hear about stockings today, of course. As I understand, today you are always in pants and you are not wearing anything under?

Victoria Kolosova	I am not wearing (any pantyhose underneath the pants).

Sergey Stillavin	But at least sometimes? Your husband, Maxim, asks you to wear?

Victoria Kolosova	Yes, sometimes, but it’s just that my legs get itchy.

Sergey Stillavin (joking)	From what? Maybe you simply need to shave your legs!

Victoria Kolosova (shyly)	I am allergic. For real, my legs begin to itch.

Sergey Stillavin	Today I am inviting respectful women, young women, and men (specifically male businessmen) who sell pantyhose to join our discussion.

Rustam Vahidov (interrupting)	Did you ever kiss women’s feet in pantyhose?

Victoria Kolosova (giggling)	Unwashed?

Sergey Stillavin	Stop leading us astray!

Sergey Stillavin	We need an expert opinion on whether items, depending on their brands, are really different. Or (like once we had a phone call about jeans) all these brands are all made at the same factory. Do these products really differ based on brand and price? What is the (quality) range? For example to me all these names are familiar because of TV commercials, especially in winter, when women begin to dress warmer. Which ones of these advertised brands actually became popular? Today we have 5 candidate brands:
	· Sisi
	· Glamour
	· Filodoro
	· Golden Lady
	· Omsa

Rustam Vahidov	(about Filodoro) …very well known.

Victoria Kolosova	(about Filodoro) … and most expensive.

Sergey Stillavin	There are also elite brands, like Wolford, I think.

Rustam Vahidov	Yesterday I’ve heard it was Pierre Cardin.

Sergey Stillavin	Pierre Cardin makes everything, except for the chairs!

Victoria Kolosova	Pierre Cardin is available in all supermarkets in quite large quantities.

Sergey Stillavin	Ok, somehow we chose five brands. Ladies, let us know your consumer opinion please, and we welcome to hear from men about the trade.
	What are the pricing policies from the manufacturers, does the quality of pantyhose really vary, and brand is it that people buy most of?
	Because popularity is simply what the person is used to hearing, but real sales data makes up the statistics.
	Sisi, Glamour, Filodoro, Omsa, Golden Lady – wow, what kind of names! Who came up with such names?
	There is a real emphasis on Italy – somehow it is very strict that pantyhose have to be Italian, is it right?

Vladimir Pastuhov	Filodoro was created by my friend, Dima Sedon. He now lives in Switzerland and he is a professional cyclist racer. At first they’d bring it in their hand luggage! They designed it on their own, ordered manufacturing from an Italian factory, came up with this name by themselves, started to bring it in.

Sergey Stillavin (interrupting)	They came up with this name? Seriously?

Vladimir Pastuhov	Yes, then later some 2 other Russian guys flew in on their own airplane and for 5 million dollars took this start up for themselves.

Sergey Stillavin	So that means it’s completely our own (Russian) story. But what about Omsa and Golden Lady?

Vladimir Pastuhov	I am not informed about those at all.

Sergey Stillavin	OK, girls, please call in to give us your expert opinion. Men, please only call if you sell it. Let’s not discuss like Vahidov about what’s more pleasurable to kiss, sniff…

Rustam Vahidov (interrupting)	… to pull off!

Sergey Stillavin	That’s later… Why pull off? Let’s not pull off. Better pull on.

	Phone call from Angela, 27 yrs old, Moscow:

Angela (Caller)	Good morning.

Sergey Stillavin	Please, we have Sisi, Glamour, Filodoro, Golden Lady, and Omsa – what brand do you prefer?

Angela (Caller)	Out of these five I’d choose Sisi. But I wanted to say, you were just talking about Pierre Cardin… Pierre Cardin is superb.

Sergey Stillavin	Super! In terms of prices, which one is the most expensive brand?

Angela (Caller)	Oh, maybe not Golden Lady, it’s just that I don’t use those as much. In supermarkets the price for Pierre Cardin is very affordable and the quality is very good.

Sergey Stillavin	Angela, how much does a basic pair of pantyhose cost?

Angela (Caller)	Last time I bought it for 110 rubles.
	(converts to $3.50 USD)

Sergey Stillavin	How long do you wear them for until you get a snag in them, until they are no longer wearable?

Angela (Caller)	For me personally it’s 2 – 3 weeks.

Victoria Kolosova	That’s good!

Vladimir Pastuhov	I wanted to ask, what to you are superb pantyhose? Is it before all its durability, or is it the color, the shade?

Angela (Caller)	Yes, you said that right; it’s the colour, it looks good when worn. The quality too. Since I wear pantyhose with both skirts and pants, it completely works for me either way. They don’t fall off.

Victoria Kolosova	Also you need to pay attention to the design of the pantyhose and the type. For example, some have low rise waistline, some shape the hips, some shape the legs… they are all different.

Sergey Stillavin	Like this will soon start talking about the gusset!

Angela (Caller)	Options are limitless, you’ll choose one eventually.

Sergey Stillavin (interrupting)	Angela, the main question that bothers me in winter, when women walk in a skirt and pantyhose, do those sheer nylons actually keep you warm?

Angela (Caller)	That’s horrible! Today I stepped out to start heating up my car and I saw a young woman in a mini skirt and thin pantyhose. That’s just horrible.

Victoria Kolosova	Actually men wear it too. Natalia writes to us (SMS) that her husband wears warm pantyhose when he goes fishing.

Sergey Stillavin	Is this why Vladmir is interested in the fishermen?

Vladimir Pastuhov	I also have one story about pantyhose. At the time when TV Shopping Channel became popular, besides kitchenware the topic of pantyhose was also raised. My friends came up with a plan. Pantyhose come in different denier. They brought from Taiwan 90 den No Name pantyhose and announced them as anti-cellulite . A whole line up formed and in a matter of 24 hours it was sold out. But a few days later a local prosecutor came all puffed up and promised those guys a TV broadcast and executions, because his wife’s cellulite didn’t disappear. We quickly ceased these activities.

SMS Message	You forgot to mention pantyhose from Birobidjan (autonomous Jewish state of Russia). There is nothing worse in the world – they wear for 20 minutes and the rest of the time hang at the knees.

	Phone call from Sergey:

Sergey Stillavin	Do you sell pantyhose?

Sergey, Caller	No, I’m more likely a consumer.

Sergey Stillavin	Tell us!

Sergey, Caller	This story didn’t happen to me. It happened in one of the resorts in Minsk. There was a health resort with mud baths. A woman came, undressed, and took her clothes with her, but forgot her pantyhose. After her an elderly gentleman came in and was also told to undress, come in, immerse himself into the mud bath, and enjoy. He saw the pantyhose and thought that he is supposed to wear it, so he put it on and sat in the mud bath. He sat in the mud for whatever duration was recommended, maybe an hour. After that it took about 2 hours for staff to pull off his pantyhose! Those were probably very high quality pantyhose.

Sergey Stillavin	Do you cohabitate with women?

Sergey, Caller	I have a wife.

Sergey Stillavin	What brand does your wife prefer? Or, maybe you are not informed about her interests?

Sergey, Caller	I see that she buys some, but I don’t know what kind. Probably good ones.

Sergey Stillavin	Ok, so you don’t check out the pictures on the packaging. Thank you very much, Sergey.

Victoria Kolosova	Julia writes to us (SMS) “I hate skin-tone pantyhose, it’s horrible, vulgar, and not attractive, especially when shiny”

Rustam Vahidov	Why? There are pantyhose with lurex as far as I know, right?

Victoria Kolosova	There are glossy ones.

Rustam Vahidov	Glowing! That’s cool.

Sergey Stillavin	(towards Victoria) … How do you feel about pantyhose? Is it just an item of clothing, like a jacket?

Victoria Kolosova	Guys, now it is very fashionable to wear prints and colourful pantyhose, there is a massive selection out there, but my legs itch from it and I don’t have anyone to scratch it for me at work.

Vladimir Pastuhov	We got a message from a criminal (SMS) – “the most important thing is that through pantyhose you can’t see the face”.

Rustam Vahidov	We are getting a message here asking us how come if yesterday we were eating chocolate Easter eggs in our test drive session, why can’t we all wear pantyhose today for TopRussia show?

Victoria Kolosova	Those are two different shows!

Vladimir Pastuhov	Bring it, we’ll wear it.


	Caller Oksana has a pantyhose business, Moscow

Sergey Stillavin	Oksana, pantyhose sell well, correct? What do people buy most out of the five brands we listed?

Oksana, Caller	Yes, correct. Omsa and Filodoro are top sellers.

Sergey Stillavin	What about the price?

Oksana, Caller	Around 20-30 rubles difference in retail price. (converts to less than $1 USD) I don’t think it’s a big difference for the consumer.

Sergey Stillavin	Tell us please, as a professional, do these 5 brands really differ in quality?

Oksana, Caller	They differ very much in the quality of weave, and correspondingly that would determine the lifespan of wearing these pantyhose.

Sergey Stillavin	Let’s say those that are better quality and those that sell best, is it the same thing? Do people really buy mostly durable items?

Oksana, Caller	Advertisement of course did its job. For example, Glamour pantyhose are just awful, but people buy them and I don’t understand why. But for example brands like Pierre Cardin and Philippe Matignon sell less, but their quality is better.

Sergey Stillavin	On average, what is the lifespan of wearing pantyhose?

Oksana, Caller	I think 2 – 3 times, not longer. What that young woman said about her wearing it for two weeks is unimaginable. Maybe she washes it, dries it, and then maybe she stores onions in them? I think only 2 – 3 times maximum for wearing.

Victoria Kolosova	I also can’t imagine that, wearing for so long.

Sergey Stillavin	Now we are choosing a finalist out of 5 brands. At the moment the highest chances are for the brands Filodoro and Golden Lady. Among the outsiders are Sisi, Glamour, and Omsa. What brand should be the winner?

	Caller Elena, 29 years old, Archangel

Elena, Caller	I am a consumer.

Sergey Stillavin	So, out of these brands, which one should become the queen of pantyhose?

Elena, Caller	I think that neither out of these 5 brands is good. But I most note, I like Filodoro stockings, but the rest of the pantyhose are all of average quality.

Sergey Stillavin	Do you wear stockings to work or for personal business?

Elena, Caller	Starting May I wear stockings all the time.

Rustam Vahidov	And with flip-flops, do you wear stockings too?

Elena, Caller	No. When the season allows for it, I wear stockings. In the summer – of course not. I only wear pantyhose in winter, and only those that are warm.

Sergey Stillavin	But still, from the list of these pantyhose brands, which ones do you give preference to?

Elena, Caller	I don’t know, I think Omsa. This brand is present on the Russian market since the beginning of the 90’s. Do you remember their commercial with a slogan? By quality they are the best out of all presented brands by you.You didn’t introduce the brand «Грация» (Gracia) that is very popular among Russian women. I am talking about their warm pantyhose.The brands that you are comparing poorly represent selection of winter pantyhose.

SMS Message	There are real brand name pantyhose and there are knock offs.

SMS Message	Child, if your product is only one-time use, perhaps you are purchasing knock offs? I usually wear Omsa at least a season, but of course I don’t climb fences while wearing it. Lyudmila

Rustam Vahidov	Do people wash pantyhose at all?

Victoria Kolosova	Of course, every day! You don’t wear your socks all month long, right?

Sergey Stillavin	Foreigners at the end of the 80’s… not for all women it would be pleasant to remember… I remember reading notes about what foreigners think about Soviet women. One of the things listed as what they just can’t understand was why is it that Soviet women sniff their pantyhose before washing!

Rustam Vahidov	Sniff which part?

Sergey Stillavin	In general, just checking so by accident they don’t wash the ones that are still not dirty.

Rustam Vahidov	I remember that from cracked heels pantyhose rips fast. Snags appear.

	Caller Stas

Sergey Stillavin	Let’s hear out Stas, is he a seller of pantyhose?

Stas, Caller	I am a consumer, but not for the intended use.

Sergey Stillavin	How so?

Stas, Caller	I would like to defend pantyhose by Sisi, 40 den. My wife had such. They are a perfect fit for the timing belt in the car – I checked. In the summer we went out of town and our timing belt ripped and my wife’s pantyhose came in handy.

Rustam Vahidov	What car was that, a tank?

Stas, Caller	Volga. So Sisi pantyhose were suitable, I remember my wife was wearing it at the time.

Sergey Stillavin	Do you, Rustam, control your wife’s pantyhose purchases? Do you know what brand of pantyhose she buys?

Rustam Vahidov	No.

Vladimir Pastuhov	Oh-oh! I see that you both probably spend your days at the pantyhose section of the department stores!

Rustam Vahidov	I only notice brands on television, like most of us, or in the crosswalk if I see a crowd of women near a kiosk. There are line ups there.

Victoria Kolosova	A woman should always have a spare pair of pantyhose in her purse. If she has a run or a snag, how can she wear it ripped? Women can go and change pantyhose.

Sergey Stillavin	Then is this why you, women, have such long line ups in the washroom because you change clothing there?

Victoria Kolosova	So what, everyone has their weaknesses.

	Caller Anna, 26 years old, Moscow

Sergey Stillavin	At what age did you start wearing pantyhose for adult women?

Anna, Caller	Wow, I don’t remember, I think at 20.

Sergey Stillavin	And before that?

Anna, Caller	Before that I didn’t wear dresses.

Sergey Stillavin	Stop laughing! (to the colleagues) Out of these 5 brands, which one do you prefer?

Anna, Caller	I’d choose Omsa, but I also wanted to mention something about the quality of Sisi. I purposely bought same denier to compare and noticed that Sisi rips much faster. Sisi pantyhose last in general only one day.

Sergey Stillavin	What about Omsa? How long do they last?

Anna, Caller	For sure 3 – 4 days of wear.

Sergey Stillavin	And in that timespan, how many times do you manage to wash this pair of pantyhose?

Anna, Caller	Also 3 – 4 times.

Sergey Stillavin	So that means you have to wash it every day?

Anna, Caller	Yes, respectively.

Sergey Stillavin	This is horrible!

Victoria Kolosova	What’s horrible?

Sergey Stillavin	To wash it every day.


	Caller Oleg, Moscow, pantyhose businessman

Sergey Stillavin	Let’s ask Oleg. Are you a pantyhose businessman?

Oleg, Caller	Yes, I work with pantyhose since 1995.

Sergey Stillavin	So tell us, what brand sells most?

Oleg, Caller	I want to word this a little bit differently. In every brand there are good quality pantyhose and low quality pantyhose, so all of you forgot about that. So within every brand you can point out pantyhose that would last a long time and those that would rip up right away.

Sergey Stillavin	Which ones are the best in general? Please vote on our site www.TopRussia.ru, for the whole week.

PANTYHOSE BRAND COMPARISON RESULTS:

Voting in semi-final and final competitions:

Omsa – #1

Filodoro – #2

Golden Lady – #3

Sisi – #4

Glamour – #5

http://toprussia.ru/strumpfhose/

SOURCE:

Original Video (In Russian, 1st Half – Auto Comparison, 2nd Half – Pantyhose Brand Comparison)

http://youtu.be/GEfAnBWT0RU

DO YOU WANT TO READ PART 2?

Run Resistant Hosiery

Posted on October 23, 2012 by admin

Some Styles of Run Resistant Hosiery are Available at the Shop Section!

This article is by T. Gallagher from USA, an industry expert and a person with great knowledge about different types of run resistant hosiery. We express such gratitude to him for taking the time to write for Fantasy Stockings blog and share his knowledge.

buy run resistant hosiery for better performance

This is a package of Brooke’s run resistant pantyhose.

See if you can relate to this story. Its Monday morning, you hit the snooze on your alarm clock one too many times, and now you are running late for work. You are in a full blown frenzy desperately trying to get out the door. You rush to brush your teeth, shower, get dressed, do your hair, and get your makeup just right. You open a new package of your favorite pantyhose. You slip your feet in, gently slide the hose up your legs, tuck yourself in, only to realize that you have a huge run up the back of your leg.

Seriously, what business professional wants to be in the middle of a presentation and realize she has a glaring unsightly run up the side of her leg for all to see? For that matter, who wants to be at an elegant dinner party or wedding and discover a snag has opened up into an unsightly hole or ladder? Ladders, rips, runs, and snags are often cited by women as the main reason they don’t wear or stopped wearing hosiery including pantyhose stockings and tights.

There is a solution: Run resistant hosiery technology. Run resistant hosiery technology does exist and has been around for decades. When manufactured correctly, hosiery that utilizes run-resistant technology is not only more durable it actually increases the appeal and experience of wearing hosiery. Run-resistant hosiery technology is relatively inexpensive to incorporate in the manufacturing process.

For years, the hosiery industry chose to shelve run-resistant technology. Hosiery manufacturers were slow to embrace and invest in new advances in sewing and textile equipment and processes.
They were content with the status quo and followed the short sighted logic that they would lose business and profit if they made hosiery that was durable. "Sell more to make more profit" was the prevailing thought process of most hosiery manufacturers. Instead of making a product that would last, they chose to make a product that was prone to fail. Had the manufacturers incorporated run resistant technology when it first became available, one could argue more women would still be wearing hosiery today.

buy run resistant hosiery

Run resistant technology for hosiery involves a two-step process.

The first step in producing run resistant hosiery involves changing how the fibers and threads forming the hosiery are stitched, machined, or woven together. In regular hosiery (prone to ladders, runs, rips, and snags) the fibers and threads are plain stitched together which is a looser weave or stitch process. In run-resistant hosiery, the weave or stitch is tightened up. Tightening the weave is referred to as the knotting process or lock stitching. In some hosiery, the knotting process or lock stitching is focused on key areas prone to runs including the waistband, panty, crotch, gusset, heel, toes, and the transition point between the panty and leg. In true run resistant hosiery, the knotting process or lock stitching is incorporated throughout the entire product from waistband to toe.

The second step in run-resistant hosiery involves blending the original nylon fiber with another synthetic or natural fiber. Some examples include acrylic, acetates, cotton, lycra/spandex, polyesters, polyethylene, polyurethane, and polyvinyl, rayon, silk, and wool fibers. The most common blend in hosiery is to combine nylon with lycra/spandex. By increasing the amount of lycra/spandex content, the more run-resistant the hosiery becomes. For example, a pair of pantyhose with a 80% nylon and 20% lycra/spandex blend is going to be more run resistant or more durable than a pair with a 90% nylon and 10% lycra/spandex blend. One drawback to incorporating more Lycra/Spandex into the blend is the denier or thickness of the hosiery increases. A true sheer pantyhose blend would have a 86% Nylon and 14% Lycra/Spandex content. Anything more would result in a heavier denier or thicker Р“СћРІвЂљВ¬Р›Сљtights like’ hosiery product.

run resistant hosiery won’t snag easily

A shortcut would be to stop at the stitching process. However, the finished product would be rougher and uncomfortable to wear. Likewise, blending nylon with lycra/spandex fibers alone would still lead to ladders, rips, runs, and snags. To achieve wearable run-resistant hosiery both steps must be utilized.

An early example of a run resistant hosiery brand that I remember was the Brooke Shields Forever Sheer Non-Run Pantyhose. Brooke would sell her brand of hosiery on infomercials only. During her half hour commercial she would take knives, forks, staples, scissors, and other sharp objects to her hose and show they would not snag or run. The visual demonstrations were quite effective and consumer response was strong.

More recently, Microfiber technology has been incorporated in the manufacturing of hosiery as a way to increase run resistance. Microfiber technology is also a process of blending fibers. Microfibers are more commonly synthetic fibers although some natural fibers have been incorporated in the process. The shape, size and combinations of synthetic fibers are selected for specific characteristics, including: softness, durability, breathability, thermal regulating, and wicking properties. Microfiber is also very elastic, making it ideal for hosiery. Microfibers allow for stronger more durable hosiery at lower denier or thickness. Not only does microfiber technology enhance run-resistanceР“СћРІвЂљВ¬¦ Microfiber technology increases overall comfort, durability, fit, and feel of hosiery. Have you ever felt hot or tend to perspire wearing hosiery? How about a binding sensation or itchy feeling from a pair of pantyhose? Ever have a pair of pantyhose or tights lose their shape, sag, or bunch up/wrinkle at the ankle? Thanks to the incorporation of microfibers into hosiery those problems can also be a thing of the past.

Example of a hole in run resistant hosiery. This specific one is from Forte run resistant tights by Fiore.

High end manufacturers of hosiery in Europe were the first to incorporate run-resistant technology including the use of microfibers in their hosiery products. Brands like Wolford, Falke, Kunert, Gypsy, Gerbe, Filodoro, Elbeo, Cette, Pretty Polly, and Transparenze all have incorporated run resistant technology and the use of microfibers into their product lines. United States brands like Hanes, Berkshire, Just My Size, Leggs, No-Nonsense and Silkies were soon to follow. They all have released run-resistant hosiery in their product lines. Asian manufacturers have also started producing lines of run resistant hosiery.

One can only hope that hosiery manufacturers have learned from their mistakes of the pastР“СћРІвЂљВ¬¦ opting for the wise choice to embrace improved processes and technology that lead to better products for their customers.

Have you tried or do you have a favorite brand of run resistant hosiery? Tell us about it and share your story below.

Vintage Youtube videos for Other Run Resistant Pantyhose

1990 Run Free Pantyhose commercial

K-tel “Perfect Pantyhose” commercial

*Friends, please check out the shop section, this is what funds this blog. At the moment Gatta and Fiore run resistant hosiery is available to buy.*

Fantasy Stockings Blog & Store –

For the Love of Hosiery

Tag Archives: Filodoro