Run resistant pantyhose from 30 years ago

Woodsonia non run all sheer pantyhose, vintage tights, made in Canada, 100 % nylon

Click to Buy it Here for $4.99

For those people who think that run resistant pantyhose is a new thing, have a look at these from 30 years ago. 

Woodsonia was a house brand of Woodward’s department stores in British Columbia and Alberta, which operated for a century before being sold to The Hudson Bay company in 1993. 

My friend had a stash of these vintage pantyhose at home and she gave it to me to sell. She bought it herself all those years back, but kept it new and untouched.

100% nylon and non run – sounds like impossible combination? At least some of the modern brands use lycra fusion to create such resistance, but here they say that it’s all about the stitch.

From a quick search online, we see that Woodsonia brand doesn’t exist anymore. Only what’s left of it is a few items advertised online for sale in either BC or Alberta provinces. 

In case you want to try it, I only have one pair here in off white, Medium size. $4.99

These are made in Canada, most likely in Vancouver. Oh, those were the good times when we had pantyhose locally made here!  Such pantyhose even had “Shop Canadian” logo on them. Too bad I wasn’t around yet to shop.

Fortissima, Run Resistant by Gatta

This video shows off Fortissima pantyhose by Gatta.  Amazing quality!  Available at the shop section.  Fortissima pantyhose is the softest and strongest from Gatta line.  If you’d be to choose only one style to try, that would be it.

Gatta Brand


The company that owns the brand is called Ferax and it is located in a small Polish city called Zdunska Wola. Perhaps there is not much in that city except for that factory.  That district in general has very well established textile industries.
This beautiful and seductive video is an advertisement for a Polish brand called Gatta and for their run resistant Fortissima pantyhose.  This brand dominates Russian and Polish market and is considered to be one of the most well-launched brands in Poland.

Wearing Fortissima Pantyhose

run proof, non run, tights, Pantyhose advertised here is Fortissima, but probably more like in 30 den.  I only so far tried 15 den and 20 den in Fortissima style.  It came out around 2010 and I got my hands on it right away during my visit to Europe.  Amazed by the quality, I kept on buying more and more of it for daily wear.

It is run resistant, not to say completely run-free, but the quality is really good for the price, that’s for sure.  Such properties are achieved by Lycra Fusion mechanism.  A friend of mine told me that she ripped hers with the zipper from her boot by accident, but it didn’t run all over the place, so she returned home and stitched it.  Still wears it, with boots of course.

Another friend of mine, Michelle, likes this style because she finds that it fits comfortably around her hips. She’s got a bit of a fuller figure.

Have you tried it? I’d love to hear your comments!