I just returned from my trip to Europe, wearing on my flight back for the first time a pair of Russian pantyhose of Gracia (Грация) brand.  You can learn more about my trip through in my pantyhose diary if you’d like.

Some people try exotic foods when they travel, I try exotic pantyhose.  It’s been a while that I wanted to try this brand, but I just couldn’t get it anywhere for obvious reasons – this label is only available in Eastern Europe and is not designed for export. Грация label, in Cyrillic letters, would not sell anywhere else.

I passed through Moscow for work and I visited an old friend of mine, Natasha.  She greeted me wearing beautiful black pantyhose.  Later she returned, complaining that she got a run in them, but saying that they lasted her many wears.  I asked what brand it was and she said – Грация (Gracia).

Next day I had to leave, so I didn’t even know if I’ll have a chance to buy myself this brand.  So just in case I asked her if I could have those pantyhose, just to try them on.  She didn’t mind me asking, but she didn’t want to give me something that was already damaged.  Actually she even looked through her pantyhose drawer and pulled out many 40 den pantyhose of different colours by the same brand, looking for another sheer pair, but she had none left.  Realizing how much I wanted to try it, she even offered me to ship a pair to Canada, but I declined, since I didn’t want her to go through the hassle.

Luckily, I found a pair of pantyhose by brand in a store – the style displayed on the photo above, 20 den, sheer to waist, with reinforced toe.  I asked for whatever colour they had, except for black – turned out they had Mocca.  Fine, I took it, but I must admit it looks more like dark tan rather than real Mocca.

Somehow for my whole trip it was really cold, so I was walking around in 40 den pantyhose.  But on my flight back to Vancouver I decided to lighten up and look glamorous, since a special someone was supposed to meet me at the airport.

I put on Gracia pantyhose for the first time in the morning, getting ready for my flight.  Let’s just say, I was a little nervous since I never tried that brand and besides Natasha’s positive feedback had no idea if it will survive for such a long period.  What if I end up with a huge run in them?

Reinforced toe already cheered me up, at least that means it’s more durable in that section.  Interestingly, it had a thick border at the beginning of the reinforcement, almost like a statement saying that the toe section begins!  Also, I noticed that the band was quite broad and elastic and held on well.  It didn’t have a control top, but a t-top with a cotton gusset.

That proved to be very good eventually because I never felt like I had to pull up these pantyhose throughout my flight and two transfers.  It survived at least 24 hours on me and when I took it off it had no runs or holes.  Excellent quality!  Now the only regret I have is that I didn’t buy more.

After checking the website of the manufacturer, I realized that they have some really nice advertisements.  Here are some of their pantyhose ads.  Do you notice that they feature only skin-tone and black colours?