Seamless tights seem to provoke a good deal of discussion, some hate them while to others they are the ultimate in sexy hosiery.

One thing that cannot be doubted is that they are among the most expensive tights you can buy. The reason for this is that the whole garment, both the legs and the panty have to be knitted in one piece. This one piece knitting requires bigger and more complex equipment.

Europe

Most seamless hosiery is made in Europe for European brands. The most famous being Wolford.

Wolford Most fans of hosiery will have heard of Wolford fatal. Even if they never saw the tights they will know of the famous “bottom” photos by Helmut Newton that were used in the marketing and on the packets.

We have reviewed the Wolfords in 3 weights. fatal 15 (sheer), fatal Neon (40 denier glossy) and fatal opaque 80.

The 40 denier fatal Neon have since been discontinued and a 50 denier matt opaque introduced in its place. Many enthusiasts regret the passing of a high gloss version in favour of a matt opaque.

The 15 denier version of the Wolford Fatal also comes in a delightful lace top version.

Other European manufacturers also make seamless tights. Or sell Wolford product under there own brand name.

Fogal This famous Swiss supplier of top quality hosiery produces a style known as Una.  Available both as a sheer hipster and a soft opaque.  At various times we have read that they are no longer available, but as of October 2006 we were able to buy them from Tights4you, a site that has a long history of supplying seamless tights and pantyhose.

Palmers The original supplier advises us that that the Palmers P2 Seamless tight was made by Wolford, note the past tense is it is now out of production. The construction is not the same as “fatal”, this is very apparent from inspection. More recently we discovered that Wolford were not the makers, the two companies having parted many years before the advent of seamless tights. 

The P2 Seamless was by far the cheapest seamless tight, and offers a very good fit. 20 denier, as the Pierre Mantoux, they feel thicker and less sexy. Possibly the best value for money in seamless until the Ose Angel was introduced.

La Perla sell the Fusion tight. It is slightly heavier than the Wolford fatal 15, and is of a slightly different construction, being shorter in the body and more of a hipster.

Pierre Mantoux make what we think is the most sheer and sexy seamless tights from Europe. Their seamless tights are called Pierre Senza Cuciture which as far as we know is Italian for seamless. In the spring of 2006 they added a gloss version of the Pierre Seamless tights to their range. The only downside we have found is that they are very prone to tearing. No test pairs have survived 3 wearings.

Ose A new player in the seamless game in November 2005 is Ose with their Angel style.  This seems to be constructed using the Wolford technique. Aside from being very nice tights these are by far the cheapest seamless tights seen so far. 

USA

Until 1999 the Europeans were joined by Victoria’s Secret of the USA. Their offering known as Victoria’s Secret Signature Gold Seamless Sensation probably failed because the name was too long. The tights/pantyhose are stunning and now change hands on eBay for more than they over cost retail. These are the tights widely used by the more erotic hosiery web sites.

Apparently Hanes and others were looking at introducing seamless tights; but it does appear that below 40 denier the panty will be of heavier construction that the legs, so not in the same league as the tights listed here.

Great news from the USA! Hosieree are including an Italian made style called “Love” in their own brand.  20 denier and priced at $32.95 these tights, or should we say pantyhose? hold great promise for the future.

UK

Sharp eyed readers will have noticed that UK manufacturers do not feature here, although Pretty Polly and Charnos did dabble with pseudo seamless in the past. Finally in the Autumn of 2008 Aristoc took up the challenge with their Sensuous Seamfree Tights. Made in 10 denier microfibre with a deep lace waistband they are full of promise, but sized very small.

Read the reviews and see what you think. If you have an opinion let us know