Charnos is a household name so that many British legwear lovers will know. It is one of the few names, and the biggest, in the hosiery industry that can claim they remain mostly in the UK. Charnos was started in 1936, in the town of Ilkeston, Derbyshire. It is a small and charming town will a long history of manufacturing textiles. This has been their headquarters for their entire history, a rare thing to be able to boast about for many modern companies, and is still the home of Charnos today. Charnos began making the one piece of legwear that was available and possible on modern machinery at the time, and that was stockings.
Tights and hold ups are now a staple of Charnos’ range, but they had not yet been invented when Charnos was founded. Stockings were the only available legwear and were incredibly difficult and time consuming to make. Much of the process was done solely by hand too. Charnos has always been a name known for creating legwear that is well made with a competitive price tag. Charnos is a designer that doesn’t flinch at the difficulty that comes with making these beautiful garments. Charnos took stockings, which were a high end and exclusive apparel and made them affordable and accessible for everyone to enjoy. Charnos are responsible for making stockings the stylish garment that has variety and a price tag that everyone can afford that you know today. They also helped to revolutionise hold ups too, and soon their fans were in love with their new Charnos stockings and later Charnos hold-ups and tights.
A pair of Charnos tights, which is their largest sector of design now, is renowned for a great fit, high quality, being long-lasting, and a great price tag. But most of all, the word we would use in innovative. In the ’40s and ’50s, their founder travelled to the USA and brought back ten new knitting machines. Each one more reliable than anything Charnos had been using, and faster too. This helped put Charnos at the very top as the most technologically advanced manufacturer in the UK. Each time they find something like new technology, they’d find a way to improve their amazing tights with it once again. As a result, there are few names better than Charnos tights for legwear that is unbeatable for wearing every day.
Charnos Ultimate Shaper Tights are a great all around product! In the Small size, they look quite bizarre as the large control panty is almost as long as the light sheer legs. The legs are made straight with a sandal toe and have a matt finish.
There is an impression of quality and a textured feel not unlike a soft fishnet. Stretch the material over your hand, and the original square geometric pattern is revealed, of which later.
Incredibly light – incredibly strong. The first pair of tights that lets your legs breathe. Perfect skin tones for sensational “summer legs” all year round and ideal for warmer weather.
First impressions are that the new design is less glossy than the original, no bad thing as they were perhaps a little too much. Very little of the lustre is lost as you stretch these tights up your legs, and pull them you will have to, they are not overly long.
We had seen a style of the same name from another manufacturer, although we have not reviewed it. Now we won’t say who we think copied whom but this style is nearing the end of its time in the Charnos range and the other maker does have form!
Sheer tights that won’t run or ladder are the “Holy Grail” of pantyhose, and about as likely to ever be found as the cup from the last supper too, but that does not stop hosiery makers at least trying to limit the damage caused by broken threads.
Somewhat mixed first impressions with the simple boxer style brief and raised seams, but at least there is a gusset to help with fit. Regarding pure quality, we have seen better fashion tights, the legs are great, but that boxer style brief is pretty appalling!
These are very light tights; there is no clue that they support tights when you take them from the packet. Very many tights of two halves the straight legs are bright and sheer and finished with reinforced toes.
It was the arrival if these tights, so apparently the successor to the Charnos support panty tights that are our first recollection of tights from around 1970 that prompted us to take a look at the whole shaping & sculpting tights market.
There was a time back in the dim and distant past when underwear for an adequately dressed lady consisted of “foundation wear” and hosiery. Easy to put on the panty smooths and shapes without being overly tight and restrictive.