- 06:13:00
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- 05:34:00
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Last week I set off on a two-days-and-two-nights tights-wearing odyssey. Why, you ask? Because tights for men are a thing. I know this for two reasons: first, because I had coffee with the author of Hosiery for Men, a blog built on the premise that men do wear hosiery. And second, because I spoke to Dawn Barber, managing director of the “Earth’s biggest hosiery store” UK Tights, who assured me: “We sell a great many tights to men. About 40% of our business is with men.” Which sounds ridiculous to me, and yet apparently it’s true. Also – I have come to understand – not only are tights nice and snug, but they were originally intended for us men anyway, in all our swashbuckling Tudor glory.
So while three chaps in men’s leggings may have been laughed out of the Dragon’s Den last weekend – “it’s like a natural progression from the skinny jean,” pleaded the would-be meggings moguls, “this is just the next stage of the evolution” – men’s tights, which are different in that they are worn under another layer of clothing, are flourishing.
Hosiery appeared in Alexander McQueen’s spring/summer 15 show, in under-cloak form on the television adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, and even in French footballer Paul Pogba’s extraordinary just-popping-down-the-Field-of-the-Cloth-of-Gold ensembles. “Tights for men are not just for cross-dressers, I might add,” says Barber. “We sell to joiners, builders, police officers, milkmen, postal workers, mechanics. People who work outside – and because we have a lot of bad weather here, we sell lots of the thicker ladies’ tights to these people too.”
I meet the man behind “Hosiery for Men” in a cafe in London. He’s a softly spoken, thoughtful bloke – middle-aged, married – with tights under his trousers, and a Crystal Palace beanie, and he wishes to remain anonymous. His interest in tights was piqued, he explains, in his early teens: “When I was 14, 15 – probably not an uncommon experience – I wore them in a Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and I was surprised by how comfortable they were, how good they were to wear.”
After that he started treating himself to the occasional pair of tights, long before the advent of internet shopping: “If one wanted to buy some tights, one had to go to a department store, which I didn’t find very easy when I was younger. Although no one ever said anything, and I do recall one or two assistants actually being very, very helpful.” Nowadays, of course, with the anonymity of the online marketplace, anyone can indulge themselves in whatever they want without any awkwardness, and this is exactly what I decide to do. Upon Hosiery for Men’s advice I order a pair of men’s tights from Activskin, in black, and a pair of women’s tights – his favourites – from Falke, in navy.
On the first day I try the men’s tights, they prove comfortable and warm –maybe too warm – but I wear them to the office over my pants and under my trousers and socks – later I discover that socks with tights is considered a terrible faux pas – without any worries. It’s comforting to have clothing that comes up over your waist and, because they hold your tummy in, slimming too. I almost play football in them before realising it’s indoors and I will possibly perspire to death.
These men’s tights also come with a handy Y-front-style opening at the front, not that I ever use it for anything. I wonder if Thomas Cromwell had one of these too?
The morning after I try the luxury women’s tights and they’re much nicer – of course. So soft, so silky, the sort of thing Marie Antoinette might wear. That day I visit the dentist, appear on a SHOWstudio discussion that’s broadcast live, go to a house where someone tries to wrestle me, crash a party that I’m not invited to, and at no point does anyone notice that I’m wearing tights. The fools.
So, still in my ladies’ tights, I ask Hosiery for Men if he’s a pervert and he says he’s not: “I like how they feel, I like the warmth, I like the support, I enjoy wearing them. Clearly there is a fetish element for some people; I know that because every now and again someone follows, or sends something that is completely, just, not what I want …” Such as? “Blokes showing their cocks, in tights and stockings and things like that.”
“Often it’s silly, there’s a slightly sniggering perspective that sometimes journalists take,” he says, a man all too familiar with my writing, “rather than accepting that maybe there shouldn’t be so many gender boundaries in fashion. Because of course tights were men’s clothing originally. You only need to go to an art gallery to see that from the middle ages onwards hose was always very accepted. But in the 1960s, especially, when hosiery technology was developed more and tights became popular with women, they kind of replaced stockings, and since then they have been overwhelmingly aimed at women.” Well, no more. Men, it’s time to reclaim our tights!
- 09:34:00
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The masculinity of UK males could be under threat following the results of a new survey by online tights retailer, Tights Please, which suggests that many are in reality hidden mantyhose wearers.
95% of survey respondents (male and female) said that men did wear tights and that they were worn under the trousers at the office or other places of work because they ‘felt good against the skin.’
When the survey quizzed women as to the type of tights their menfolk prefer to wear, 44% said that those specifically made for women rather than men were the most desirable.
Retailer Tights Please stocks Cette Dublin Tights, the plus size version of which is proving to be very popular with men who love their feel and of course need the larger size.
Men’s hosiery expert and blogger of hosieryformen.blogspot.com said: “Tights are becoming increasingly popular with men. They are comfortable, provide a layer of warmth and also provide leg support for men working outside or at a desk all day. There are now a number of brands of tights manufactured specifically for men and this is a growing market. However, there is a good deal of evidence that most men buying tights for themselves are happy to buy tights made for women when the quality and sizing meets their needs. The price can also be more competitive.”
“Brands such as Falke, Cette, Charnos and Wolford that make extra large sizes are particularly popular. Many men prefer opaque tights in dark and neutral colours, although women's sheer and semi sheer tights also sell well.”
Sophie Hawkins, Marketing Assistant at Tights Please, added: “It’s perhaps not a big surprise that women’s tights are becoming increasingly popular with men as they are generally manufactured to a more luxurious and using much softer materials. Sales of our Cette Dublin Tights plus size are double that of the normal sized range due to the number of men who love these tights.”
Men and their relationship with tights has been hitting the headlines recently with the launch of Emilio Cavallini’s range of men’s tights and a new video from Madonna (Girl Gone Wild) featuring hordes of male dancers in tights.
Mantyhose: Are men really ready to wear tights?
Call them what you will (guylons, broisery, mantyhose) but tights for men are reportedly growing in popularity.Photo: emiliocavallini.com
"If you thought men in tights was a sartorial statement best left to medieval jesters, think again,"says Daisy Dumas in Britain'sDaily Mail. Upscale Florentine hosiery purveyor Emilio Cavallini is at the forefront of what it sees as fashion's next big thing: Male pantyhose, or "mantyhose." The "hose for bros" fad has caught on in Europe, the fashion house tellsWomen's Wear Daily (WWD), and is primed to make a big leap across the pond. Here's a look at the (possibly) imminent mantyhose craze:
Are "mantyhose" a real thing?Yes, really, says Francesco Cavallini, the company's vice president. Call them what you will — Racked suggests "guylons," or "broisery," or "he-tards" — but male tights now account for 2 to 3 percent of the million-plus pairs of hose Cavallini sells annually. "When we started our online shop we noticed that a lot of tights sized medium-large were being purchased by men," Cavallini tells WWD. He did a web search and discovered a cult following for mantyhose. In 2009, the fashion house introduced the product in select fashionable boutiques. A pair costs $27, and the biggest markets are Germany, France, Scandinavia, Canada, and the U.S.
How are they different than female-oriented tights?Cavallini's mantyhose are actually unisex. But they come in a range of more masculine patterns, like skulls, checks, stars, and horizontal stripes (as well as various plain colors). And the fabric is different, too, with "greater elasticity and stretch as well as breathability, which is important since men perspire much more than women do," says Cavallini. They fit both sexes equally well in the crotch, he adds. "If it's fine for Italian guys, it's fine for the world."
And men really wear these, in public?Cavallini's biggest-seller is basic black, and most men apparently wear their mantyhose like long underwear — "in other words, safely out of sight beneath their pants as an extra layer during the winter," says Charlotte Cowles in New York. But Cavallini has seen "men on streets across Europe wearing them with shorts," too. And why not, asks Chan Kraemer at online male hosiery magazine e-MANcipate.com. "Pantyhose for men can be an everyday clothing item, and that it can be fashionable as well."
Is there any way this will catch on in the U.S.?Why not? says Ashley Cardiff in The Gloss. If tights-clad men "can pull it off and feel good about themselves, then no one else should care." I actually think male tights are kind of sexy, says Emily Abbate in The Stir. But mostly, I want my man to wear guylons just to "watch him squirm. Can he get them on without ripping? Will he understand how not easy that is?" I'm skeptical, says Kenzie Bryant in Racked. This whole male hosiery trend feels like "revenge on women by dudes who have had their wardrobes pilfered for decades." Either that, or long-delayed nostalgia for a "return — nay, reclamation — of Shakespearean man-tights.
- 08:13:00
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If you thought men in tights was a sartorial statement best left to medieval jesters, think again.
The underwear staple for women is making its way into wardrobes of the opposite sex - and the look is gaining popularity.
If any were in doubt as to the strength of the trend, it even has its own name: Mantyhose.
Brosiery, anyone? Emilio Cavallini's sales of unisex pantyhose have been strong, with men wearing tights for style as much as warmth
Italian design house Emilio Cavallini has designed a range of tights that it says are unisex and the styles are being snapped up by men, who make up two to three per cent, or 20- to 30,000 - of the company's customers.
Costing $27, the tights, made from a mix of cotton and nylon, were launched in June 2009, reports WWD.
Speaking to the fashion newspaper, the company's vice president, Francesco Cavallini said: 'When we started our online shop we noticed that a lot of tights sized medium-large were being purchased by men.…So I did a search on the Internet and discovered there is a cult following for mantyhose.'
Cult or fad, the trend has gained some momentum of late, with Racked even conducting a poll as to the best name for the dubious new dressing habit.
While it was WWD who coined the term 'mantyhose', brosiery' is a clear leader in the survey, ahead of 'guylons', 'he-tards', and 'beau-hose' - a term surely reserved for the most confident men out there.
Mr Cavallini said that his company's 'brosiery' is tested on its male employees and that their research had led to a special, breathable fabric being designed to account for men's higher perspiration levels.
His 'n' hers: Patterned unisex tights are selling well at the Italian design house, while other brands stock sheer black and even nude styles
The designer believes his male clients mostly seek warmth, wearing the pantyhose under trousers - but tells the fashion newspaper he has seen men pairing them with shorts, while his sister Lisa Cavallini, the company's distributor in the U.S., told the publication she believes the leg wear is a style-driven choice.
'The unisex tights are mainly black and white, but I believe the men buying these tights want to make a fashion statement,' she said, though they do not run in sizes any different to those normally targeted at women.
'I believe the men buying these tights want to make a fashion statement'
The Florence-based design house specialises in a vast range of colourful hosiery and underwear, from tanks to crocheted dresses and leggings to thigh-high socks.
The designer believes the hosiery appeals to men's style tastes - they are made in stars, stripes, spots, skull patterns, black, white and chequered styles and are marketed to both men and women.
Function over form may be the truest drive behind the sales and there is some sway in the figures that show sales are strongest in some of the world's coldest countries: 'The mantyhose are most popular with customers from Germany, France, Scandinavia, Canada and the U.S.' says Mr Cavallini.
Men in tights: The trend is not limited to the Italian company, with Paris-based makers Gerbe apparently doing a find trade in 'men satin' tights
Where Emilio Cavallini dares to tread, others have gone before and a selection of men's tights forums - again, from the U.S. and Europe - unlock a hidden world of (non-novelty-patterned) male hosiery.
St Louis, Missouri-based G Lieberman and Sons makes a range of men's tights in large sizes - and with front zippers included - while high-end makers, Falke, stock sizes that fit men.
Paris-based makers, Gerbe, feature a range of men's sheer black and nude designs on their site, worn with gusto by suave models in white shirts.
Where long-johns were once the norm to ward off cold winters among northern European men, could skull-emblazoned designs finally be giving mainstream male shoppers an excuse to get back into tights?
- 02:35:00
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