Tuesday 6 February 2018

Reviewed: Pretty Polly 120 Denier 3D Shine Tights

British hosiery brand Pretty Polly launched their brand new "premium opaque" tights collection last year. We previewed them here.




One of our recommended (and favourite) retailers, UK Tights, sent us samples of the Pretty Polly 150 Denier Matt 3D Tights and the Pretty Polly 120 Denier 3D Shine Tights from the range to trial and review.



You can read our review of the Pretty Polly 150 Denier Matt 3D Tights here.

We now focus on the Pretty Polly 120 Denier 3D Shine Tights.



The Pretty Polly Premium Opaque collection


Pretty Polly state that their new "premium opaque" collection is "top notch" and here, in their own words, is their arguments and evidence for benefits of the new range:

Denier – usually the first thing people look for when buying tights, we’ve made sure we’ve covered all bases to provide you with a wealth of choice to suit the changing weather, featuring 40, 60, 80, 120, 150 and 200, including a knee-high option.

Finish – in the new collection we’ve provided you with 3 different finishes including a standard opaque, shine and a 150% denier matt opaque that gives you a total ‘black-out’ effect.

Increased handle and loft – also known as that cushioning feeling you get when you hold or step into a pair of our opaques. For this new collection, we’ve intensified this feeling by increasing the filament counts of previous yarns, making them more comfortable than ever before.

Improved fit – we’ve chosen an elastane with a slightly heavier count to improve the fit and stretchability of our opaques.

Gusset – we’ve added cotton gussets to all of our new Premium opaques including flat seams, providing you with a more substantial product for your money.


Packaging

The Pretty Polly 120 Denier 3D Shine Tights are packaged quite simply in a card clasp that enables the tights to be displayed in a retail setting.







Material and features


The information on the packaging emphasises once again the improvements that Pretty Polly is aiming to bring to their premium range of opaque tights:

"Knitting extra elastane in these tights gives them a smooth, even appearance. They feel soft and will last longer and give your legs a subtle shine. PS - they've got flat seats and a cotton gusset."


The Pretty Polly 120 Denier 3D Shine Tights are made from 93% Nylon, 6% Elastane and 1% Cotton.

The tights feel quite 'heavy' to the touch as you remove them from the packaging. The yarn is very soft, smooth and stretchy. Opaque coverage is even and total on the leg due to the close, dense weave. As expected, given that they are called "Shine" opaque tights, there is quite a pronounced sheen on the leg.

The brief has a cotton gusset. Seams are flat and there is a 3cm wide waistband.



Sizing, fit and wearing experience


The Pretty Polly 120 Denier 3D Shine Tights are available in three sizes:


  • Small/Medium
  • Medium/Large
  • Extra Large

I trialled the Extra Large size.

I did notice some immediate inconsistencies in sizing with the Pretty Polly Pretty Polly 150 Denier Matt 3D Tights which we recently reviewed. Both styles, it should be noted, were trialled in the Extra Large size.

The 150 Denier Matt 3D has a more generous leg length - 80cm from the waistband to the gusset. The 120 Denier 3D Shine are 68cm for the same measurement.

However, as mentioned above the tights have plenty of stretch and once on, and with careful manoeuvring the fit on the leg was pretty good with a nice close enveloping second skin feeling.

The second inconsistency is in the sizing of the brief. We noted in our review of the 150 Denier Matt Tights that the brief was commendably generous; it could even be described as "high waist".

Frustratingly the 120 Denier 3D Shine appear to be much more of a "low waist' style. This can be seen in the comparison photos below where we measured the depth of the brief from the waistband to the gusset area.



For the 150 Denier Matt the measurement is 30cm.



For the 120 Denier Shine the same measurement is 20cm.

This is a shame as while the brief of the 150 Denier Matt stretches comfortable high on the waist, one has to stretch the 120 Denier Shine Tights a little to ensure it comes over the waist. For me the fit was less comfortable. However, there might be customers (women and men) who prefer this low waist style.

The main observation being made here is that the sizing and fit is not consistent in the same Extra Large size category.

Despite these reservations, the 120 Denier Shine are good quality opaques and you get the improved features that Pretty Polly are now including: flat seams, gusset, choice of finish and improved handle and lost. All this is admirable and the tights score highly in these aspects.


The shine finish on these tights allows them to glide well under trousers or jeans.





Colour range


The Pretty Polly 120 Denier 3D Shine Tights are available in Black and Burgundy.

We tried the Black colour.




Price and availability

The Pretty Polly 120 Denier 3D Shine Tights are priced at £7.99 at UK Tights, and £8.00 directly from Pretty Polly.

Conclusion

As with the 150 Denier Matt 3D Opaques, the 120 Denier Shine Tights represent a clear improvement in the quality of Pretty Polly's opaques range.

The yarn in the 120 Shine style is really excellent and the Elastane provides a close, snug fit on the leg. Pricing for the quality is very reasonable indeed.

The reservations are as detailed above with the inconsistency in sizing, which for men is likely to be an issue as we generally will need a longer leg and a more generous brief.

If the 120 Shine Tights had that comfortable deep brief that the 150 Denier Matt style provides then a recommendation would have been awarded.

Our next review from the Pretty Polly "Premium Opaques" range will be the 80 Denier 3D Opaque Tights, which we have just received. It will be interesting to see how these compare with the two "premium" styles we have now reviewed.

3 comments:

  1. Awesome tights! They look awesome on your legs!

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  2. Great looking tights my choice would be the glossy because I love all glossy tights just something about the shine when wearing. If not glossy has to be a glitz look but everyone has their favorite choice

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  3. Have worn Pretty Polly tights just not these. Have many colors and styles even being 185 pounds I find even the O/S fits me with room to spare to me this brand is generous in sizing. Myself would buy the shine one's I tend to go with a gloss appearance on my legs.

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