Women's Tights (Hosiery & Socks)

Tights use the same waist-to-toe shape as sheer pantyhose in a much heavier yarn. Opacity is the whole distinction. Denier counts the weight of that yarn, so the number climbs with thickness: 40 to 60 denier is semi-opaque with some skin tone showing when you sit, 80 and above reads as a solid color, and 100 to 200 gives you a knit closer to a thin sweater.

Heavier tights are knitted from nylon or a nylon and cotton blend, and the extra yarn changes how they fail. Rather than running in a line, a thick knit thins and pills at the heel and the seat first. Flat-knit and ribbed versions add surface texture that hides that wear. Cotton-rich tights breathe better and hold color, but they bag at the knee by evening because cotton has poor recovery. Fleece-lined pairs add a brushed inner face, which is warm but cuts the stretch and makes them harder to pull up.

Sheer pantyhose sit below 30 denier and are meant to disappear; tights are the color you chose and read from across a room. Leggings go further, with no foot and a cut and sewn fabric instead of a knitted tube. They can pass as trousers where tights cannot. Knee-highs cover only to below the knee, which rules them out under a skirt. Boot liners are shorter still and hide inside footwear.

Cold weather with skirts and dresses is the clear case. 80 denier and up adds warmth in the range of a thin pair of trousers. School uniforms, winter offices and anyone who wants to keep wearing dresses through January all buy here. Legs that sweat do badly in heavy nylon, and fleece-lined pairs shift and bunch at the ankle over a long walk.

Check the gusset, the diamond panel at the crotch, since a wide cotton one keeps the seam from sitting in a single line and pays off over a long day. Waistbands should be flat and wide, because a narrow band rolls down by lunchtime. Size by height first and weight second, as length is what drags the crotch down. Dryer heat cooks the elastane and leaves knees that sag, so wash inside out in cool water and dry them flat.