I was recently contact by Laura at The Big Tights Company who asked me if I would like to try out some hosiery. I had a quick look at the site and I was excited to see seamed stockings and hold ups! A rarity for a retro loving large legged girl. Sadly, it seemed that the products were all UK26+. My legs are large, but I did worry that a 26 might be a little loose on me. However, Laura assured me that their gorgeous model was a size 14-16 and the tights fit her perfectly.
“The correct sizing of our tights has been a passion, as the company was born after acquiring a mountain of plus size tights that in fact wouldn’t fit a Pippa Doll.”
I liked the sound of some stockings and hold ups that might actually fit the Thighs Of Doom and give them that vintage flavour. And so I eagerly awaited the arrival of the tights.
In an attempt to try to fool people into believing that I am a lady, I have recently acquired some claw like gel nails which look great, but they do sort of hinder me from living my life in general. And so I was a little scared of trying the hold ups and stockings on when they arrived. However, despite both items being 20 denier I managed to try them on multiple times AND manipulate the seams without incident.
First up I tried the Prague Lady Lace Hold Ups. Hold ups are notoriously rubbish on larger legs. They of course need to be tight enough to stay up, but if your legs are wobbly that means they will dig in. I find that they can often cut in and then fold over whilst encased in the fat of my thighs. Sorry for the mental image! And so I was thrilled to see that the Prague hold ups had a really thick lacy top. Not only that, but instead of being way too short for me like a lot of hold ups, and then needing me to coax them above my knee, they were almost too long for me!
As you can see, I have worn the Prague Lady Lace Hold Ups rather high on my legs. This is to prevent them from digging in too much and therefore folding over. They feel really great on, and I am in love with that seam! It took me a bit of maneuvering and undignified bending over in front of my mirror (again, sorry for the mental images!) for me to get them straight, and I think I might need a bit more practice!
I would love to have these hold ups in a flesh colour or a lower denier, as I am a huge fan of the style and fit. They are made to fit thighs of up to 34 inches. My thighs are a little over ten inches smaller than that, but I can certainly see how they would stretch to accommodate a larger leg. The double silicone band was comfortable and the hold ups stayed in place during the photos and beyond. Overall I was really rather impressed by them.
Next up I tried the 20 Denier Magic Seamed Stockings in the smaller size. I teamed them with a suspender belt that I got off eBay. The Big Tights Company has a very similar plus size mesh suspender belt six strap here.
I found the 20 Denier Magic Seamed Stockings to also be a great length on me, and perfect on my thighs. I have, as of late, taken to cutting up tights and using them as stockings as the length and fit is great on me. However, having a pair of seamed stockings that fits me so well will be an asset in shoots.
They were easy to clip on to my suspender belt and they didn’t slide out or tear. I did find that they slightly rolled down on my inner thighs when I wore them for a longer period of time – something that wasn’t uncomfortable and wouldn’t show under a dress, but on shoots I would need to keep an eye on that.
All in all I am very impressed with my experiences with The Big Tights Company. I’d be very interested to try some of their thick tights to see if they are as great a length as these two items. There’s nothing worse than trying to encourage a pair of tights up over a generous bottom on a cold winter’s morning!
The shoes that I have on on the post are an old ASOS pair, and the knickers are part of a Freya Deco set. Just for reference – I am 5’7.