Tights

How long is the dress you intend to wear?

I was comparing notes with a group of ladies who lunch earlier in the year as I find that as I have stiff bad knees, tights are nearly impossible to get on. One leg goes in fine but the second? Impossible - unless after a hot bath and pain killers. I was very relieved to find only one ever wears tights. The others stick to knee highs wherever possible and whatever the occasion or hold-ups if the dress is too short. The only problem with knee highs is remembering not to cross your legs or let your knees show!

Never tried Hold Ups....could be an option, thank you! Dress too short for knee highs.

I wouldn't rely on hold ups. I went to a wedding where the bride was wearing them and they ended up round her ankles in the photos. Fortunately she just took them off and we all laughed.

Hold Ups for me have been a disaster, walking along the pavement on one occasion I found them slowly creeping down my legs. I had to run to an alleyway and remove them or they would have been at my ankles within seconds. That would have been a pretty sight. I am afraid I do not have an answer.

Stockings and suspender belt? At least they'd stay up!

Wear a closely fitting pair of knickers over your tights. Holds the tights up firmly

Hold ups don't work if you've bathed and put put body lotion on your legs!

Ha ha - memories! I thought it would be classy and sexy to wear stockings and suspenders on my wedding day. I was standing having photos taken when I felt the 'ping' and I was left with a stocking held up by a single tab. I'm not keen on knee highs as I find them ok when I put them on but they start to feel really tight below the knee as the day wears on and I think they can't be good for my circulation.

I usually buy tights at Sainsburys or M&S but as I'm tall I don't have the saggy ankle problem - more likely to be a drooping gusset! ?

Now I think about it, I'm not sure why tights should sag at the ankles anyway, whatever your size.

Is it that they're too long in the leg for you, bartonlady?

Would you consider a light spray tan instead of wearing tights or stockings?

Thank you all for your advice, I bought some stockings yesterday for a trial run! Now where did I put that suspender belt!!!

I tried hold ups once and almost got gangrene as they cut of the blood supply to my legs likewise knee highs (under trousers). I use M & S Autograph tights having tried the more expensive ones like Wolford and Falke. I agree though they are hard to put on if my back and hips are playing up. Autograph tights are nice and velvety and last me several weeks without wrinkling - wash them by hand though.

Being average in height (5' 4'') and build, but long in the leg. I never buy M&S tights because the crotch, generally, hovers at knee height. So M&S tights might work on the basis that the legs of the tights are so short that as long as the waist stays put, they should not sag.

I think part of the problem with tights is that they're usually sold as S/M/L/ExL and the manufacturers just make the larger sizes bigger all over, including length-wise.

So someone of average or smaller height with 48" hips would find the body size OK but the legs would be too long, hence the 'bagging' round the ankles.

Exactly Ana which is why they are such a problem for a lot of women.I have worn stockings with suspender belt for years when the occasion demands( not often thank God.)

I think the whole sizing of tights is utterly random. I usually wear medium sized tights and have had tights in that size (like those from M&S) where the crotch barely reaches my knees to others that have collected in folds round my ankles. Do you remember the days when stockings came in shoe size and leg length?

Wolford's are excellent, expensive but they last so much longer than cheaper tights so are worth the price. Good fit and they feel comfortable too. Highly recommended

I used to buy my tights in Asda, always of the lightweight support variety and they were very comfortable to wear.
Nowadays I don't wear tights at all being slovenly in retirement!