Review: Fiore Hosiery

Disclosure: I received these items free of charge for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Seemingly overnight, San Francisco snapped from Indian summer to the briskness of late fall. No more sundresses and flats – hello scarves, turtlenecks, and of course... cute tights. Fiore hosiery sent me three pantyhose samples to review, retailing from $6.95-$8.95. I also have one pair of Fiore tights which I had already purchased.

Fit
Fiore tights come in 5 sizes (labeled simply as 1-5). By the size chart, I fall in the borderlands between 1 and 2, so I went with the larger and requested size 2. I believe the pair I had already purchased was an even larger size. All pairs fit comfortably, although I have to make a couple passes to adjust the leg length appropriately. With each tug I am (needlessly) paranoid that I will rip the tights, but they've held up well under these ministrations. If you have concerns about constriction or leg length, you may wish to size up to be safe. Personally, I've never thought to myself, "Oh, if only I'd bought a smaller pair of tights!" The rise is nice and high, sitting on my natural waist rather than cutting across my stomach to make me feel nauseous. The waistband is comfortably wide (though not as generous as the "Not Too Tights" I reviewed a while back).

Quality & Longevity
Hosiery comes in many qualities, and one of the first indicators thereof is texture. Mass-market brands often have a cheap, costume-y texture, that feels almost fuzzy. They snag and run easily. Vintage nylons have their own particular translucency and slight crispness. Fiore's tights feel lovely as you slide them on and wear them. There is a smoothness to them that is immediately noticeable. The fiber content is 87% polyamide, 12% elastane, and 1% cotton.

Of the pairs, "Katia," with its vine design up the side of the leg, did not hold up well. I wore this pair for an evening of board games in my home and found by the end of the night that it had snagged and the crotch seam had begun to split. (I tried to use Fray Check to keep the snags from worsening but only made their appearance more dramatic, as you see in the photo above.) Because it's the only pair that showed wear so quickly, I have to wonder if it was slightly defective or perhaps something to do with this particular style. Katia was also the cheapest pair, at $6.95.

The other pairs seem to have held up much better, despite my having caught one of them on a cracked table edge while setting up to take photos for this review. That moment did much to convince me that the problems I had with Katie aren't systemic within the brand. The Apriel tights have a cotton gusset in the crotch and at 40 denier are the nicest of the bunch. Thus far, the toes remain intact on all pairs.

Style
Each of the tights you see in this review has a different aesthetic. Fiore's design offerings are pretty broad. Realistically, I would wear each of these tights with very different outfits. The Apriel, which I had purchased for myself, are definitely my favorite. No matter which look is your favorite, it's a solid bet that Fiore has more options to tempt you.

Price/Value
All told, I am really impressed with the quality of these tights at this price point. Of all the options on the Fiore Direct USA website, only one pair of stockings costs more than $10. Most of them, like Ronita and Apriel, are $8.95. The biggest mass-market brands list for more than this and are definitely not as nice. Fiore tights have a lovely texture and come in a wide array of design options both sexy and eclectic. I think they make a fantastic option for fashion tights suited to virtually any budget.

Have you worn Fiore hosiery before? What was your experience? What do you think of their design offerings? Share your thoughts in the comments below.