Help me find hose/tights for the larger - but not largest - woman

March 4, 2008 2:43 PM

Please help me find hose/tights that fit the larger - but not largest - woman.

So, apparently the hoisery industry has a very different idea of NUMBERS and PHYSICS than I do.....

I am not a small girl, I'm 5'8" and about 180 lbs. Not a freak of nature, but surely not bony, I'm pretty well proportioned if a bit large.

This morning I opened a package of hose size Queen 3. Yes, Queen 3. The back of the pack indicates that they should fit women up to 265 lbs and 5'11". They do not.

I literally - and I mean that literally - could not get them on past mid-thigh. I gave up after I ripped them with sheer force of pulling them upwards. What the fuck? These were some JC Penney cheapo brand.

Do you guys know any brands that *actually* fit the larger woman without causing nerve damage? I find that I either find hose like this that are made for Bratz, or when I buy them at, say, Lane Bryant, they're made for 6'7" Amazons so they pool up around my puny ankles.

Please help!!

posted by tristeza to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (12 answers total)

I like Just My Size, available in most drug stores.
posted by MeetMegan at 2:57 PM on March 4, 2008

Do you find you can follow the "sizing chart" on them or do you have to buy up 5 sizes to have them actually fit?
posted by tristeza at 3:01 PM on March 4, 2008

Seconding Just My Size, also available at Target or Wal-mart. Wal-mart also sells some tights in their "George" brand (not sure about pantyhose) and I've had luck with those.
posted by cabingirl at 3:02 PM on March 4, 2008

Did you buy control top? Those are evil. I am roughly your size, a hair lighter, but its all in my ass, and I wear Med/tall size at Target and it fits fine. The trick is to ditch some of that "control" that can be nigh impossible to get all the way up.
posted by stormygrey at 3:37 PM on March 4, 2008

I'm 5'10" and 180lbs. I found Vera Wang tights at Kohl's that fit great. I got a pair of black ones, but they had other colors and textures. The brand is actually called Simply Vera and the size you want is a 3.
posted by LightMayo at 3:47 PM on March 4, 2008

American Apparel's 'Opaque Tights/Pantyhose' are fantastic, stretchy in both directions but staying in place at the waist, and pretty durable. They're, obviously, opaque though, but they do come in black as well as some other great colours. I'm about 180lbs and 5'10.5" with long legs, and I became nearly evangelical after finally finding tights that didn't chafe like mad and rip on the first wear.
posted by carbide at 3:55 PM on March 4, 2008

I've always had good luck with the Hue hosiery. I'm tall and the Hue's actually have the crotch in the normal zone as opposed to halfway down my thighs. In the Hue's I can buy my normal size, but usually go up one size instead.

They're durable too - and I wash them in the washing machine.
posted by 26.2 at 4:43 PM on March 4, 2008

This huge post on tights from Fatshionista should give you plenty of options- scroll to the bottom for the section on tights for under 200lbs.
posted by kimdog at 5:35 PM on March 4, 2008

I only wear thigh-highs after a similar experience (I'm 5'7" and 170lbs). They're easier to put on and you can wear them with anything.
posted by easy_being_green at 12:08 AM on March 5, 2008

How do you keep the thigh-highs up, easy_being_green? A garter belt, or have you found a miraculous brand that doesn't roll down after you take five steps?
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:03 AM on March 5, 2008

easy_being_green - do you have any brand recommendations for thigh-highs that fits well and stay up?
posted by tristeza at 7:04 AM on March 5, 2008

No brand recommendations, I just pick something up at the drug store. Lucky for me my thighs are big enough that an elastic band at the top keeps them up. A garter belt is not a bad idea though if you're not blessed with thunder thighs like mine. :)
posted by easy_being_green at 9:18 PM on March 5, 2008