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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where can I find more general information about hosiery?AlexBlake.com has sections for general hosiery advice and information which covers technical subjects as well as providing useful style advice. You can find the hosiery advice section of the AlexBlake.com website here, and help with the website and your orders here.The AlexBlake.com blog also features regular articles with general information about hosiery and comparisons and commentary on individual products. How do I know which size to choose?Sizing differs from brand to brand and product to product so it is important to check the size guide for each product before you buy.The size guide appears alongside every product description and can be accessed by clicking the “SIZE GUIDE” button which can be found above the drop down menus for size and color. Can I gift wrap my order?You can request that your order is gift wrapped at the checkout stage but clicking the Gift Wrap This Order button. Gift wrap is charged at $4.95.What is support hosiery and how does it work?Support hosiery helps improve the circulation in your lower leg with graduated compression. Tighter at the ankle and gradually loosening as they go up the leg they help the blood work against gravity to flow back up your leg. They help prevent and give relief to people that suffer from varicose veins and other conditions associated with poor circulation. They are also popular with people who spend long periods of time sitting or standing still.Support hosiery is offered in different levels of compression which is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). There is no internationally agreed standard on compression and US and several European countries that have developed their own definitions of compression classifications. Here at AlexBlake.com we have adopted the British standard definitions across the site. We believe that this is the most user friendly set of definitions and using a consistent standard makes it easier for customers to compare different compression levels offered by different products. Hosiery that has passed British Industry Standards (no:BS6612.85) describes its support levels as follows: Factor 6 = light support Factor 8 = medium support Factor 10 = firm support Factor 12 = extra firm support What is the difference between tights and pantyhose?Here at AlexBlake.com, we carry both tights and pantyhose and so we have prepared a guide to the most common uses of the two terms:Pantyhose – We will use this term to describe a piece of lightweight hosiery, typically sheer hosiery. Generally, any product that is below a 40 denier weight can be termed as “pantyhose”. You may also see the word “sheers” used to describe this type of hosiery. Tights – We will use this to describe hosiery products which have a denier of 40 or higher. Typically this would refer to opaque tights but could also refer to woollen, cotton or other thick pieces of hosiery. You will also see products described as “leggings” on our site. These are often similar to tights in that they are opaque and you will not be able to see your leg through them. However, leggings are footless and lower leg band can sit anywhere from around the ankle to just below the knee. What is denier?Technically denier relates to the weight (i.e. thickness) of the yarn from which hosiery is woven, (in case you are interested, 1 denier means that 9,000 meters of yarn weighs 1 gram). Generally the lower the denier, the sheerer the appearance and the more fragile the product. Certain products however have an appearance that is sheerer than would be expected for their denier - this is good news as it means that a product is stronger than it looks!For more information and explainations of denier terms please see the AlexBlake.com denier information page. What do all the different toe descriptions actually mean?We try to make sure that our descriptions of toes are clear and consistent so we use the following terms across our site:Reinforced toe – Describes hosiery with visible reinforcing across the toe to give added durability. Sometimes the reinforcing can feel much thicker than the rest of the tights or, like the Levante Class range, you will just notice a different weave across the toes. Sandal toe –Describes hosiery with more subtle reinforcing which is only barely visible. Tights like the Aristoc Ultra Shine 10D Tights for example have reinforcing that is light enough to be worn with sandals. Sheer toe –Hosiery, like Charnos’ Sheer Lustre Tights, with no reinforcing or difference in weave across the toe area. Open toe –Summer essentials, these open toe tights have an opening at the foot which leaves the toes completely exposed for wearing with sandals. Products like Pretty Polly’s Naturals 8D Open Toe Tights are secured at the foot with a loop that fits around your toes others like Falke’s Shelina Toeless Tights have no toe loops at all. For more information and explainations of general hosiery terms please see the AlexBlake.com hosiery glossary. Back to the Hosiery Advice index |
