American Apparel recently received fanmail from men in the UK raving about how much they love their tights. Confused, American Apparel Googled to find that men in tights is a growing trend. UK department store Selfridges told the Telegraph, “We expect men to be wearing them. Not only as a way to give legs an extra booth of warmth on the chilliest nights, but as a true style statement.” While the trend can be spotted on NYC runways, are Big Apple men ready for hosiery? When I catch Besen Retail specialists wearing them, I’ll let you know. Mantyhose anyone?
-Caitlin
Imagine my surprise while surfing the net to come across your blog and see my photo right up there with the headline?! I presume you must’ve found your way to my blog, The Nylon Gene (www.nylongene.com) while doing research for this post. Don’t worry… I’m not upset about it, no need to worry about changing it either.
Anyways, yes, men are definitely wearing tights (sheer or opaque) in ever growing numbers. I work for ActivSkin (who would be an American Apparel competitor) and we have been selling men’s legwear for 10 years now. Men have been discovering the various practical benefits of tights, especially the support variety and it’s been fueling this emerging trend.
They’re helpful for guys with leg circulation issues, warmth-without-bulk for outdoor athletes, and a good base layer for outdoorsmen, too.
Thanks for the mention.
Hi Steve,
Thank you for the info and of course, the picture. I’m finding that tights are a growing trend, and from what you are saying, with good reason! Good luck with ActivSkin, and let me know if you have any more growing trends to report.
Thanks. Your open-minded outlook is refreshing. If you should ever decide to publish anything more in-depth on the topic, you know where to find me. You can use the email address attached to this profile, or it can be found at my profile on The Nylon Gene.