men in tight underwear
Today I went into a Wolford’s store at Northpark Mall, in Dallas, Texas. While I enjoyed their selection of hosiery, I found their prices extremely expensive. For example, a pair of 10 denier stockings were $28.00 and some of the tights were $65.00 and even more expensive. The hosiery clerk explained that the patented fiber and manufacturing processes makes Wolford’s brand unique but still, does the brand and quality really justify the price??? And are they more durable?? How does Wolford’s compare to american brands, like Hanes Silk Reflections, Preston and York, and Donna Karan???? While I love hosiery as much as the next person, but sorry, I cannot see myself spending $65.00 on a pair of tights.
John
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Nothing beats a great pair of l’eggs. Pantyhose rule!!!!!
The price of Wolford is always a bit of a shock when you first see them, and if you want a bigger shock take a look at Fogal!
My personal view is that they are perhaps a little over priced if you compare them with the likes of Falke and Gerbe that are almost the same quality and significantly cheaper. That having been said my wife and I still have almost every pair of Wolford and Gerbe that we have bought in the last 10 years. Those that we do not have suffered accidents that no hosiery could survive.
So why the high price?
There is no doubt that a small proportion is the maintenance of the brand through marketing but you can’t so anything with marketing if the basic product is not sound.
The starting point for good hosiery is a good base fibre. It is the quality of the fibre, particularly the uniformity of diameter, that determines whether a fibre strethes under load or snaps. So Wolford use only the very best fibre, and you can be certain is is rigoursly tested.
Next up you have the method of knitting. Two factors to consider here, the look and feel that a particular knit delivers, and the damage to the fibre done by the knitting machines. If the knitting machines are updated and repaired more often and built with tighter tolerances on smoothness of components etc that adds to cost.
Having knitted the legs the hose have to be sewn together. You will notice in reviews that I focus a lot on the waistband, body seams and toe seams. These are areas that have big impact on comfort, fit and durability. Flat body seams need a lot more expertise, more labour and more materials. In return you get strong straight seams that do not stress the fabric either side of the seam, and seams that sit flat and are more comfortable. Similar applies to well designed and made waistbands.
Next up you have testing of the product. All manufacturers employ some sort of inspection. What differs is the percentage inspection and the threshold for rejection. With Wolford any visible flaw and the hose are downgraded to “B-Sortment”. If you ever saw any of these it is very hard to see what is wrong, although the only Wolfords I ever got a run in were “B-Sortment”. More than one flaw, or one serious flaw, and the hose go in the bin.
Lesser brands may only check a small percentage and allow one or two flaws a pair. The cost of the testing and the cost of the rejected hose have to be recouped in the sale of the retail product.
A final point is that because of the price they sell in smaller quantities, so the fixed costs of marketing etc are spread over fewer pairs.
As for comparison with US brands I only have limited experience of Hanes and Donna Karan as the US brands don’t sell here in Europe. From what I have seen though there is no comparison in terms of look, fit, feel and quality.
Wolford won’t be for everyone but everyone should try a pair once just to see what they are like.
(If anyone would like to provide some new in the packet US hosiery for testing please get in touch via the site and we can see if we can arrange a swap for some European hosiery)
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CJ Webmaster at
Number one for tights and pantyhose reviews.
€3.00 for manufacturing a pair is probably not far from the truth….
…then add on inspection costs, packaging coss, distribution costs, advertising, manufacturer’s profit margin, retailer profit margin etc. and you get to the retail price.
Cheaper hose are quite possibly made for as little as a few cents a pair and the fixed costs are spread over far more pairs.
Wolford, Fogal and other premium brands are the best value, but they are the best quality. Other brands come close, often for far less money. My own testing has found that brands like Kunert and Falke give almost as good a quality for far less money, and Gerbe too are better value for money than Wolford.
Some cheaper brands also manage to produce great hosiery at lower prices, but with less consistancy.
The whole point in my site is to go beyond the brand and review the actual hosiery. And it would be very dull if I were never surprised.
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CJ Webmaster at
Number one for tights and pantyhose reviews.