Frequently Asked Questions; Why Are Men's Tights Dearer Than Women's?

One question we are often asked here at L4M is, 'Why are men's tights more expensive than women's?'. Well, there are a number of reasons. First, men's legwear is more difficult to manufacture, as the 'male' features such as male centre or front panels or fly openings do not lend themselves to automated production like women's hosiery does, so the unit cost at the point of manufacture is higher (they have to be made by real people, not computer-controlled machines, and people are more expensive to employ than machines are!). Plus, men's hosiery is not made in anything like the numbers that women's tights are - there is one Italian manufacturer who makes 200,000 pairs of women's tights PER DAY! I doubt if there has been that many men's tights made ever, so consequently there are no economies of scale to speak of. Also, men demand a more durable product than women; they won't put up with a 'throw away' garment - they require a good few wearings from their legwear, so they tend to be more robustly made, and hence, more expensive again. Plus, frankly, you get what you pay for; there are tights and tights - men's tights are generally better made than many of the cheap women's styles, and they fit men's anatomy better, and consequently are more comfortable, and last longer. Finally, the only way the price of men's tights will go down is if men refuse to buy women's tights and only buy those which are made for men; that way the manufacturers will take notice, and more will begin to produce tights for men, and the price will drop over time. But for the moment I'm afraid, us guys will have to pay a higher price for our legwear.

Have We Turned The Corner?

Change is certainly afoot - we at L4M have noticed a massive increase in sales of legwear and associated items recently - in fact, we sold more product in the last 8 months since the start of our financial year in October, than in the previous two years PUT TOGETHER. Other things are also becoming apparent; we have a large increase in the number of female customers buying for their menfolk (judging by the accompanying comments or e-mails) than before. Prior to this year, we only had a handful of female customers (less than 10) out of thousands in total, but in the last few months we are getting more and more ladies buying; this is a good thing, as it indicates that Joe and Jane Public are becoming aware of men's legwear and hosiery, and more ladies are maybe buying as gifts for, or on behalf of their menfolk. We are also getting a lot more e-mail queries of a serious nature than before; by serious, I mean questions about sizing, specific requirements like support, or sports use (as opposed to the more bizarre, offbeat and obviously 'sniping' messages we used to get), plus, as already alluded to, questions from ladies buying for their men, regarding sizing, recommendations for a particular use etc. This is all extremely encouraging, and shows that the concept of legwear as a male garment has pretty much gained acceptance by the general public, and that the balance has 'tipped' past the point of no return.

I was particularly pleased to see the video from daytime TV posted by ComfiLon marketing director Steve Newman, visible here, which is very positive and extremely encouraging - way to go, Steve!

All in all, we see the future of men's legwear as very positive, and likely to continue growing apace - watch this space!