Watch Simona’s full review of the Sesto Senso Nicole hold-up stockings in black. In this Glamissima video review, Simona tests the fit, softness, comfort and overall quality of these 50 denier microfiber hold-ups, in what turns out to be one of her most honest sizing lessons.
Sesto Senso is a Polish hosiery brand, and the Nicole arrived via Amazon in flawless condition: a thick cardboard box, the stockings sealed inside a nylon bag and folded around a rigid cardboard insert that preserves their shape and elasticity. The back of the box carries all the essentials, including the “Beauty of Touch” tagline that, as Simona confirms, is not just marketing: the microfiber really is so soft you want to put the stockings on the moment you touch them.
The fabric is the undisputed strength of this model. Here is what Simona finds in her hands-on and wearing tests:
- Thick, opaque 50 denier black microfiber with deep, persistent color
- A genuine second skin feel: no itching, no irritation, all-day comfort despite the substantial weight
- A beautiful black lace top with an interesting floral design
- Double silicone bands inside the top, in principle an excellent grip system
- A toe seam that is genuinely soft and unnoticeable inside the shoe
The problem, and the real theme of this review, is sizing. Simona is 165 cm and 65 kg and normally wears a size 3 in hold-ups; this pair is a 3/4, and on her leg it is simply too long. The excess fabric bunches on the leg in folds she cannot hide, and the extra length pushes the lace top higher on the thigh than it should sit, where the leg circumference is larger. The result is that the band starts rolling on itself, immediately when sitting and progressively even while standing, killing the elegant effect that is the whole point of a hold-up. The extra length also extends past the toes, forcing the seam to be folded under the foot, which can become annoying with narrow pumps.
Simona is transparent about her verdict: these are genuinely good stockings penalized by the wrong size on her body. She deliberately wears them anyway across two outfits to show their potential. The first is a total black evening look: a PDK dress under a Rinascimento lace-trimmed duster that can double as a mini dress, finished with black glitter-detail pumps, perfect for a night out, the theater or a club. The second flips the register entirely: a pure cotton Blanc 2000 top, a punk-style skirt bought in a German alternative fashion shop and combat boots, proving that an opaque hold-up does not have to live only in elegant wardrobes. With the right size, she says, this second pairing would be perfect.
The review closes with one of her best practical tips for hold-up lovers: when silicone starts losing grip over time, wet the band with a little warm water before putting the stockings on. The silicone regains its adhesion and holds all day, provided, as always, there is no body cream on the skin. Her final recommendation stands, with one condition in capital letters: choose your size carefully, and when in doubt with this model, size down rather than up.
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Simona was one of Glamissima's earlier presenters, contributing a number of reviews to the channel's catalog.
View all Simona reviews →How we review: Every product featured on Glamissima is purchased by us at retail price. We do not receive free samples or sponsored placements, and no brand has approval over what our presenters say. Each presenter shares her own impressions of fit, texture, opacity and wear.
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Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transparency. Today, stockings are primarily worn for fashion and aesthetics, usually in association with mid-length or short skirts.
Historically, even though the word sock is at least as ancient in origin, what men normally wore were often referred to as stockings, probably especially when referring to longer hose. The word stock used to refer to the bottom “stump” part of the body, and by analogy the word was used to refer to the one-piece covering of the lower trunk and limbs of the 15th century—essentially tights consisting of the upper-stocks (later to be worn separately as knee breeches) and nether-stocks (later to be worn separately as stockings).
Before the 1590s, stockings were made of woven cloth. The first knitting machines were for making stockings. The stockings themselves were made of cotton, linen, wool or silk. A polished cotton called lisle was common, as were those made in the town of Balbriggan.
Before the 1920s, stockings, if worn, were worn for warmth. Women, particularly during the pioneer days, wore long underwear (longjohns) underneath their long dresses. In the 1920s, as hemlines of dresses rose, and churches were not heated, women began to wear flesh-colored stockings over their longjohns to cover their exposed legs. Those stockings were sheer, first made of silk or rayon (then known as “artificial silk”) and after 1940 of nylon.
The introduction of nylon in 1939 by chemical company DuPont began a high demand for stockings in the United States with up to 4 million pairs being purchased in one day. Nylon stockings were cheap, durable, and sheer compared to their cotton and silk counterparts. When America entered World War II, DuPont ceased production of nylon stockings and retooled their factories to produce parachutes, airplane cords, and rope. This led to a shortage and the creation of a black market for stockings. At the end of the war DuPont announced that the company would return to producing stockings, but could not meet demand. This led to a series of disturbances in American stores known as the nylon riots until DuPont was able to ramp up production.
A precursor of pantyhose made an appearance in the 1940s and 1950s, when film and theater productions had stockings sewn to the briefs of actresses and dancers, according to actress-singer-dancer Ann Miller and seen in popular films such as Daddy Long Legs. Today, stockings are commonly made using knitted wool, silk, cotton or nylon (see hosiery). The introduction of commercial pantyhose in 1959 gave an alternative to stockings, and the use of stockings declined dramatically. A main reason for this was the trend towards higher hemlines on dresses (see minidress). In 1970, U.S. sales of pantyhose exceeded stockings for the first time, and has remained this way ever since. Beginning in 1987, sales of pantyhose started a slight decline due to the newly invented hold-ups, but still remain the most sold kind of hosiery.
ma quando ci descrivi delle calze con reggicalze, le autoreggenti strizzano ed i collant troppo caldi per la stagione
Grazie