Americans Say Pantyhose We Say Tights

Pantyhose and tights are often regarded as the same. However, the question arises if they are, and if not, what differs the two from each other?

Let’s have a look at the similarities. Both provide complete covering to the legs, from the waist to the toes. Both have nylon and Lycra in their contents, providing comfort and a nice fit. Both come in a variety of designs and deniers, including specialised types.

Developed in the US, the term “pantyhose” combined the two words panties and hosiery, to signify the thickness of the gussets which allow them to worn without any underwear.

The concept of tights was to develop something that provided a close body fit for horse riding. Since then, fashion has developed them to be a practical item of clothing, and their continued tight fit gave the rise to the name.

The use of tights and pantyhose is numerous; from the demands of outfits to the concealment of skin blemishes. Both can be worn with short outfits to maintain a level of decency, and are equally applicable in the summer and winter months.

When in America, it’s the thickness, measured in deniers, which differentiates tights from pantyhose. Anything up to 40 deniers is considered as pantyhose, as the lower denier makes the item thinner and transparent. Higher denier means more opaqueness in the item, thus being called tights.

However, in the UK, there is no such distinction as the word “tights” is used across the board, with “pantyhose” a very rare term in the market.

So, pantyhose and tights have the same use, share the delicateness in nature and can be damaged in the same way. The only difference it seems is on where you come from, not the garment itself!

Difference between Tights and Pantyhose

Pantyhose are body garments worn from the waist down to the feet and is used by both men and women. It is usually tight and fitting to the body hence can also be called tights. Pantyhose are made of nylon and spandex which explains their elasticity and their name comes about from the fact that they combine pants together with socks, stockings and tights, better known as hosiery. The advantage with the pantyhose is that when you use then it can serve as both underwear and socks so no need to wear socks or underwear again.

Tights are also garments worn from the waist down to the feet and made of cotton or nylon. Hence any close fitting covering from your waist to feet is just a tight. So the difference between tights and pantyhose could be very minimal. Pantyhose are just modifications to the tights and the difference between the two would be on the materials used to manufacture each. Pantyhose are much lighter than tights since tights are made from heavier denier than the pantyhose.

Tights are mostly used by acrobats, athletes, dancers and wrestlers whereas pantyhose are best worn by women to serve as pants and covering for the legs when they wear miniskirts or during formal functions, although there are pantyhose for men. Tights worn by athletes tend to be made in such a way they don’t reach down the foot hence are feetless. Since pantyhose are much lighter, tights would be good for cold weather to provide warmth to the feet. Young children can also wear tights but not pantyhose because women sometimes use pantyhose to hide defects on the feet. Men would mostly wear pantyhose for medical purposes or under the wetsuits during scuba diving to minimize the cold from the water to their bodies.