One aspect of my job that I hav'nt discussed in my blog before is hosiery, an integral part of any lingerie shop. Last week we had a delivery from one of our suppliers and the girls in the shop were checking the order in and pricing up before putting them out on display. Listening in on the conversation, they were trying to figure out what pantyhose were and puzzling over whether they were a new type of stockings. Sorry to disappoint them I had to let them know that pantyhose were plain and simple tights, the reply to which was, "Why don't they call them tights on the packet?".
Not that we stock just plain and simple tights, hosiery like other areas of buying for a lingerie shop is a vast area that has to reflect the personal preferences of women, tights, stockings, holdups, patterned, seamed, footless, toeless, fishnets, silk, nylon, not to mention a wide range of colours. Tights or stockings for everyday wear, to finish a particular outfit or look and for the 'boudoir'. The choice is endless and to try and meet that choice would fill a warehouse not just a shop. Like lingerie, their are a number of hosiery brands that look to meet the needs of differents markets and price points, including Pretty Polly, Faulke, Cette, Cervin, Charnos and a multitude of others. So where as a buyer do you start?
There are plenty of places that you can buy everyday tights, so we don't look to stock the 3 pairs for £5 tights. Being a lingerie shop, our focus has to be things that will complement the lingerie, so stockings and holdups tend to be top of the list with ivory bridalwear being a definite must. The next best seller is the low denier plain stockings and seamed stockings. Good quality fishnet stockings and tights are also a favourite. Patterned tights and high quality low denier sheer tights are also a favourite. For winter heavier denier opaque tights are another must have.
At Just Bras we stock Cette, a hoisery company in Belgium, together with our new range from Cervin Paris the only wholly owned French hosiery company, for those who like something a bit quirky or retro, we also stock Kiss Me Deadly whose retro style stockings are the perfect accessory to their retro suspender belts.
