Positive contributions only on this thread, please.
I'll preface my comments by saying that I have only purchased from Sheertex and Amazon, but I have perused many sites that sell tights and the following observations are not limited to Sheertex / Amazon.
Although I get it that a potential purchaser will want to see tights in their full glory, I think there should be fewer tights and tee shots of models and more shots of tights with the models fully clothed - skirts, dresses, boots, shoes, tops, jackets etc. Sheertex, much to their credit, do occasionally include a male model on their website and, to my mind at least, seeing him decked out in tights and a vest doesn't shout "BUY ME" (I actually find it quite off-putting as I will come back to in a little while). I think it would appeal much more to guys if he was wearing a skirt (would a kilt work?) or shorts along with DM's or Converse and a tee and a jacket. And what they wear should be street / everyday wear rather than something that looks like it is fresh from a fashion show. Manufacturers should show how good guys could look in tights.
As mentioned on other threads, I think that tights manufacturers are missing out on a trick when it comes to compression tights and also when it comes to situations where men could benefit from wearing tights in certain work situations (particularly winter outdoor construction, being a job where you are on your feet for hours at a time, motorcycle riding etc.) If I was in a Marketing department, I'd definitively be thinking of a campaign along the lines of "Guys - no need to stop loaning pantyhose from your wife or girlfriend. We have items here that are designed specifically for the male frame". On that note, I definitely think that there is a call for male-specific designs in the following areas -
- Tights under jeans / trousers need to be really slippery to work well. I find that tights suitable for a 6', 220lb guy tend to not slip and slide as much as I would like. To expand on this a bit - I find that lighter den tights (more slippery) tend to be smaller in body and leg than heavier den tights (less slippery). Many of the tights I have purchased from Amazon have not been deep enough in the body and / or the leg for guys and roll down at the belly and fall away from the crotch as a result.
- I love the idea of the fleece-lined tights, but (anecdotally at least) I've heard that they may be too short in the body for guys.
- I definitely think that there is a place in the market for crotchless tights for guys - to aid bathroom breaks but also to stop there from being too much heat build-up in the nether regions. I'm aware that at least one manufacturer offered tights with a fly.
Finally (and to come back to my point about showing male models clothed), a lesson to be learned from sellers of undercrackers and swimming trunks - I realized some time back when I was looking for new underwear that I was subconsciously steering myself away from garments that were modeled "in the flesh" (particularly with a "beefcake" model) and I was much more drawn to listings that just showed the garments. Not sure if that is just me, but I think it does tie in with my comment above and that it might be better to market tights to guys with models who are fully clothed in real-world settings and garments.
