Another tights question

[Scarlett]

Do any of you know where I can get darker over the boot tights? I would not describe my skin as either "suntan" or "light toast" and those are the only ones I can find. I think I look silly with my legs shades lighter than the rest of my body.

[daisies]

I don't know where to get a darker color, but I have heard that people who needed a darker color have dyed them in Lipton tea. Seriously! I don't know the specifics on that, but maybe someone else here does. Good luck!

[samba]

Yes, I have had good results with coffee, but you need to rinse them well as they dont half whiff afterwards!!

[Scarlett]

Thanks
Can you explain how exactly you dye them with coffee or tea? I'm clueless here.

[mikawendy]

Also, you could try ordering tights online. You may be able to get more of a color choice that way. For example, a lot of the dancewear web sites offer a big variety of colors other than just suntan and light toast in dance tights, so skatewear web sites may have similar selections...

[doubletoe]

And you could also just wear dance tights if you're able to find them in the right shade. The only drawback is that they wouldn't be available in an over-the-boot style.

[doubletoe]

Actually, I just checked the Mondor website and they offer their Opaque Microfiber skating tights in Brown. You can buy them directly from the website:
http://www.mondor.com/en/md_GlaceCollectionStyleForm.asp?sCatKey=MSGL&sCollKey=COL&sStyleKey=3310

[doubletoe]

Oops, it looks like you need to be a wholeseller to order from the website, but maybe you can Mondor and ask if any online stores (or stores near you) have ordered them recently.

[beachbabe]

you know...I've wondered the smae thing for a long time.

In the summer I like to lay out at the pool whole dyas at a time and usually I tan so much that I look ridiculous in skating tights with my dark tan showing through.

I've pretty much been jsut sucking it up and I use Danskin footed tights because thats all my rink happens to sell and every other style of the danskin tights is the same color anyways.


The other day i saw a girl with really tan brown OTB tights and couldn't help wondering where she got them. She looked very stupid being as pale as paper and wearing those tights but i bet they would look fine on me.

[Thin-Ice]

To dye tights: make the coffee or tea very strong... about a quart's worth and put it in a glass container with enough room for your tights to also go inside the container. If you need the tights just slightly darker, soak them in clean water, then put them in the container. If you need them a LOT darker, just set them inside. About every 5-10 minutes, pull out the tights and let them dry. If that's the color you want, rinse them out until the dye/tea/coffee no longer runs out, then rinse them in warm water and a cup of salt (to hold the dye). If you want a darker color still, just repeat the process. I've dyed tights and leotards and skating skirts, but remember, nylon doesn't hold the dye... so check the fiber content of whatever you're dying.

Flo who does a lot of (lovely) fiber-art work may have another suggestion on how she dyes things.

[VegasGirl]

Mondor and Capezio have OTB tights in a color named Suntan maybe that would be dark enough.

[LilJen]

I have to say I'm peeved that it's so difficult to find tights and undergarments for those who aren't lily white. I happen to be white but was kind of horrified as I went looking around to find everything only in "suntan" or "nude." As though there is only one shade of person in the world. . . Kind of like Crayola's "flesh" crayon (since renamed to "peach," I think).

[doubletoe]

The other day i saw a girl with really tan brown OTB tights and couldn't help wondering where she got them. She looked very stupid being as pale as paper and wearing those tights but i bet they would look fine on me.

That's how I feel when I wear practically any brand of tights! I need to find tights in "Almost Albino" in order to match my skin color, LOL! Although I have to say it's still easier to find something close to fishbelly white than it is to find something close to most African American skin tones. That's got to be a serious challenge.

[t_tarasova]

Actually, I just checked the Mondor website and they offer their Opaque Microfiber skating tights in Brown. You can buy them directly from the website:
http://www.mondor.com/en/md_GlaceCollectionStyleForm.asp?sCatKey=MSGL&sCollKey=COL&sStyleKey=3310

Hello ladies,

I'm a black woman and have searched long and hard for skating tights, and the footed Mondor 3310 in Brown, which is still relatively new, is the only satisfactory color I've ever found. I've never found an off-the-shelf dark OTB tight. I've tried the Danskin Toast (as opposed to Light Toast), and it's dreadful -- it has a deep orange tint that can't possibly match any naturally-occurring skin tone on earth.

I think I'm a pretty average color -- neither really light nor really dark, maybe kind of like Oprah -- and the Brown is about a half-shade too dark, but MUCH better than the Suntan, which is about a shade and a half too light. The Brown color is akin to what most hosiery makers would call "Coffee" -- it would actually be too dark for a light-skinned black person or someone of, perhaps, Hispanic or Indian descent.

It's true, you can't order directly from Mondor, but your local skate shop or pro shop would probably be happy to order them for you. I've asked some local stores in my area to order me some, and they always oblige. Some online retailers who sell the 3310 in Suntan may also be willing to special-order them for you.

I must say that I really like the feel of the tights -- the microfiber is soft, strong and reasonably run-resistant, and it's somewhow woven so that it feels rather like two thin layers on top of each other -- still competition-weight tights, but warmer than I thought they would be. I'm easily chilled and had been a thick-cotton-tights kind of girl, and was a bit nervous at first. They are also *very* stretchy. I had been wearing the Mondor 3395 in size 2XL Suntan, but found that the 3310 in Brown XL (the largest size Brown you can get) fit just fine. Granted, I have lost weight since I started skating four months ago, but I'm still outside Mondor's "official" XL weight range.

The owner of a local skate shop near me spoke to Mondor directly, and they said they are "considering" making the Brown in other styles because it has been quite popular, but there is no definite promise or time frame.

Mishka

[Scarlett]

Thank you so much...I will look into the "brown" which may fit my summer complexion. I will probably be too light when untanned (Naturally I'm medium complexioned leaning more towards the yellow side) so it looks like that I will be dyeing tights for the winter. Now any thoughts about illusion fabrics? The only "illusion" on it, as far as I'm concerned, is the illusion that it will blend with my skin tone. Do you know if you can order them with a different color flesh tone?

[beachbabe]

That's how I feel when I wear practically any brand of tights! I need to find tights in "Almost Albino" in order to match my skin color, LOL! Although I have to say it's still easier to find something close to fishbelly white than it is to find something close to most African American skin tones. That's got to be a serious challenge.


well, I'm white but even so I tan easily and all the tights at my pro shop are very light. I would probably be able to wear them maybe in march since my tan is usually faded by then but during the summer I am always in the sun from tennis, soccer and just hanging out by the pool. It gets you lots of compliments in real life but causes problems for skating when you have to wear a dress/skirt and there is only one shade of tights.



But if you are having problems from being too light you may wanna try buying some tights in a department store. During the winter/fall/spring they usually have really thick tights that feel just like skating tights and are jsut as thick but they come in several colors including a very light skin color and go all the way up to a really dark brown.

[Skate@Delaware]

Thank you so much...I will look into the "brown" which may fit my summer complexion. I will probably be too light when untanned (Naturally I'm medium complexioned leaning more towards the yellow side) so it looks like that I will be dyeing tights for the winter. Now any thoughts about illusion fabrics? The only "illusion" on it, as far as I'm concerned, is the illusion that it will blend with my skin tone. Do you know if you can order them with a different color flesh tone?
One place I get my fabrics (www.spandexworld.com) (http://www.spandexworld.com)) has stretch mesh in coppertone. I like stretch mesh because it's a tad stronger than illusion. From 3 feet away, you can't tell that it's mesh. www.spandexhouse.com (http://www.spandexhouse.com) has some in chocolate and saddlebrown. I haven't ordered from them.

I am not sure if you could get white and dye that too....might be a question for Flo to answer. Maybe would depend on the fabric content and the type of dyes used (might need to match the same as the tights to match exacty, wouldn't it?).

[doubletoe]

Hmm, there's a thought. I wonder if anyone has ever just cut up a pair of tights and used that as their stretch illusion fabric. . .

[mikawendy]

Hmm, there's a thought. I wonder if anyone has ever just cut up a pair of tights and used that as their stretch illusion fabric. . .

Depending on the kind of tights, it might run too much before you get a chance to sew it into whatever garment. The thicker ones might not be a problem, but the really thin microfibre ones seem to get runs really easily....

It would make really good sleeves, though--especially a child's size tights, for a snug fit. (My skating tights are baggy on my arms when I turn my tights right-side out.)

[beachbabe]

check out this picture- she has such a nice color of tights:

http://www.pbase.com/nikonsean/image/25666513

so does this girl:

http://www.pbase.com/nikonsean/image/25811591

[VegasGirl]

Those look like my GK Suntan OTB tights.

[t_tarasova]

Here I am modeling the Mondor 3310s in Brown! :lol:
http://pics.livejournal.com/t_tarasova/

[Scarlett]

T Tarasova,

Those look great on you. I managed to purchase a pair but they are too dark for me. Looks like I will be dyeing tights in coffee (I don't drink tea). GREAT PICS though.

[vesperholly]

I could swear that there was a dance company that made tights in a range of colors from very light to very dark. I remember looking at that and thinking, "Dancers of color will love this!" Of course, I cannot remember which company for the life of me. I think it might have been Capezio...?

[Skate@Delaware]

I could swear that there was a dance company that made tights in a range of colors from very light to very dark. I remember looking at that and thinking, "Dancers of color will love this!" Of course, I cannot remember which company for the life of me. I think it might have been Capezio...?
here is a color chart for danskin tights:
http://www.tutu.com/dwear_colors_wtgt_ds_popup.html

discount dance:
http://www.discountdance.com/frame_set.php3?mf=http://www.discountdance.com/thumb.php?TopCat=GIFTACC&cat=&Shop=Color
some of the tights are available in several tones of flesh...

[blue111moon]

I have given up trying to find tights in "Freckle". :)

[Isk8NYC]

To dye tights: make the coffee or tea very strong... about a quart's worth and put it in a glass container with enough room for your tights to also go inside the container. If you need the tights just slightly darker, soak them in clean water, then put them in the container. If you need them a LOT darker, just set them inside. About every 5-10 minutes, pull out the tights and let them dry. If that's the color you want, rinse them out until the dye/tea/coffee no longer runs out, then rinse them in warm water and a cup of salt (to hold the dye). If you want a darker color still, just repeat the process. I've dyed tights and leotards and skating skirts, but remember, nylon doesn't hold the dye... so check the fiber content of whatever you're dying. I add a few drops of blue food color or dye to the container as well. It seems to make the color less orange and more brown. I like the salt tip - I'll try that next time I change laces. (Never buy tan skates if you like cotton laces.) Just have to be careful with the lace tips - they come loose if they get wet.

[NCSkater02]

I have given up trying to find tights in "Freckle". :)

Ditto for me