Elegant ankles: which brands are comfortable and still look good after a few wears?(Trial: knee-highs)(Buyers Guide)

Publication: Choice (Chippendale, Australia)

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COPYRIGHT 2003 Australian Consumers' Association

IN A NUTSHELL

* In the trial: 20 brands of knee-highs ranging in price from just 60 cents to almost $7 a pair.

* About a third got the thumbs-up from our trialists, including one of the cheapest brands.

* Other findings: less than perfect durability and fit, especially for women with fuller figures, and poor quality control with some brands.

If you like your ankles dressed silky and sheer when you're wearing pants, knee-highs can be the answer. They're available in a variety of weights, colours, textures and patterns. And with ever more women wearing trousers to work, their popularity is on the rise.

For this report we enlisted more than 180 CHOICE Home Testers to trial 20 brands of sheer black knee-highs in 'one size fits all'. They included some with special features such as graduated compression or a massaging or cushioned sole, which all made it into the What to buy list (see right).

THE VERDICT

Because of their generally delicate texture, knee-highs and pantyhose won't last like socks, but poor durability isn't the only problem we found. Of all the knee-highs in the trial (361 pairs):

* 35% lasted less than the five days of the trial, mainly because of holes and ladders.

* 33% didn't stay up very well, especially with taller or heavier wearers.

* 20% were too short and 10% too long for the trialists.

* 18% had leg bands that...

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