I have tried hold ups before, and each time that I did, I swore that I would never buy them again. As soon as I pulled the damn things up over my knees and stuck them to my thighs, they would slowly peel off my skin, then ping down to my ankles. To this day, I still believe that the models on the packs of the incorrectly named ‘hold ups’ glue them to their legs pre-photoshoot.

Not only do I HATE hold ups, but I also LOVE stockings. I therefore couldn’t see myself ever trying them again.

About a year ago, I started noticing the shiny stripey welts, they started popping up all over the place, brands and models alike seemed to be using them more and more.

I was sceptical for a long time, however many bloggers whom I trust have raved about Kix’ies, so I decided to trial run some for myself. This is what I thought…

Look at the images below, they were taken before I left the house for work. You will notice two things:

1. My face – this is not a face of despair
2. The Kix’ies are on my thighs, as in they haven’t fallen down (yet?)

I must admit, it felt very strange leaving the house without any suspension but I persevered. I also must admit to taking an emergency suspender belt and stockings with me in my handbag, just in case the Kix’ies released my thighs from their silicone grip.

The day I wore them, I was very busy at work and had a lot of meetings to go to, I was therefore moving around the office a lot. For the first couple of hours, I was very conscious of the fact that at any moment, I could end up with some unwanted ankle socks that would have looked something like this:

However, as the day progressed, I completely forgot that I was wearing hold ups and just… got on with my life.

I can honestly say that they did not budge, not an inch. The Kix’ies stayed up all day, and part of the evening, until I took them off. I jokingly mentioned to my boyfriend that I never needed to wear stockings and suspenders again, he was not impressed.

I chose to try out the ‘Ally’ style – black with black spots. I love spotty hosiery, so that’s a win.

In terms of sizing, I probably went bigger than I should have but ultimately that may have further tested the grippiness of the silicone welts. My thighs are currently 25 inches around (they were 22, but then I rediscovered pizza) and I chose to wear size D. I usually have to wear the biggest size in all styles and brands of hosiery, so I didn’t even think about it, I just tried the largest size.

This is the suggested size chart:

Samantha, the owner of Kix’ies advises customers to go by thigh circumference first, height second and weight last. Following this advice, I should have worn a size B.

So, will I wear my Kix’ies again? YES! Yes I will, and I encourage you to try them too. I actually love them so much that I have decided to sell them in my shop. I will always love stockings and suspension, but these are a nice alternative. I would recommend them to people who maybe struggle with attaching suspender clips to stocking welts, or maybe to people who want to change things up in the hosiery department.

Elinor