Tights
Tights (US: Panty hose) are a tight-fitting garment covering the legs, hips and buttocks.
They usually cover the feet (ones that do not are called footless tights) and come up above the waist. Generally they are made from sheer (see-through) nylon, though opaque ones are common. However, they are also available in rubber. They may be of fishnet and may be crotchless.
Modern tights rarely have seams, but seamed tights are still produced for effect; the seam should be at the rear of the leg and as straight as possible.
They are usually regarded as a female garment, but are customarily worn by male ballet dancers; ballet tights are usually made nowadays of nylon or cotton mixed with lycra.
Denier
Nylon tights for everyday wear by women have a thickness denoted by denier number. (It is the mass in grammes of 9,000 metres of the nylon thread from which the tights are woven.) The greater the denier, the more opaque the tights and also the stronger they are. Thin tights are sheer (transparent); the thinnest tights are 5 denier. Semi-opaque ones are usually at least 40 denier and opaque ones at least 70. Even "opaque" tights are not completely opaque, and have some show-through especially at the knees when they are bent. Totally opaque tights may be available from some ballet shops, made from the same material as catsuits and [leotard]]s.
Thin tights often have a reinforced top woven to be thicker and stronger than the legs. This top is darker and more opaque than the legs, and some people find a glimpse of this top under a miniskirt erotic. Sheer tights without such a top are sometimes labelled as "sheer to waist". Tights may be described as "20 denier appearance", meaning that they are of heavier (hence stronger) thread but use modern techniques to be as sheer as ordinary 20 denier ones.
