We spoke to Amanda Pate, the founder of Legs, Toes and Co to learn about her new venture.
Can you provide Hosiery For Men readers with some background to Legs, Toes & Co? What are you aiming to achieve?
Legs, Toes & Co was inspired by a desire to stand on my own two feet! For many years I worked for large media organisations and later I worked in academia. However, I wanted to run my own show and be my own boss and I was thinking for a long time about what else I would like to put my energies into.
The idea of launching an online boutique selling quality legwear at an affordable price was something I had been researching for some time, either in terms of launching my own line or selling a range of products. I love leggings – of all varieties – and the same goes for hosiery, and so legwear was something that I have a passion for and so the idea never really went away.
It was only when I was at a party and some friends started talking about their love of tights and how difficult they found it to get the styles they liked as and when they needed them that I had my 'light bulb moment' i.e. that it was time to put my idea into action. So, in essence, my aim is to be able to offer our customers the legwear that they really want and love – on demand.
In a crowded online hosiery retail market what is unique about Legs, Toes & Co?
The online hosiery market is a relatively busy one that is true. But it is an exciting one with a great buzz around it too. In terms of what is unique about Legs, Toes & Co we are a legwear business that serves the UK primarily but is based in Scotland – and we really do need to know a thing or two about legwear here due to the climate!
Also, it is the fact that we offer not just hosiery, but socks and leggings as well. We are also offering a Subscription Box service for legwear products too, which is something that we know would make the perfect gift for anyone. We are also going to be stocking some fabulous active legwear and we have one or two other exciting products coming through in the near future, which we believe will make us stand out.
So in essence, we aim to go that extra mile in terms of our product range and strive to offer something different.
Do you welcome male customers buying tights for themselves? Do you welcome enquiries and requests for advice?
Absolutely! We are already well aware that the market has been geared to women primarily and there is a big demand for tights for all. We welcome enquiries from our customers looking to buy particular products and are also keen to offer advice about all of our products and size guides etc. We have strived to make sure from the outset that we are accessible to our potential customers and so have established accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and of course there is good old email: (info@legstoesco.com) and so we would encourage your readers to let us know what they want from us and what they need but isn't easily accessible.
There is always quite a lot of media interest in the subject of tights for men. What are your thoughts about the greater visibility of men buying and wearing tights?
There is interest yes, but it is a shift in the right direction. The greater visibility for men buying and wearing tights, all the better. We are launching opportunities for people to be part of Legs, Toes & Co as Party Consultants and I really hope that this is an opportunity that isn't one that is just taken up by women (as has traditionally been the case with opportunities to sell produce via parties). We really hope that men will be interested in running Legs, Toes & Co parties and that men will want to attend them too!
Are there any particular items that you have in stock that you can recommend for men?
From what we have in stock at the time of our launch, I would recommend the Silky Luxury Soft 60 or 80 DenierBlack Tights, depending on your thickness preference. These tights are really warm and cosy (given the time of year) and provide great support and comfort. They are priced at £6.99 for a pack of two and this makes them both affordable and good quality.
While for a man who is looking for a practical pair of tights that aren't quite so thick and perhaps prefers their hosiery to be available in a range of shades, then I would recommend the Cindy Ladder Resist 20 Denier Tights as they are comfortable and are good value for money too, currently priced at £2.50.
We will be extending our ranges on the site in the coming weeks and this will intentionally include a focus on serving the male market for hosiery. We don't feel it should be an after-thought.
To men thinking about trying tights, what would you say are the main benefits of wearing them?
The main benefits of tights are that they are comfortable, supportive, and can be warm on cold days and cool on warmer days. They are easy to care for and some pairs can last a very, very long time (you may find with others that this isn't always the case though and this isn't necessarily down to one brand over another either). All the same, it is always fun shopping for a new pair of tights and choosing between different colours and patterns and finding what suits you most.
What are your plans for the future at Legs, Toes & Co?
We have ambitious plans for Legs, Toes & Co and have billed ourselves as being an online boutique "for people who are going places" – as we believe we are too.
Our official launch day is today (Friday 14 October) and we will be running launch day offers, which will be promoted on our Facebook page. Customers can also qualify for future special offers by signing up to our Newsletter via our website.
We hope that people will like what we are offering initially but I would stress that we do have more fabulous ranges coming through. As mentioned, we are putting out a call for Party Consultants and anyone who might be interested should drop us an email: parties@legstoesco.com.
We also have one or two other developments up our sleeve but we are keeping these under wraps for now at least, so...watch this space!
It is a very exciting time!
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