Why we use Silicone Bands

Dear VienneMilano,
I would like to know if your stockings are adhesive free? I have a severe allergy to adhesive. What can you tell me about your products?

Thanks, Ada B.

Ciao Ada,

Thank you for reaching out! This is a great question. At VienneMilano, we are adhesive free. For us, it is all about comfort, and we know that whether allergic or not, adhesives are not comfortable. We want you, and everybody who wears our thigh highs, to feel confident and fabulous in our hosiery; for this reason, we avoid using adhesives.

Historically, garter and suspension belts as well as adhesives such as glue were used to keep stockings up. Thankfully, in 1967 Pretty Polly, a British company, created “hold ups" which we now refer to as thigh highs. These “hold ups” were held in place by a combination of elastic bands and silicone. Since then, the hosiery industry has evolved and improved upon silicone technology to ensure comfort and functionality. At VienneMilano we pride ourselves on creating stockings that do not compromise fashion or functionality.

Luckily, we have come a long way since the era of Pretty Polly. Every pair of stockings we make has silicone polymers that consist of chains of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms, which are both naturally occurring atoms. The alternating chains of silicon and oxygen bond together to create siloxane. The combination of many siloxane polymers creates silicone. Frederick Kipping, an English chemist that worked at Nottingham University, headed research that led to the creation of silicone and is the reason we are able to utilize it today.

The silicone band in all of our hosiery is non-slip, allowing you to live your life and go about your day without having to constantly worry about adjusting and fixing your thigh highs. Heat makes silicone sticky, thus, when you wear our hosiery, your body heat warms the silicone making it cling to your skin. But worry not, when you remove your thigh highs there will not be any residue or residual stickiness on your legs! Additionally, we have worked very hard to make sure that the silicone bands on our hosiery are as comfortable as possible, meaning they do not squeeze your legs too tightly, but still stay firmly in place.

Our silicone bands are flexible to ensure maximum comfort while still staying up.

As working, active, women, we know you all need clothes that work with your body, not against it! There are few things as frustrating as constantly having to adjust or pull up hosiery. We care about every one of our customers and their experiences with our thigh highs and work to create a product that allows for the best experience for our wearers. For a more in depth description of silicone and how it works, read our post on our no slip silicone strips. Browse our collection of adhesive free hosiery and let us know what you think! At VienneMilano we are proud of our thigh highs and are confident you will love them – fashion and functionality are guaranteed.