… Or the one in which I ask Other Half to photograph my behind and knobbly knees.

I’m the first to admit that tights and socks etc are often last on my shopping list and then the cold weather comes in and I find myself reaching for the faithful black opaques. Whilst catching up on my holiday glossies I read that plain opaques may be considered a bit boring this year; I disagree so won’t be ditching mine just yet. However when I was contacted by the lovely Lauren from Tightsplease to see if I’d like to review some of their products, I was open to her suggestion of trying something a little different.

Cue these Addy tights by Red or Dead exclusive to Tights Please – any packaging with the words Glorious Gussets gets my vote for starters! The stripe down the back bought a very of the moment, Dita Von Teese feel to them and is great for leg lengthening; not something I would say no to. I was really impressed with the quality too – they feel velvet soft and have made me realise what I’ve been missing by purchasing cheaper opaques. I’ll be pairing them with chunky heels, skirts & jersey dresses come autumn for a bit of a Mad Men vibe as seen on the catwalk at Prada and Louis Vuitton A/W10.

Emboldened by bit of hosiery experimentation I tried on these Charnos cable knit socks in Mulberry with some boots – I think they’ll also be great under my Hunter wellies. Although I think this is as close as you’ll get me to the Carrie Bradshaw Over The Knee Socks look.

And for this next product, lucky for you there will be no photos of the actual product on in all it’s glory. Ever the advocate of shapewear, I was really keen to give these Spanx Power Panties a whirl. I wanted to see how they compared to an in-store own brand that I’d bought previously.

Taking them out of the packet I was struck by how much softer they are than the other pair I possess and loved the instructions. Step 4 says “Wiggle immediately and dance around your room (this part will ensure not only a better fit, but a better day!)”. You can’t beat underwear with a sense of humour.

Control wise they are superb, actually the comfiest I have tried yet and they got me into my COS horizontal striped dress without necessitating the need for constant breath holding closely followed by instant passing out. Bonus.

Things I learned from the making of this post: It’s worth paying a bit more for your hosiery, don’t be afraid to experiment with leg wear a little, Power Panties rock and ignore the look on your husbands face when you ask him to “photograph you from behind”.

If like me you have just realised that Back To School is less than a week away and are now in frantic uniform checking/last minute buying mode, why not enter my Tightsplease giveaway? To win a selection of kids tights, leave a comment on this post before midnight on Friday 3 September detailing the most embarrassing thing your child has said in public. From some of the mum’s blogs that I read, I’m sure there must a few to choose from!

An independent adjudicator (Other Half) will select a winner to be announced on Monday 6 September. Please remember to include your email address so that I can arrange for Tightsplease to contact you for sizing and address details. Good luck… and for anyone who buys a pair of Spanx Power Panties and does the wiggle dance, I’ll be needing to see the vlog please!