The spring tights dilemma - how can I find tights that don't make my feet smell?

Spring has sprung and my first outing in sheer tights has reminded me of my least favourite summer smell, the pong of feet once they've been in tights! Wanting to dress like it's finally above freezing and stop completely shrouding my legs, but without the whiff, I've been looking into how I can stop tights making my feet stink.

Why do tights make your feet smell?

Sheer tights are largely made of nylon. This man-made fibre does not allow sweat to evaporate from the foot. Feet start to smell when bacteria start to break down this sweat releasing pongy compounds. 

So what can I do about it?

Look at the material

All sheer tights, except very expensive silk stockings, are made largely of nylon (also known as polyamide). Some may also contain varying percentages of lycra (also known as elastane/spandex) and occasionally a low percentage of cotton. 

Browsing through 10-15 denier tights in marks & spencers, I found tights that went from 100% nylon to just 58% nylon. 

The 58% nylon tights were Autograph 10 denier ladder resist tights and also contained 41% elastane and 1% cotton. Cotton is breathable, but at such a low percentage, is unlikely to improve things much. There seems to be mixed opinions as to whether lycra is breathable, however, a higher lycra content means the tights will spring back to their original shape and not give me baggy elephant knees, so I figure I’ll give them a try. 

If this fails, consider your shoes

If any sweat does manage to escape from your nylon encased feet, it will end up in your shoes. Bacteria can grow in your shoes giving off similar pongs.

Try to wear shoes that are made of natural fibres, including the lining, as this will help to let the sweat evaporate. Along the same lines, wear strappy sandals or flip flops, in these you can see the ventilation! At the very least, don’t wear the same shoes two days in a row, this will allow the shoes to dry out and help prevent the bacteria multiplying.

If the style of shoe permits, you could wear cotton shoeliner socks or insoles to help absorb the sweat. Someone on the internet suggested scented pantyliners as an alternative to insoles!

Conclusion

I’ll be trying tights with a lower percentage of nylon, although I’m not convinced this will help much. As such, I’ll be trying my best to keep my shoes odour free, by alternating them daily and using insoles in closed toe styles. I will not be trying the pantyline suggestion! Expect an update on whether I've been foot-fresh soon.

P.S. - Do NOT google 'nylon foot odour', you get some very strange youtube video results....