The main thing is the denier.  This is the measure of the thickness of tights; the lower the denier, the thinner the tights, and of course thinner tights mean cooler legs. 20 denier and below is usually recommended for summer.

These days there are many features of tights which make them more suitable for warmer weather. M&S Bare tights which are 15 denier natural look tights have a built in cooling finish in the material which cools as you walk in them. Another feature is a breathable panty area, which can be found on Pretty Polly’s Natural Range tights, available in 8 denier and intended to keep you completely cool when the weather is warm. Pretty Polly has a great range of women’s tights that are ideal for summer wear.

Wearing sandals is a great way to keep cool in summer but you need not go tightless. Footless and sandal toe tights should be considered if you want to wear open toed shoes. There’s nothing worse than wearing sandals with tights covering the toes (apart from sandals with thick woolly socks of course!).

If you are looking to follow the trend of wearing coloured tights but think they are all too thick for summer, think again. Orablu All Colours is a range of coloured tights which are only 20 denier so great for summer.

The best tip is don’t just buy the cheapest low denier tights you see; shop around a bit and look for some of the features mentioned. You might have to spend a little more but it’s hard to put a price on keeping cool through the summer.