Most people may think I’m a bit off my rocker for having so much love for socks. I’d say that they only view socks to serve a practical purpose: to cover and protect your feet. I understand, they’re typically hidden from public view, so there’s really no point in having anything special about them, right?
Starting in late elementary school, around the same time I started making fashion decisions for myself, I somehow got really into toe socks. My collection consisted of brightly colored stripes, no-slip grips of different animals and symbols, and decorated with sparkly pom-poms. I’ll admit it, toe socks are weird. They’re like gloves for your feet. And to be honest, they were a hassle to put on, having to separate each toe with fabric especially since my pinky toes are dwarfs in comparison with my other toes. Needless to say, my toe socks phase didn’t last much longer than a year or two. Although they are now collecting dust in my sock drawer back at home, I see them as the start of my appreciation for fun socks.
My most recent sock obsession started in high school where I was able to meet “fashion” and function in knee-high socks. Functionally speaking, knee-high socks provide an extra layer of warmth on the days I’m wearing leggings, they won’t fall off my feet and into my shoes while I’m walking (which I hate more than anything), and they add more comfort when I wear them with my knee high boots. And by fashion I mean a somewhat discreet way to express my personality when they peek out of the tops of my boots. I’ve separated my collection of knee-high socks into the following categories:
- Single color: These are my more tamed knee-high socks. Most will recognize these as athletic socks, well, because that’s what they are. As an athlete for the majority of my life, I’ve accumulated quite a few of these socks for practices and games. However, my most recently acquired athletic socks are purposed for my marching band uniform; Hey, we’re student-athletes too!
- Stripes: Need I say more? They’re striped! The dark base color of the sock really brings out the vibrant colors, highlighting the colorful quality of the socks and making them that much more great.
- Super fun: These socks are near and dear to my heart because they are definitely the most extravagant of my sock collection. Included in this category are my seasonal (read: Christmas) socks, which help me get into the holiday spirit. Also included are my absolute favorite pair of socks, my monster socks!
While my plain, white socks have been replaced by a new assortment of patterned, graphic printed, animal spotted, and neon colored socks, I haven’t completely gotten rid of them. I keep them back at home so I don’t have to pack a week’s worth of socks when I go home for breaks; I can manage without my fun socks for a few days. I’ve also repurposed some of them, you know, as sock puppets, but more practically into sock bun donuts of varying sizes by rolling multiple socks over one another (Sock Bun Donut Tutorial).
For the most part, I consider my style to be pretty conservative. Throwing in some colorful socks into my outfit allows me to add a fun aspect yet keep it visibly socially acceptable. My socks make me happy and that is why I love them without any shame.
Photo Sources:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rainbow_Toe_Sock_Challenge.jpg