An Ode to Socks
With the winter in full swing and the fact that hosiery is in season - it's time for me to make a confession. I'm a sockaholic.
Well, not just socks. I love tights too - I'll take pretty much anything that covers my legs. (Aside from the footless variety, and leggings. I missed both of those boats).
The socks obsession started in my teens; I have always suffered from ezcema on my legs, and when it flared up I would have to hide the unsightly scars. Luckily now, it only attacks in small patches and I can go bare-legged more often than I used to, but the comfort of hosiery remains. I do actually like my legs - they're not especially toned, in fact they're fairly chunky, but they're reasonably long. Over the years it's become a trademark of mine to wear above-knee-high socks with short dresses or skirts and heels. I'm aware that this often makes me look like a high school student (but hopefully an attractive, privileged one).
Over the years I've become more selective about my sock choices. I'll still buy socks from Primark, but they have to be striking and in a pattern that I haven't seen anywhere else. Since they're so cheap, I'll probably buy more than one pair. My high-street dealers include H&M, New Look and Marks & Spencer.
I remember when the online store, Sock Dreams, first launched in 2003 (as Fetishize Me) - and I was a straight-up worshipper from then on. I've bought tons of pairs from there, ranging from stupidly inexpensive anklets to steeply priced, thick woollen tights. The quality of products on offer is usually awesome, because the site owner, Niqkita, is just as passionate about footwear as her consumers. Sock Dreams now has a physical store for those lucky enough to visit Portland, Oregon.
I don't buy as much from there anymore as I used to, as the number of pairs of socks I'd like quickly adds up to an astronomical amount. But I constantly rack up a wishlist for the site just in case I come into enough cash to make a giant order.
I'll admit that hosiery as a fashion fetish has many connotations - the most tantalising of which is wrapped up in swathes of silk and fishnet, but actually I prefer function over excessive style. Particularly when that style happens to be made of scratchy, filmy faux lace, digging tightly into my inner thigh when I'm supposed to be feeling 'sensual.' As such I wear lingerie-oriented stockings quite rarely, and don't get me started on garter belts - I reserve them for special occasions thanks to their fernickety nature. I did go through a phase of trying to wear stockings and garter belts on a near-daily basis. Needless to say I got sick of this very quickly, particularly when it didn't make me feel any more alluring than usual. As a rule, I want my socks to be sexy, but warm and comfy - and nothing is better than a thermalising pair of lush cotton knee-highs on a cold winter morning, pulled on over bare, goosebumped legs.
I used to own a very large drawer at the bottom of my wardrobe, its purpose was only to hold my vast collection of socks. Since then I have downsized somewhat, but the tiny drawer I'm currently using (in my dressing table) is not really suitable for the job. Essentially, I dream of having an empire of socks, perhaps a whole room dedicated to their storage. But for now this dream is linked to the one where the odd-sock phenomenon never happens, and your favourite socks never get worn into holes.
P.S. Don't ever Google for pictures of knee-high socks, the amount of unsolicited pussy I came across was astonishing (admittedly the girls WERE wearing knee-high socks, so at least it's topical I guess).