Niqkita's Sock Journal

It’s been yet another amazing week filled with frustrations, anxiety, smiles, a few tears and many socks coming and going. Longtime customer & potential future employee Eddy put it best Friday morning when she said that I/we are going through a major growth spurt. Indeed we are! sales are not actually as busy during the holidays, but for the first time in 5 years sales are not slowly declining right now and this alone is amazing and exciting.
We continue to get some very exciting attention, nothing worth mentioning right now, I want to see where it all goes first, mostly, more magazines & ads wanting our socks for shoots, some complete with on page/site mention.
If you Haven’t noticed, Olivia updated the front page (you may need to refresh it to show it correctly) and is working on our new cart system which will likely involve more of a site overhaul than I originally thought. She thinks this will take a couple of months to complete, maybe a bit more, but will be well worth the wait. We have all the bells & whistles on our list, don’t worry ~:)
I’ve been busy with tax prep among other things that have been keeping me from taking lots of pictures of all the new stuff.

I’ll have the M Squared all ready to buy by the end of the weekend, but first, a Shoe Show to go to where I will see some of the new fall lines from such suppliers as Biella, Ozone, Hot Sox, Levante & Music Legs…

There will be spring.

One day. Even here in Sweden.
But until then one has to keep warm. And the best way to do so, if you’re a “skirt-girl” like me, is with a pair of Wool M40s (or Super Ms). I got these for my birthday and I just love them.
Before washing they were a little too tight in the thighs. I’m a big girl and the “super-varieties” of DreaM Stockings usually fits me better. But after a warm wash on gentle cycle they shrunk a little on the length, but not at all on the width, so that they no longer reached the widest part of my thighs. And now they reach a little above mid-thigh and they’re sooo comfortable.
I actually can’t say enough nice things about them;they’re soft and they’re warm and it feels like something warm and snuggly is hugging my legs when I wear them. I easily get cold feet and legs and due to my arthritis they start aching then.
But not in wool M40s.
And unlike some of the cotton socks they don’t bag around the ankles and feet, because wool is a much stretchier material than cotton. Wool is, in my opinion, the perfect material for socks: it is soft and stretchy and doesn’t absorb bad smell the way cotton does. Instead you can clean them just by airing them outside, especially if it’s damp weather and if the wool hasn’t been processed too much. These are made from unbleached, undyed wool and are just perfect in that way.
Some people may find them a little scratchy, at least after machine washing them. I don’t, but then I love the feel of wool. If you have problem with this a trick is to hand wash them with hair conditioner, which softens the wool.
They don’t stay up well on their own, at least not on me, so I use a garter belt with sturdy metal clips when I go out for walks or to my work. And I don’t get cold, even when it’s 10 degrees F. At home I just wear them as they are and tug them up sometimes. They’re nice for sleeping in too if it’s cold in your bedroom.

Reviewed by Eva in Sweden, photographed by her husband Rickard…
As soon as I saw the pink top less industrial nets I knew I had to have them. I love nets for the sort of confident, sexy and a little punky attitude they signal. But I also like colour, and I like things that are sweet and romantic; it’s probably the contrast that attracts me. The pink industrial nets are all these things.
In this picture I’m wearing them over a pair of white cotton tights. The white background tones down the strong pink somehow and creates a more romantic look. Ideally I think one should wear white thigh highs, like the m43s,because I think it looks better when the socks/stockings end at the same point, but I didn’t have any at the time. The skirt is a petticoat that I made for a yet unfinished 1850s costume.
The nets are really comfortable. I have short (c. 29″ from heel to crotch), but large and curvy legs and there’s plenty of room for them.
Normally thigh highs can be too narrow for my 22″ thighs, but with these I probably have could have 30″ thighs. It’s because they’re top less, so there’s nothing there to stop the net from stretching. I’ve worn them a lot lately, mostly with navy oTK tube socks over them, which also looks really good.”

I took the above picture of the pink satin gloves last month and have been waiting for a good excuse to use it. I haven’t found one yet, so there it is…
This coming week we will finally offer our phone number on the site.
Our number actually has been available for some time, it just takes a little effort to find it. It shows up when you place an order on the confirmation page as well as the declined page. Some clever people have even found it by calling information because we have actually been listed for a few years. But now it is on the order info page. It still won’t be a toll free number and we will be charging shipping for orders placed by phone that could have been placed online. Until we get our new system in place (still about a month off, maybe a bit more) it will be more work for us to take orders by phone than if they came via our online system, but the time has come and we are as ready as can be without actually doing it so it is time to take the leap…

wrapped in a pretty purple ribbon
The Sock Star gift boxes
are packed & ready to go
Perfect for a gift
perfect for yourself

Each of the three styles within are unique & are not available separately:
Left to right…
Not sO Basics, pictured at the top and below, a black O Basic with a pretty ribbon, I wanted to do them in a different color but we chose white because it, like black, will go with anything, just pull them up, tie them in a bow and they’re ready to go. Be sure to tie them in a bow before washing them too or they may come out in the wash.
M Squared, a brilliant new knee high, pictures & reviews below…
(scroll down a few days)
and O Chevrons eXtra long in lilac with white details…
also pictured and reviewed below.
We have a limited number of these so get one while you can…

Not sO Basics
Our simple, beautiful black O Basic with shimmery white bows…
I’d like to thank my mom, my family, my friends & coworkers
…and especially all the fans out there who made this moment possible.

Stay tuned to find out how you can buy the gift box
previously only available to celebrities and sock stars
while supplies last…

I know alot of you have been dreaming of thigh high Chevrons
but the sad reality of it is that the machine that makes them does not allow for a wider top and the design itself does not lend itself to as much stretchability as I’d like.
That said, they aren’t half bad, though they dug into my thighs more than I cared for when I was standing up, fortunately, it doesn’t show in this position.
And yes, we did go ahead and give them a try for the special box of the month.
…when can you non-sock girls/celebs get your toes on this box?
By this weekend…
why the long wait?
because I have a cold and I’m in a bit of a fog this week…
it’s all I can do to get orders pulled correctly and everyone written to
but the pictures are nearly done and once they are and all have been reviewed I’ll put them up so you can all treat your toes like celebrities!

I just put them on now and snapped some quick photos… I’m going to wear them all day today and post some comments later about how they were for me as the day went on.

First of all.. Love the little squares, and can’t stop looking at my feet with those super cute little black heels and toes. And the gray in the base of the sock just goes so nicely with my little Vel :o) Fit wise, I was really surprised that I was able to get these on to my curvey lower legs… Can’t say that they glided on with ease, but with a little stretching they do fit my calves and feel quite comfortable there (though I don’t think these would work for calves over 17″ at all). They fall just a bit too short on me to truly be considered a knee high (and yes, someday soon you all will hopefully get to see the little chart I’ve been working away on to give us a better idea of exactly what it is we consider to be the limits and variations of the different lengths of sockies… I hope it works :O) anyway.. Back to square cute things. Oh and I should mention that the squares really don’t stay squares all the way up your legs. On me, the feet and partially up past the ankles are pretty much the only places that the squares are really square looking. But I do enjoy the way it looks like a sort of vertical pattern running down to where it meets the area that looks like squares.

I put these on with the foot traffic OTK’s and they look so cute (I’ll review the foot traffic ones at a later date). The squares in the feet seem even more pronounced with some black behind them. And I like the contrast of light sockies worn slouched with dark long socks… just look how sweet these look scrunched. I bet they’d be totally fun scrunched over a pair of black and gray DreaMstripes (I’d put them on today, but I wore that pair last night).I was very excited to think that the feet on these were going to fit my size 11’s. But that isn’t totally the case for me. I found the feet just a tiny touch too short. The heel area is slightly shy of being properly and fully on my heel (I could pull it there for a moment, but then the front of the sock is pulled on my toes and they had to curl… My toes don’t like to curl, they like to wiggle and be freeeeeeeeeeee… lol). I must say that even though just a touch off in foot length for me, they aren’t at all obviously so (like say the DreaMstripes, where the heel seam hits my arch), and this is a good thing as I can comfortably take off my shoes with the Msquareds and not feel self conscious that I look like I’m wearing a child’s sock or that I have freakishly large feet.

One thing that I did notice is that if you have any areas on your feet that need a little TLC (rough or dry skin), the stiching of the square areas may catch on them… This doesn’t do any damage to the sockies at all (as a matter of fact they seem quite durable), but it was a clear indication to me that I’ve been neglecting my paws and could benefit from some foot care products.

Well I am off to focus on my day, and looking totally forward to doing it in these cute Msquareds. :O)