Niqkita's Sock Journal

One month ago today a film crew of two arrived at our shop to film a segment for a local program called Portland Now on the CW channel.
Air time is Saturday June 28th at 9:30 pm and Sunday, June 29 at 4:30 pm
…if you miss it, or are not here in Portland with us, you can also watch it on their website anytime you like. Since I generally prefer to be behind cameras rather than in front of them I opted out of being interviewed this time and let our charming & lovely marketing girl Brigid step into the limelight for this occasion.

Of course, Bsti & I were there to watch from behind the curtain and were at least as nervous as Brigid was. I paced & answered every question in my head, every moment of silence seemed like forever til the next question was asked or answered.
I can’t wait to watch it on the big screen tonight!!!

Just the other day we changed out the center display in the store, so rather than the bright spring-colored stripes in the program you will now see these comfy & environmentally friendly EG ECO Slinky knees if you come sock shopping with us…

I have been obsessed with wearing flip flops for the first time in years and these toesocks are part of the reason. They are one of two new ToeToe toe socks specifically designed for walking (the other is actually a reintroduction of the terry looped wool version, with more colors ). Better than bare toes in flip flops because feet stay cleaner and sweat is absorbed, plus feet are cushioned and protected. I’ve barely been seen out of these since they first arrived (I have all 3 colors=) and they’ve got competition with all the other great styles we’ve added lately, not to mention all my old fav’s.
I scrunch ‘em down around my ankles if my legs get too warm
…and I pull them up near my knees when the sun goes away.
Convertible & comfy, plus they’re made with COOLMAX® to keep your feet cool!

Long ago I saw a site that used mannequins to display their wares beautifully. So while I was planning my little sock site I went out and found myself some mannequin legs and did a test role only to discover that mannequin feet do not fill out socks very well and looked terribly fake besides. For lack of a better model I tried taking pictures of socks on my own feet and the rest, as they say, is history. I never thought about using fake feet again… til I got some new mannequins and a few legs for our shop and discovered that there are actually some times when it nearly works. Sock garters look great on my mannequin and while I don’t have plans to use them extensively, it is a nice option for some reshoots of older items like our K. Bell striped OTKs…

I have reshot all but one (fuchsia to be reshot when I remember) using the girl who sits patiently waiting in my office for her next shoot.
They work super well for close ups of fishnets and I had a lot of fun with some new leg warmers that will be up soon…

So yes, here and there, throughout the site, there are images of fake legs but I will always prefer working with real legs so fear not, mannequins are not taking over!

It was a gorgeous weekend here in Portland and a joy to be outside with a view of the Willamette River and people watching galore. Hundreds of people stopped by to talk to us and buy socks, it was really awesome to see so many people happy to see us, many have already shopped with us or have seen our billboard or have heard of Sock Dreams via friends, coworkers & family members.

This lovely hoop girl had stopped by our shop earlier last week to get her fishnets and leg warmers for the parade (which indeed had socks o’plenty proudly worn in many colors, especially rainbows)

I wore my sweet pea Dreamy Stripes paired with Betsey Johnson peek a boo shorties on Sunday and antique Super Dreamies on Saturday and proudly showed them off all day. With the help of my ever amazing crew of Sock Dreamers the weekend was not only a joy but a complete success. Thanks to all who worked it with me and to the many people who stopped by to say hi!!!

Sock Dreams is proud to sponsor Portland Pride again this year
and will be coming out for a fun filled sock selling weekend June 14th & 15th.
We’ll have plenty of rainbows and Eco Friendly Green socks of all shades plus a little fishnet and a few other fun styles. So stop by and say hi if you happen to be down at Waterfront park this weekend and if you left home without your socks don’t worry, we’ve got you covered, even if it’s too hot out for socks!

Fishnet always seemed like a perennial favorite, one that never went out of style.
And while it surely must be a true classic that never really goes out of style, especially in warmer weather, it certainly does seem to me that demand has dropped the last couple of years. That said, I still love fishnet so when I noticed new color options for the basic fishnet gloves from Leg Avenue I went ahead and ordered some. And since I am in the process of updating older images on the site for the launch of the new site (um, right, still working on that, but it really is coming along nicely) I went ahead and reshot all of the colors of fishnet gloves with the help of my fine fellow sock lovers, some of the store decor and my trusty old baton as props…

(yes, some of us really can twirl it to the surprise of our coworkers)
The only thing I really don’t like about these gloves is all the fishnet that ends up at the tips of the fingers where the seams meet, thankfully it is easy to cut the tips off for quick and easy fingerless fishnet gloves.

You can do it at the tips or anywhere down further on the fingers and it will last ages without fraying. I did this to my black pair years ago and they are still fine after many wearings. So tell me, do you like fishnet any more or less than you ever have?

EG Smith is one of our original suppliers and still among my personal favorites…
so when I was told Eric was creating a “green line” I was ecstatic. I thought it would just be a handful of environmentally friendly styles like our beloved Two Brothers Organics. Instead it is 40+ items! So I’ve been ordering them in small batches to get us started, beginning with the ones I found most appealing…

These Slinky Knees were most certainly the first one I wanted to try…

But first, just what was recycled and where did it come from?
I asked our rep Frank and he spoke with the resident yarn expert for the company in charge of EG Smith and it turns out that our recycled yarns are actually regenerated yarns. The mill takes the scraps from cotton jersey manufacturers such as HANES, and breaks them down, reweaves them and produces new product, it is recycling waste, but it comes from products never worn and cleans up the end result of “scraps” which in the old days would have made the rag bag or the dump. Also on the information highway, the uncertified cotton they are using as blends in the ECO socks comes from Poland and China and is reported to be Organic (they are working on Certification), which gives us an even better Green Product. They are also starting to blend in ECOFIL yarns (plastic water bottles recycled into polyester fill yarns). So they are recycled, regenerated, and still PURE enough to satisfy even the most ardent organic mavens.
So there you have it, the official explanation of the origins of our lovely new socks. More of these will be added this week, and over the coming weeks and months…
They are all pretty awesome!