Niqkita's Sock Journal

 

shhhh … I mean it!!

Keep it down now …. cause once it gets out that THESE ARE SOOO fANTASTIC  everybody and their mother is going to buy multiple pairs and deplete the stock before I get more. Envision an old movie department store scene where people are grabbing anything, and mutiple tug’s of war breakout…  ”mine, mine, mine” “I had it first” “let go of my sock” “Unhand that thigh high you cad“  :O)

and so is a chill, with Fall near, tights weather is here!!!
We just restocked the EG Smith tights with the three missing colors due back soon. The quality of these tights seems better than ever this year as a new company has taken responsibility for their production and is also working with Eric (the E in EG Smith) on an exciting new line of green socks, not green like my new pair of chartreuse tights seen here, but green as in organically grown cotton dyed with natural dyes all made here in the US for what just might be the earth-friendliest socks ever! They should arrive by spring so stay tuned for that ~:) but for now, back to tights… EG Smith Bigger Better tights were not on the order list for awhile and that really upset us! sure these original “Leg Therapy” tights are supposed to fit up to 6 feet tall and 200 lbs, but not all proportions are comfortable in them and prefer the BBs. Better news? I’m asking them to make more colors in bigger better, including space dyed and heathers, and while we’re asking for stuff, how about some bigger better leggings? if you’ve tried to find genuine plus sized leggings you know there is room for improvement here. So here’s to dreaming up more ways to stay warm in the cooler months! Great for women and men alike, totally opaque with a nice roomy double-seamed rear and a few fresh images of the same old classic colors.

YAY! Autumn is almost here which means cooler weather and being able to wear long socks again. When I first saw the O Lovelies I thought they were so cute, and knew I had to get them! Alot of the pics showed them scrunched, and I always wear my otks up, so I had some doubts about their stay up power. Everyone said they stay up fine, so I bought them, and am thrilled about how these actually DO stay up really great. I’ve been wearing mine for almost 3 days and they’ve made it through grocery shopping, much socializing and even playing with my mom’s dog Sadie. They stayed up the whole time. After a few days of wearing the knee is starting to get a little stretched out, but most socks do that after alot of wearing and kneeling.

Here’s Sadie a little wet from jumping in the pond to chase the ducks. The O Lovelies are a wonderful otk sock for this time of year because they’re a lighter weight sock. I want to call them delicate, but they’ve proven to be quite rugged with all the wear I’ve given them. I got the small size in grey which fits my size 6.5s most excellently. No need to shrink these in the dryer.

Another reason I love these is because the cuff stays put! There’s no annoying doughnut rolling going on. They’re also a full 4inches above my knee. So I really love these and hope to get all the fabulous colours.

Sadie can’t take her eyes off the lovely O Lovelies! teehee.

Simone brought our fall order in the other day…
I have been eagerly testing them out every day since!
I’ve photographed all but two styles (will add those next week) and am editing away tonight/tomorrow til I have them all ready to go. As soon as I do I’ll make them all live, should be by tomorrow afternoon. I already added in the four new argyles.
I went with small amounts of everything for this first order because they are fine Italian made socks and could put a dent in anyone’s sock budget, even mine. After trying nearly all of them I am most excited about the ribbed wool OTKs and will be ordering oodles to keep you all warm in the wee winter months ahead…

notice how the larger size on the left are indeed longer than the smaller size on their right …and the stretch amazed us! unfortunately it was far too warm to really give those a try, but I saw enough to know you are all going to love them!

btw, do any of you know the name and/or origin of the flower symbol on these?

We’ve been blessed with beautifully cool mornings here in the pacific northwest. Some mornings & evenings have even been nearly chilly making socks and extra covers ever inviting so we gave a few of our newest men’s socks a test run, or test walk to be more accurate. All three of these have varying amounts of virgin wool, nylon, viscose, cashmere & angora. Virgin wool is wool that has been spun for the first time, as opposed to recycled fibers. Viscose fascinates me because it is what they make rayon and cellophane from and according to Wikipedia Rayon is a very versatile fiber and has the same comfort properties as other natural fibers and can imitate the feel and texture of silk, wool, cotton and linen. The bad thing about rayon is that it isn’t usually machine washable but these are, though gentle handling is recommended. The Giacomo argyles were my favorite to look at…

Since they are “men’s” socks they fit men’s shoe sizes 8-13 so any of you ladies who have trouble with the usual girl sized sock will find a friend in these since that would cover women’s shoe sizes 10-15 with generous ankle/calf room.

These were my sweetie’s favorites…

They were the first pair he picked out when shown the selection and have the loosest tops as you can see they don’t have the the turned welt cuff like the other two, though all will fit muscular calves just fine. Almost itchy before being washed, extra sensitive people beware, they do soften with gentle washings as the fibers fluff up, cotton socks worn under is also a good solution for sensitive feets, I thought they were very comfy for wool socks, I love that about Biella socks!

Sometimes I want to eat dessert before dinner

(maybe I’m a freak, but sweet stuff makes me hungry for a main meal)

Sometimes I like white after labor day

(especially when it FEELS like summer well into November)

Sometimes I wear inappropriate shoes

(I once wore combat boots with a gown to a ball, yes an actual “ball”…

and even though “Muffy” stole my jacket that night, I had a blast)

Sometimes red and green are not just for the holidaze

(despite occasionally rude commentary from confused people when I wear my red/green mstripes year round. hey, remember that old Crazy Eddy commercial guy… “it’s Christmas in July”!!)

Sometimes I put on ankle length leggings or long socks even though it’s hot as an oven outside

(They are my legs and I’ll dress them as I please when I please, thank you… and hey, didn’t those old fashioned bathing beauties actually wear long wool socks or sometimes even tights with their cool bathing suits?)

Today it’s nearly 100 degrees outside and I’m sitting here in the lovely AC, wearing boxer shorts, sipping cinnamon tea, and wearing my brownie brown (that’s what I call them) Cronert Cotton Overknee socks. Am I breaking some sort of summer rule? Am I tempting the fashion police with my seasonal disregard? Who cares! I’m comfy, cozy and cool just the way I am.

The Cronert Cotton Overknee are an excellent light weight OTK in rich deep colors. In my dreams (my sock dreams that is), I have always wanted a pair of basic black OTK in a lighter thin knit, with no shine, soft flat matte or brushed texture, that of course would fit my feet and go well over my knees. I once had a pair (way back when) that was PERFECT and fit my specifications to a “T”. Then for years I could not find any.

When I first sought out our sock Goddess, this dream sock was what I was looking for. She led me to the E.G. Smith Solid Over the Knee Stockings, Though close enough to my dream to become a sock wardrobe staple for me, they still left a little to be desired in size and length. I’m happy to say that these Cronerts (though pricier than the EG Smiths) do come just a bit closer to my dream size wise, and texture wise these have a lovely almost brushed texture, but do have a little shine when pulled taught over a larger calf.

From previous experience with the Cronert spring striped anklets, I had anticipated these to be much friendlier to the larger footed. Though slightly more forgiving than the EG Smith’s, these still come out a bit snug on my toes when the heel is properly lined up (and surprisingly, the larges don’t seem to me to be significantly larger in the feet than the small, but they do seem slightly longer in length). And although they do make it over my knee, it is not by much, yet still a smidgeon more than the EG’s. If I had to choose between the two, I think I would choose the Cronerts for size and the Smiths for price. But luckily, here at SD I can have a pair (or three) of each :O)

The Cronert Cotton Overknees stay up mostly well, though they are prone to do that rolly thingy. If you have enough length you can try folding over a cuff on top as that seems to help them not roll, but if (like me) you don’t have enough over the knee length to do that, I recommend a garter to keep them perfectly where you want em.

All in all, I’d recommend these to anyone who’s listening… I’m pretty smitten with these.. and although I am truly enjoying them now in this nasty summer weather, I think I may just end up loving them even more in the cooler fall and winter weather.

(To the tune of “Wouldn’t it be lovely” from the musical ‘My Fair Lady’.)

All I want is a sock to wear,
Feet that fit with some room to spare.
In lengths that go up to “there”,

Ohhhh, wouldn’t it be Lovelies?

Lots of colors would be a treat,
Lots of sizes for lots of feet.
Comfy even in summer’s heat,

Ohhhh, wouldn’t it be Lovelies!

(tee hee)

That beautiful girl is Kaytee (my Nephew’s girlfriend who I’ve now adopted as my second niece). She came over to visit me the night I was doing an O Lovelies sock review and I was lucky to have her pose for me.

The O Lovelies fit her gorgeous legs perfectly and went well over her knees, the feet however on Kaytee were pretty loose (as where my pink shoes… She wears a size 7). She is also wearing one SD sock garter, the O Lovelies do seem to stay up decently… but as always, if they absolutely, positively must stay in place, best to grab a sock garter to be sure!

THE FEET!! These feet make me sooo HAPPY! I think they fit my size 11’s brilliantly! Prior to washing they seemed to have a tiny bit more room and I loved them like that too (and now, I know these aren’t supposed to shrink, but I swear they seem to now fit my feet perfectly after thier first bath).

I know that my Sock wishes in the future will be that O Lovelies will come in Lots of fun colors. But mostly right now I wish for a few more inches in length on the larger footed ones. On my larger and longer legs, these just barely make it past my knees (and that’s pulling on them). The difference in knit on the top band actually starts mid knee.

I’m touch obsessed with the texture of these. My memory of the sample sock was that they had felt more cottony. But my pretty pair of blush pink feels soft with an almost spongelike fluff. I can’t stop touching them! I think it may just be that sponge quality that allows them to breathe so well and be hot weather friendly. They are light and cool and look-wise Ideal for that school girl look. Oh and have I mentioned how perfectly sweet they look scrunched down around the ankles? Well, they’re adorable like that too!

And don’t even get me started on how pretty the textured vertical rib like pattern is… almost like a lacy crochet and soft like a baby’s blanket.

These really are Dreamy.

The ToeToe toe socks have always been my favorites though we don’t keep them in stock all the time. The colors are really pretty and the fit is exceptional in the toes. But the top band is a little scratchy straight out of the package this time so I’m going to wash them and continue with my weekend of testing them. I’ll report back later on how they come out, I really hope they haven’t changed the quality, it would be very sad. Last summer we had a few different stripey combinations of them, the purple was a most excellent purple. No purple stripes this year, just a solid purple that I’ll add an image for this coming week. I love spring! it is ever so much more fun to go out and take pictures of socks now!

I’m sure at this point, it’s pretty clear from my posts that I prefer my legwear to go over my knees. But every once in a while, a knee high, ankle sock, or socklet comes along that is just soooooo special or sooooooo wonderful and I have to make exception to my OTK rule, allowing my self to gush in sockie adoration anyway.

The Diamond Rib knee highs are such an exception.