Niqkita's Sock Journal

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 crowd was beautiful and the feedback fantastic, at the end of the day our cheeks hurt from smiling so much and not because we had to but because we were just having so much fun being there and talking to everyone. To me, supporting pride is not so much about supporting this preference or that, but supporting the right to be who you are and dress the way you like; and being surrounded by unique individuals is just about the best place I can think of being, besides being safe at home that is ~;)

Here’s a small sampling of our little booth…


I caught Liz having a good giggle here with Janey.

I wore my extra special socks that I will be sharing with all of you this fall…

paired up with some of Shelleopard’s ever adorable pompom garters
(which we now need to restock)
Late in the afternoon we noticed an invasion of pirates, as if their ship had just come in (we were at Waterfront park so it did seem possible). We were told they were having a Pirate’s Booty outing, I think that’s what they said, it sounded like an awful lot of fun and many of them had stripes on their legs. The best we saw were these two, who, it turned out, are repeat customers of ours, not to mention terrific dancers!

Karissa is wearing vertical stripes and Joshua is wearing rugby stripes.

Sunday will be far busier due to the parade, but we’ll still be happy to see each and every one of you who comes down to support the right to an independent thinker!

We are doing not one, but two outside events this month and this is the first…

FatGirl Speaks will be happening Saturday, June 9, 2007
at PSU’s Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom in downtown Portland, Oregon
And Sock Dreams will be there with a table full of our best socks for the larger legged among you. They sought us out for the event and since we are always doing our best to answer questions about which socks for which legs we all thought this to be a great place to be for an evening.
Here’s a little more from their site:

This year’s theme is “Every Day is a Revolution!” To us, this means that all day, every day, each act of self-love and acceptance is a revolutionary act. Every time you defy a stereotype, or every time you willfully dare *not* to, you are being revolutionary! We want to celebrate you!

Like all things in life our slouch socks do not meet everyone’s expectations. But for the many of us who love them they are a kaleidescope of socky delight. With the warm weather coming to many regions people have been stocking up on these and we’ve seen quite a few orders like this one. Liz pulled this order and couldn’t resist lining them up in this dreamy rainbow, I couldn’t resist snapping a couple of quick shots to share. We fold & tag these ourselves right here in our little niche of the world and Liz & Janey, being our newest worker-bee-sock-dreamers, do the most folding & tagging. The real value of our Dream socks, to me, is that they are made & packaged here in the states by healthy happy American citizens who are earning fare wages and working in a safe, friendly environment. On nice days they might even be found sitting outside in a comfy spot zenning out on the rhythm of folding and tagging all the pretty colors. We currently have all of the colors in stock and are only low on a few. And, finally, here is that same batch of socks from the other end…

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.

I adore fishnets but am kinda picky about the amount of cling factor. For years I’d only purchased fishnets from dance wear manufacturers (I like the resilient materials they use and the super elasticity of them). The problem I find with some “regular” maker nets is that there just isn’t enough return stretch and there end up being spaces where the nets don’t cling (like behind the ankles and knees). I am pleased to say that the Stay up Fishnets with Woven Satin Ribbons have just enough cling to hug every curve and stay there, and yet not so much of a tight grip that your legs look like a ham when you take them off (thanks to Babylon for that comparison… it was you right?). Though I must mention that the stay up top band is quite snug (but not painful) on larger leggies, and there may be a little thigh denty thingy. They stayed up great, and only had a small amount of top roll down every once in a while.

The shiny wide satin ribbon threads through pretty circle cut outs near the top of the stocking… and the ribbons are long enough to decadently trail down your leg in a loose bow.

I love these on bare legs, and adored them with my Dark Red & Fuchsia Mstripes as well. The look that ended up being my fav was with the Mstripes and Nets sort of lazily bunched over the knee, ribbon hanging down a bit too loose and sloppy …  though really pretty in a “I’m a mess but still cute as heck” sort of way, and I just looooove things that can do that.

These lovely thigh highs with woven hearts are not only adorably cute, but make a nice contrast to a more preppy outfit, like a tartan skirt. So hearts are not only for Valentines and romance, but fit nicely for work too.
They come in both black and white and, to my great joy, in both plus and “normal” size. My legs aren’t long, but plump, so one size socks often get too short, or create a bulge in the thigh. But not with plus size.
They don’t stay up on their own, but then I think this kind of romantic, yet sexy, stockings look best with a garter belt.
The stockings are very sheer, but not particularly easily snagged. To avoid snagging from the zippers in my ankle boots I wore a pair ofFlat Knit Bell Top Anklets, a lovely thin, seamless rayon anklet that takes virtually no place in your shoes with them. These anklets are wonderful if you want to protect thin stockings in boots without adding bulk. They show a lot in this picture, but that’s because of the angle the photo is taken from. And the blue sort of matches the skirt.