Mischief. Mayhem. Socks.
Welcome to Sock Club.
The first rule of Sock Club is: You do
not talk about Sock Club.
The second rule of Sock Club is: You
do not talk about Sock Club.
Third rule of Sock Club: You have to
wear socks.
And the fourth rule: If this is your
first night at Sock Club, you have to wear mismatched socks.
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“Love is like a pair of socks. You
gotta have two and they've gotta match”.
Erich Fromm
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As insignificant they might seem, socks have saved a lot of people with cold feet. Socks are multifunctional and heavily underappreciated. They are one of the first garments made by man. Yet somehow they are never listed on the “Basics-List”, while they are the most basic thing everyone needs in their wardrobe. Even the Greeks knew that... when they invented them in the 8th century BC.
I must admit things have changed since
then, but the idea of the sock never has. The Greek made them from
animal skin, the Romans (who basically have stolen everything from
the Greeks, with some assumptions here and there) weaved them from
fabrics and manufactured them with felt so they were more
comfortable.
The Egyptians on the other hand went
for wool. A tradition that later would be unfold again in 1589 with
the invention of the knitting machine by William Lee (although, for
some unknown reason, people prefered to knit by hand and dear Willam
died as a poor man. After his death of course people accepted the new
technology).
In the 17th century another
kind of knitting machine arrived. Now it was possible to not only
make socks, but also stockings with the same machine.
The first sock-knitting
ateliers arised in the 18th
century in England. There even became a developement on
factories where only socks would be produced.
After 1800
most socks were created mechanically in silk, cotton
or wool. In 1864 William Cotton invented the full-fashioned
machine. At the same time the circular knitting machine came on the
market. However this circular wonder only could knit straight up. As
a result socks would hang loosely around your leg.
The
invention of nylon in 1940 meant a revolution. Nylon can be brought
into the wanted shape by heating and is easy to dye. For the first
time in history socks were colourful and elastic. Due to this, they
became popular as a fashion statement (perfect example: The 60's with
Mary Quant's stockings and naturally Michael Jackson and his
moonwalking pair).
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“Socks play an incredibly
important role in a man's life!”
Oscar Wilde
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Since then it all has gone upwards with socks and I'm a big fan. Not a day I go without wearing or at least touching a sock. I've got an elaborate collection to be proud of. And I most definately will advice you to put them on your “Basics-List”, they are great!
Love,
Dominique
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