Sock department

“No article of human apparel has been more taken for granted than the sock.” ~ Nancy Bush

Socks, socks, sock. Knee high, thigh high, ankle socks, anklets, fluffy warm ones, little lace pretty ones. You name it I probably have a version of it. I love socks. In fact I love them so much that I even have a whole sock category for them here on my blog. Click on that and you will see just some of my sock collection and some of the things they have inspired me to write over the years.

I love socks for a lot of different reasons, including that warm feet make me happy. I have pretty rubbish circulation and often struggle to keep warm. Sock are a powerful tool in defeating cold feet which in my opinion is far worse, and actually even sometimes painful compared to cold anything else.

But the other reason for loving me some socks is how they make me feel about who I am or my mood. I guess in many ways my sock style speaks to the queer side of my identity. When I head out wearing my funky purple shiny dress with patterned purple knee high socks on I just feel fabulous. My daughter always rolls her eyes at that outfit. “Too many colours Mum. The purples don’t match” and I laugh in response and say, I know. It’s bold. I guess it’s a statement and it makes me feel happy.

Earlier this week Haiku tweeted a thread in response to an article in The Times about the top 11 things to do to keep youthful. The article was full of eat berries, do so many steps each day, go running, get sleep etc. Nothing ground breaking and some of it comes, as Haiku points out in her thread, with a hint of low key body shaming to it.

Haiku in her wisdom had some other much more powerful suggestions to offer, such as do the things that bring you joy, love fiercely and hard, learn new skills, play games, read books etc. She then asked for other people’s suggestions. There are some really good ones but I offered up two suggestions…

Sex. Physical intimacy both with partners(s) but just as much with yourself too. Loving the body you are in and experiencing pleasure from it

and

Wear fun things. Whether that is your lovely swirly skirt or my stripey socks. Wear things that make you happy and smile.

And that pretty much sums up what I love about socks. They make me smile, they make me happy. They feel fun and playful and silly and comfortable. They put a spring in my step and a smile on my face. Socks, the brighter the better, are happiness on your feet. How can you not love that?