Time for another post about socks, I think.
[No, no - terribly sorry, vicar - I said
socks.]
Some time ago I published a lament about the state of modern socks. It was heartfelt (if that is an appropriate phrase)
- I had increasing problems with shrinkage of the ribbing tops of socks, which
tended to compress my lower calves (on occasions my lower legs would develop an
ominous, waisted, hour-glass shape which I would prefer not to dwell upon, but
you will appreciate this is far from ideal.
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| Bad Guys - and there's masses of them - they are GOING AWAY |
The Contesse tried valiantly to obtain
socks for me which were comfortable - with little success. Even when we avoided
certain brands which we have grown to distrust, I regularly ended the day with
sore swollen ankles and calf muscles. Ah, I hear you say - it is not the socks,
it's your circulation - it is the ancient veins, the game pie, the chips, the
beer, the Armagnac, the excessive salt, etc etc.
Not so. One cannot hold off the ravages of
field rations and tempus fugit forever, of course, but the change is mostly in
the socks themselves.
Almost a year ago, we went on holiday to
Mayrhofen, in the Zillertal, Austria. It was a good holiday anyway, but one
unexpected bonus was that one day I picked up a pack of cheap socks in the Spar
supermarket in the village - just off-the-shelf jobs to help out with the
demands of hillwalking - and they were a revelation. If I'd fully appreciated
them in time, I'd have bought a load more before we came home.
They are comfortable, they do not strangle
my legs - they are terrific. They are, I believe, how I remember socks used to
feel. Is it possible that Austrians just expect their socks to be comfortable?
Is it possible that Mike Ash***'s crusade to to buy up reputable brands and make
everything cheap and nasty has not yet reached the Tyrol? The questions, of
course, are rhetorical, but one wonders.
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| Good Guys - the first of the "diabetic" socks [L] and one of the Austrian cheapo pairs from SPAR [R] |
Since then, a further discovery for me has
been a whole new world of special comfortable socks - some of them made with
bamboo fibre (which sounds faddy, but is OK), some of them marketed as
"diabetic socks", which is new to me but I'm sure well known to
people who need them. The Contesse has done admirable research in this field,
and I am well pleased with the new arrivals.
Thus far I am still feeling my way - some
of these are about £8 a pair, which is a bit steep by my usual standards, but we
are discovering cheaper ones - the choice of colours is not all it might be,
maybe. There are also hiking socks of the same type. Better and better.
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| This morning's delivery... |
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| Just as an aside - how would you feel about marketing black socks badged "SS"? |
A further shipment of the
"gentle" socks arrived this morning, so I have had a quick look in
the chest of drawers and have emptied out the old socks - and there are dozens
of pairs. I shall reduce the stock to about 4 pairs of the conventional socks,
and replace them with the new comfortable ones. Perhaps we'll recycle the
rejects - they can go to any needy people who have very thin ankles, or maybe
they can just go on the tip. Either way,
they are going.
That's worth a glass of wine with my
supper, I think.
Now then. No goose-stepping in your SS socks. Especially if you visit Austria again.
ReplyDeletePromise. Or I might just be a stocking horse?
DeleteSocks are important!
ReplyDeleteI was much disappointed after buying a very comfortable pair of socks to buy more of what appeared to be the same type by the same brand name, only to find that they part boa constrictor. The only way i can tell them apart is to wear them for a few hours. I keep meaning to dispose of them as soon as an evil one is identified rather than pushing them down until I get home, and then forgetting.....
This business of known brands changing beyond recognition is an established scam over here. My rantette last time was occasioned by some deliberate degrading of a number of old brands (such as Slazenger).
DeleteThe few hours delay before you can detect the boa constrictor is a problem. I think you should devote a morning to solving this once and for all. You need to have them all washed and ready before you start, of course. Be careful to put the correct ones in the bin - there are all sorts of potential complications in this. Hmmm.
I can see a whole new world of blog opening up - Haberdashery Miscellany? After the SS socks, perhaps Freemasonry ones next? I think the style of sock is called soft hold. I tried them for a while but they ended up slipping not just down my ankles but halfway down the arch of my foot. But they were a different brand.
ReplyDeleteFreemasonry ones next, definitely - colour-coordinated to match my Bicycle News tee-shirt. The blog could alternate product reviews with usage tips (e.g: socks on first, then boots) - great idea - we could get some ad revenue out of this as well.
DeleteI've not seen these referred to as soft hold - that might offer a whole new search for our shopping enquiries. If they slid off your feet, the hold was certainly a tad too soft - the ones I've got thus far have all worked pretty well - even after washing. Maybe you should revisit, with a different brand?
Cheers - T