Sock Dreams

I'm sure I'm not the only one abhorring the heat wave going on in the northeast right now. With temperatures that have been touching 100 degrees, I've been trying to keep cool with the bare minimum. Now I can add socks to that.

I had a party to go to at a friend's house in the south hills, so I decided to hit up a Gabriel Brothers I'm seldom able to get to. I was beginning to think my trip was a bust until I saw a plethora of cute socks just waiting there for me, all cute and cheap from Betsey Johnson. I can't wait to wear them, now I'm just trying to figure out office-appropriate looks for these gems. Perhaps that may be another post... just how I am able to work these into my wardrobe.

The star socks seem to be the easiest to break out, but for now I may be relegating these to only peeking out of pants.


I am picturing these "Peekabo" socks with a modest heel or flats and a black babydoll dress. Might as well relive my youth. DSW has them here.

Betsey Johnson Peekaboo sock

I could see these Twinkle socks with a chunkier sandal for night and a vintage dress. Karmaloop has them for sale here, and Sockdreams has them here.

Betsey Johnson The Teensy Twinkle Sock

I think I might have to check the sock section more often at Gabes if this is what kind of treasures are to be found! If you have outfit suggestions, let me know how you picture these paired.

What do $8 shoes look like?

I'll tell you what they look like: AWESOME.

I don't go to Gabriel Brothers that often, but when I do I usually find something pretty amazing. The shoe selection is sometimes really nice (I've gotten Theory, Delman and Cole Haan shoes there before), but it's hit or miss as any discount chain is.

I stopped by yesterday and the shoes were a goldmine. All lovely and cheap, probably belonging in Bare Feet Shoes, but I stopped short when I saw these! I think I had heard of this brand, Anne Michelle, before because they did a knockoff of some Louboutin boots I wanted (the Nitoinimois). I'm always skeptical of cheap shoes because they stab my feet, but for $8 I decided it was worth the risk and bought these shoes in both colors the store had. I don't know if I'll keep both, but I think they are pretty great.

All man-made materials, with "leather" on the bottom and a "suede" ruffle. The materials feel really great, and in walking around on carpet in them, they feel pretty comfortable.

The socks were a clearance bin find there as well, from Steve Madden. I can't think of a more appropriate slogan for me.

Anne Michelle Symphony 87 pumps in Black and Pink

Fit on these is pretty true to size. These are the 6.5, and while I have slight heel slippage, the length is perfect. (nail polish is OPI "Give Me Moor")

Socks!

I don't usually do much gifting (or gift receiving) for the holidays, but this year I got a special treat by receiving two of my new favorite pairs of socks. Truthfully, I'm usually more of a stocking girl than sock girl, but I think these may have converted me in the freezing weather.

Both from Sock Dreams, I am enamored with the quality, warmth and feel of these. The first pair is unfortunately sold out (but I think the frequently restock? it's worth an email), but they are the coziest ever. The material is incredibly soft, and very warm for how thin they are. They are a bit more transparent than I'd like, but the pattern and stripes distract from the transparency. A bit more wild than I usually veer towards, but perfect for sitting by the fire (at Panera, as it happens. I don't have a fireplace).

Love Lite Precision Tie Dye Extraordinary Tie Dye Stripes

Fit on these seems more generous than other over-the-knee socks I've tried. Because of how thin and soft they are, would stretch quite a bit more. Unfortunately, that also means they tend to fall down a bit. Other than for pictures, or when I made an effort to fix them, they mostly hung around scrunched at my knees.

The second pair has more stay-up power (because they are a bit tighter) but were definitely meant to be scrunched.

Long Cuffable Scrunchable Socks from Dream Stockings

According to the fit guide on Sock Dreams, the Seafoam color is the smallest band width at the tops of the thighs (as seen by how tight they are) but they are still workable. They stay up but I think they look cool scrunched down as slightly over-the-knee. Were I to buy these again, I'd try to get a pair made a bit bigger as some of the other colors are mentioned to be sized differently.

A convert, but don't worry - I haven't left stockings for dead by any means. I did pick up a few really great pair of stockings recently which I shall post hopefully sooner than later.