Black, White and Houndstooth

I’m a sucker for quirky fashion details, which is why I’ve been itching to wear a cute pair of socks with heels. The only problem? I have a drawer full of socks that I’ve collected over the years, but none of them seem to be inspiring me lately. It’s the classic fashion dilemma of having everything, but not the right thing.

I actually first tried the sock with non-gym shoe look back in eighth grade. I had a grade school dance I was going to. So my mom and I went out shopping for an outfit for me to wear. I remember getting a fun pink graphic tee from Abercrombie, a black pleated skirt and a pair of Doc Marten-esque shoes to go with the outfit. My mom suggested I add some fishnet socks that hit just below my knees.

I was very hesitant, but she said it would look adorable and very fashion forward. So I went with it (mostly to appease her). When I got all ready for the dance (which was in our grade school cafeteria), my mom had raved about how cute the outfit we put together looked. As someone who had braces, a bad highlight job and zero self-confidence, I was actually feeling pretty good about my “unique” look!

Everyone would be in jeans, and I’d be in my fun party look. Then one of the mom’s picked me up for the dance. I got in the car and instantly got a lot of stares and questions about what I was wearing. My confidence balloon was instantly deflated. I couldn’t wait for the night to end. Truly I don’t think anyone meant to be hurtful, but it stung.

It’s kind of funny. When I was growing up, everyone wanted to look and be the same. If you ever dressed even slightly different than what was “cool” you would get stared at and called weird.

Today, it seems like everyone is the exact opposite. Everyone wants to be as different and unique as possible. I wish that mentality would have been more common during my childhood because I spent way too much time and energy trying to look exactly like everyone else! When you get older, you wish you could give your younger self a pep talk and tell them that everything is going to work out just fine.

Fast forward to 2016, and I’m wearing my socks and heels loud and proud! I found this houndstooth pair at a J.Crew in Milwaukee and knew they’d be perfect for my feminine Mary-Jane heels. It’s hard finding the right shoe to wear socks with, but I’d say for me a simple heel is the way to go.

Since I was going for a feminine look, I opted for a bow blouse and houndstooth jacket. I can also tell that we’re getting into the time of year where I start wearing all black and white. Once it gets cold out, my body temperature and fashion choices go into a mourning period. That means mostly black until spring arrives. Hopefully I can break that cycle this year!