If you’re particularly prone to snags, check your nails (fingers and toes!) for sharp spots and fix them with a file, then add a little lotion to any dry or rough areas of skin. You want to try and reduce the snaggable variables. It is a special kind of infuriating to realise you’ve made a run in your stocking just by putting it on! We used to carry awesome, super smooth gloves for putting on stockings, but they are no longer made so we can no longer offer them. But if you (like me) know you need all the help you can get in preventing snags, even simple satin gloves can help.

Yanking isn’t the nicest way to shove your legs in any sock and for nylon stockings that is especially true. Carefully gathering the stocking up onto your thumbs (the thin nature of nylons makes this pretty easy), gently slip your toes in and ease it up around your heel. From there on out it’s pretty simple, letting the nylon slip from your fingers as it encases your leg. Once your stockings are up, use a careful touch and the pads of your fingers to ease the seam into lining up.

A great tip for encouraging those back seams to line up is putting a dot of sock glue at the back of your heel, sort of anchoring it in place. Since sock glue is water-soluable, if you fear damage to your stockings while removing them, just lightly dampen the area you’ve glued before removing your nylons.

Since it can be hard to check how lined up you are (because twisting to look at the back of your leg twists your leg too, throwing everything off) sit yourself down and use a small mirror on the ground, or in your hand, to check the straightness of that seam.

It’s best to respect the stocking’s fibers and listen to how much they want to stretch. Sometimes a stocking wants to be an OTK, or just hang out in the middle of your thigh, not go all the way up to the top your leg. Pulling hard at the cuff and shortening garter belt suspenders too much will put undue stress on your stockings. Not, like, emotional stress—they are just bits of nylon—but when every fiber is pulled to its max from your toes up your leg, something’s gotta give and it’s going to be the integrity of your stockings.

What about washing and storing? And what if you do get a run? Some more tips and tricks after the jump!

After a long day of work making your legs even more amazing, nylons deserve to relax and shake off the dirt of the day as much as any hard working person. Sometimes they just need to air out, but if it’s time for a wash remember to do it carefully, as we’ve shown you here before. Remember those gentle “kitty paws” in a bowl of suds and squeeze but never wring!

After they’re dry and ready to be put away, stockings need a safe place to rest. No snaggy wooden drawers or anything that might have a hidden jabby something that will destroy your stockings just by existing near them. There are some great options in this post from Behind the Curtain (where, sadly, she links to those gloves for putting on stockings that we used to carry) and I love the idea of making boxes for soxes. Stockings, I mean. But I am not that fancy a person, so I personally go for the plastic sandwich bag option. They’re clear so I can see which pair is what, they’re smooth so the stockings can’t get snagged and they’re tough so nothing else can get at ‘em.

Now, if you’ve got a run, there is a classic stand by: clear nail polish. Nylon is a man-made (frankly, kind of plastic, but like magic plastic) fiber and nail polish loves to stick to stuff like that. This works best if the stockings are as stretched as they’d be on your leg, so before you dot a little polish around the edges of the run (and make sure you get all the edges!), protect your leg with a piece of paper or stretch the stockings over something smooth and plastic (shampoo bottles work a charm). That way you can gently disengage the area with wet polish before it fully dries, preventing it from sticking to something (like your leg) and ripping even more when you try to remove it. Don’t stretch or pull them too hard, though! That’ll just encourage the run to grow. Like any time you deal with stockings, be gentle.

Now, I’ve also heard that a dusting of hairspray on your stockings before wearing helps toughen the fibers and prevent snags. Have you tried this, does it work?  What other tips do you have for stocking care?

This is a regular event that is meant for LGBT families to come and have fun roller skating in an atmosphere of acceptance. Gay Skate takes place every third Monday at Oaks Park Skate Rink, which is right near our Sock Dreams shop.

One of the best things that’s come out of sponsoring Gay Skate, besides supporting a great event, is it has strengthened our relationship not only with PQ Monthly, but with our Portland roller derby team The Rose City Rollers.

This month instead of doing the usual split ad with RCR, as the Rose City Rollers are called, we are combining our efforts and creating a photo ad in the shared space featuring LGBT skaters in Sock Dreams socks! One of most special pieces of this ad is being able to have one of the young players of the RCR team, The Rosebuds, in the photo shoot, as gay skate is geared toward LGBT youth.

We look forward to working with RCR at our upcoming Portland Pride, where we will have the most epic booth of all times!

Stay tuned!

All this sun and April’s showers have made our world bright and green (and brought some of those May flowers too!). Which makes May’s gemstone very appropriate. Emeralds are green beryl, ranging from yellow-green to blue-green, but always green! And though we use the word “emerald” on only a couple of green styles, we have quite a wide representation of greens!

Clockwise from top: Opaque Solid Nylon Trouser Socks, O Basics, Harajuku Scrunchy Socks, N40s, Socklings, Kimi Wool Blend OTKs.

May’s flower, the lily of the valley, is like the shy cousin of the flamboyant lilies that dominate bouquets and their little bell shapes could easily be confused for any other sleepy-looking wildflower. The fleur-de-lis, on the other hand, is very recognisable. So we’ll let this stylised lily take center stage.

• Paris Trouser Socks •
• Snappy Fleur-de-Lis Garters •
• Paris Fleur-de-Lis Pantyhose •

Like Aries last month, the May’s constellation of Taurus isn’t as dignified in sock form as it is in star form. But dang is it adorable! Both of these cow socks even have grippy bottoms to help keep you stable.

• Moo Toes •
• Tubular Cow Socks •

As May moves on, spring will soon be over and, on the flip side, winter is coming for folks in the Southern hemisphere. So embrace these transitional days of spring and autumn while you can!

On top: Ultra Sheer Retro Backseam Stockings. Beneath, from left to right: Lycra Cuban Heel Stockings, Cuban Heel Thigh Highs, Lycra Sheer Cubans with Lace Up Tops, Lycra Cuban Heeled Two Tone Stockings.

Flattering, fancy and just the thing to finish off a dressy outfit, nylons have a fascinating history.  Though our focus here at Sock Dreams is on socks, we do carry and love stockings.  And we’re also big nerds who love to share history and facts.  Today I’ll share a quick overview of the history of nylons, with some helpful facts for folks interested in rocking these classic and classy stockings. If you want more info, there are great, in-depth, histories of stockings all over the place. I’m super partial to the Smithsonian’s Stocking Series.

Nylon stockings were introduced at the 1939 world’s fair by Dupont, who have a great little timeline with some awesome pictures from 1939. They decided against registering “nylon” as a trademark, so that the word would become synonymous with stockings.  Early stockings had back seams and when folks had to give up their nylon stockings for the war effort, they reproduced that backseam with leg makeup (great article at GlamourDaze about it!), creating the illusion that nylons were still covering their legs.  I love this picture we have on our Pinterest from the Library of Congress image archives, showing a barrel of nylons on their way to becoming parachutes and cords.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection. “Here’s where your parachute came from.“

It’s because of this temporary lack of nylon that we have the wide range of cotton stockings and tights we see today.  But that’s a story for another day!  We’re still talking about nylons.  Join us after the jump for comparisons of new nylon stockings to actual mid-century pairs and some helpful tips about these fantastic, feminine stockings.

The original backseamed stockings were fully fashioned, like the Ultra Sheer Retro Backseam Stockings.  A fully fashioned stocking is leg-shaped, allowing for a better fit across the curves of a leg when the fabric isn’t very stretchy. You can see the difference between the Ultra Sheer Retros and Lycra Cuban Heels, which augment their fiber blend with spandex. Neither of these stockings has been worn, but one is practically shaped like a leg already, going in a bit at the ankle to keep things sleek! And they’re much longer, since they don’t have it in them to stretch up.

But why? Well, the original nylon stockings didn’t have stretch. Like the Ultra Sheer Retro Backseam Stockings, they liked to wrinkle at the ankle and bag at the knees, relying on the springiness of knit and mesh to properly shape to your leg. Even the Two Tone Red Cuban Heel Stockings have a leg shape straight out of the package, and they are 15% spandex! Starting out shaped like a leg helps a stocking live a better-fitting life.

Our tip for keeping the bagginess away is to touch them up by dipping your hands in warm water and rubbing them up your legs, starting at the ankle, for a better fit. The water rejuvenates the fibers and helps sproing them back into shape. In the additional images for this style, you can see how the stockings look at the ankle and the knee when they get stretched out.

By the mid-sixties, more and more innovations to nylon were bringing stretchier, better fitting stockings that are the precursors to the nylon/spandex blends most stockings are today.  Just how do today’s nylon stockings match up to those of yesteryear? Here’s some pretty old package pictures and comparisons to feast your eyes on!

First, let’s look at some old styles. You can’t find these any more, but sharp eyes can often find old stockings in thrift shops. This pair is 100% nylon “run-resist” seamless. The cheap packaging and basic foot (the toe and heel are barely reinforced) means this pair was probably a cheaper, everyday style. How fun is that purple bag, though?

Now this pair is also 100% nylon, but they feel fabulous, like silky clouds. The hard box and excess of tissue paper lets you know these were nice stockings to save up for.

When looking at these fabulous old examples of nylon loveliness, I realised that the Ultra Sheer Retro Backseam Stockings were the perfect in-between for these mid-century stockings. Not as rough as one pair, not quite as fantastically fine as the other. And, like those old stockings, they rely on shape more than stretch, they’re as light as a feather and very delicate (I was super worried I’d snag any of these three styles while shooting them!).

Here’s a close up detail of the texture of these stockings. The cheap pair are on the left, the Ultra Sheer Retro Backseam Stockings in the middle, with the fancy-pants stockings on the right. Texture-wise, the Ultra Sheer Retro Backseam Stockings have a similar delicacy to the more expensive pair, with a fine texture that helps them blend against your legs.

Other sheer stockings we carry aren’t quite as fine. Stockings like these do require a careful hand in wearing them, because they’re so delicate. But, here’s a fun tip: if you want our finest, sheerest nylon styles, use this search term “These are very sheer and delicate.” Our caution is your code to finding the finest!

If you love old stocking styles, definitely check out our “Socks Through Time” board on our Pinterest! There are some fabulous styles on there that make me want to break out the time machine! And I’m not done talking nylons yet, we’ll have some tips and tricks for you later this month!

In the spirit of this article, we have decided that we would do a GIVEAWAY in conjunction. All you brides and grooms to be, get out your pens and your box o’ Kleenex, ’cause our giveaway will be an essay on “How I met and chose my bridal party.”

We want to know all the messy, hilarious, tear-jerking ways that you picked the folks who will stand up with you on your special day. Extra points if you have a cross-gendered wedding party, which I was a part of last summer, or something else totally nontraditional.

Our first place winner will receive a $150.00 gift card to Sock Dreams, which can be used to purchase bridal party socks or broken up in any way to use as gifts for your party… or you could just keep it all to yourself.

There is no minimum word count to enter and all entries will be judged by the folks here at Sock Dreams.

To enter, please send your essay to info@sock-dreams.com by May 23rd 2013, and be sure to include all the important information such as your name and email. The contest ends and will be judged by May 24th, 2013, so the prize will be awarded just in time for all those June weddings.

Good luck! And good life!

The Doggie Dash is the annual fundraiser for the Oregon Humane Society, whom every year rescues a variety of animals and places them in good homes. As some of our fans may know, we have several dogs in our offices here in Portland, and just as many folks in the office who love our furry pals. The Doggie Dash will take place on Saturday May 11th down at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland; those of you in the Portland area who might want to come down and join the dash. For those of you not in the Portland area, you can still help us meet our Sock Dreams team goal by clicking here and registering for the Sock Dreams team.

Additionally, on Saturday May 11th, the Luna Foundation will be holding Whiskey Fest NW to benefit CASA of Multnomah and Washington Counties. Whiskey Fest will be held at NW 11th and Northrup in the heart of Portland’s Pearl District, where several of the top whiskey makers will be sampling out their best to raise money for children’s advocacy in Portland. We have been asked to vend and represent Sock Dreams by bringing whiskey themed socks, as well as our Sock Dreams brands and our smiling faces. Tickets are going fast, but are still available for this event on the Whiskey Fest NW web site.

Have a great weekend, we hope the sun is shining where you are!!!

It’s that time again… for six years, and counting, on May 9th we give you a chance to replace your missing socks with new socks using a nice discount code in honor of Lost Socks Memorial Day. We’re offering you 20% off your entire order when you enter LostSocks2013 in your shopping cart. Please note that you must complete your order by 00:00 (midnight Pacific Daylight Time) Friday May 10.

We’ve got a Mother’s Day Favourites section, but most of those styles are the ones our moms like, and if your moms are like ours, they keep their fancy stuff pretty basic. They like comfy crews, cozy bedsocks, maybe a ‘crazy’ splurge on some hand-printed trouser socks.

• Meg Unconstricted Top Crew •
• New Zealand Bed Socks •
• Polonova Flower Trouser Socks •

But, the best gifts are the ones that you know the giftee would never think to get themselves. Something fancy, maybe a little more than they like to spend on themselves. Our Indulgences section is a good place to go for just that sort of thing. I’m going to be honest, these are our pricier styles. But they earn their price, with fabulous fibers, fit and construction. This is where the luxurious stuff lives.

That doesn’t mean you have to go wild picking something out for your moms. There are some great options under $25 that feel fantastic and look gorgeous. Plus, they’re practically basics, so you won’t get chided for going overboard.

• Multi-Lines Knee Highs •
• Orkney Angora Wrist Warmers •
• Philippe Matignon Silk Anklets •

Of course, if you can and do want to spoil your mom, we can help you there! Check out three sweet indulgences after the jump!

Probably one of the most luxe knee highs we carry are the B.Ella Ginger Ribbed Knee Highs. They’re 81% cashmere. That’s a lot of cashmere! Soft, cushy and feeling like they’re made of clouds, these knee highs are a favourite of folks who want to really treat someone they love.

The next step up are the St. Petersburg Gloves. Don’t worry, that’s not real fur they’re trimmed with, but the gloves are 100% wool, crazy cozy and amazingly classic in line. Plus, they have a fabulous little pocket hidden in their cuff. Moms need to feel fancy too, and dang if these gloves won’t help them feel like an old-time movie star who is also a spy, using films as their cover.

For the ultimate indulgence I present the Orkney Angora Over The Knees. 50% angora, 50% lambswool, made by a family-run business in the Orkney Isles, these socks are like hugs. Which you should give your mom, by the way (and not just cuddly, fuzzy, high-end sock hugs). What is great about the Orkney Angora Over The Knees is that they are comfy and wonderful, but they’re also tall socks. So your mom can feel kind of foxy too.

Of course, you might not be able to indulge your awesome mom with luxurious gifts. But if you’ve got a marvellous mother, let them know, however you can.

One of our favorite parts of the warm weather is new shorties, like these sweet Sweet Marcel anklets from last summer!!!

We here at Sock Dreams are suckers for a little shorty sock and luckily Tabbisocks has already starting sending us the most adorable socks ever.
Stay tuned for new styles coming just in time for Spring and Summer.

All of Saturdays cards are gone and it’s time to announce the code word for day two!!!

 Once again, we will be passing our four $10.00 gift cards ad one $25.00 gift card per day at Stumptown Comic Fest.

Remember, the card is random, so the only way to find out how much you won is to go to our web site and place an order. Then use the promo code bar on the first page of your check out, to see what your discount is.

Today’s word is Boilerplate.

Good luck!