No. Don't Go.: A lifelong obsession

It may sound a bit silly, maybe slightly absurd, but I have this obsession with socks. And it's a lifelong obsession that one of my best and oldest friends, Alison, has shared with me.

I'm sure most Cape Townian girls roundabout my age can remember a store that was a millennium hit - 'The Space Station'. If the glow-in-the-dark, alien-head earrings didn't put you off, the synthetic pink fur and shiny silver skirts certainly would have. But to a 90's kid taking on the 2000's (or just a 2012 Hipster), that place was heaven! Mom really fulfilled her motherly duties by only letting me spend a few minutes in there on each trip to the 'Cavendish Square'. A minute more and the flashing lights and rave music might have hypnotised me into splurging out the entirety of my R50 pocket money on a fluorescent choker chain. However, it was on one unsupervised trip to the mall that Alison and I spent a few extra minutes in there, but this time we found treasure. With smiles covering each of our faces, we walked out with matching socks. But these weren't just any socks. These socks were pretty and lacy, and they only covered half the foot with pretty little ribbons tying up around your ankles. Ali got the baby blue and I left with pink. Who would have known 'The Space Station' had it in them? From then on we wore them everywhere...to dance class, the beach, and prancing around the house.

On a far more embarrassing occasion, the two of us left a little accessory story in Sun Valley with matching tights. My chubby purple and black striped legs could be likened most to those of a Cheshire cat, while Ali's little skinny ones, drowning in lumo orange and black, made her look a bit like a confused, acid-tripping bumble bee. I'm quite glad those laddered quickly and I don't have any remnants to post a photo of.

For birthdays and travel gifts, socks have been the winning ticket. As much as we've loved them, we've also misused them a few times by using them for mud sliding in my pony's paddock in the depths of rainy winter. But we've both agreed that there's nothing more comforting and more beautiful than a lovely pair of socks. Which is why we've decided to start a little venture together, which you'll be seeing more and more of in the coming weeks. We want to create beautiful, exclusively designed socks that can be the feature of an outfit, but also make you feel like you're getting a long awaited homecoming hug every time you slip them on.

We've visited two manufacturers and are very excited about our design developments so far. Bring on the fun!