Rampley Socks

Herringbone Socks

After a good stickybeak at the Rampley & Co Two Trinities Stained Glass Window pocket square, we move on to a pick from Rampley's new sock collections.

Ramply's Bureleigh Collection has Merino socks., the Langham Collection has cotton dress socks. The Darsham Collection concentrates specifically on cotton socks with a herringbone pattern.

Each collection comprises fine gauge dress socks made exclusively for Rampley by Pantherella of Leicester, England, using Egyptian cotton and Australian Merino wool, and an added splash of nylon for durability.

Here we see the Light Grey Herringbone Socks from the Darsham Collection.

Each aspect of the manufacturing process is important in achieving the result of a supremely comfortable wear. The Egyptian cotton has been Mercerised to strengthen the thread and add softness and lustre.

The Mercerisation process was invented by Lancastrian John Mercer in 1844. The process swells the fabric, which softens it and makes it more reflective. The best cotton, like Egyptian cotton with its long staple fibre, responds best to the Mercerisation (pearled cotton) process. The socks are knitted on 200-needle cylinder knitting machines to produce an fine knit. The socks are also hand-linked at the toe so that there is no bulky seem disturbing your delicate toes.

Look how they hold around the ankle with no wrinkles.

If you're wondering about the colour combination, it all worked out with what I was wearing on top.

Uniting with Sandals

I'm not ashamed to say that I'm considering wearing these socks with the sandals featured in Men Wearing Sandals.

You can really appreciate the quality of the fabric of the socks and that lovely herringbone pattern on these photos.

The socks were unworn when I took these shots, so they were still rustling with their tissue paper insert. I do like that sound when I have a new pair of socks. It produces a sort of Pavlovian response of the experience to come — the glorious feeling of pulling on a new pair of socks for the first time.

Your feet deserve good wrappings. Don't let your sock drawer become moribund. Reject and replace the feeble and infirm. Keep it sprightly.