It may be a long time ago, but I used to be two things. Cool and sexy. I was a goth (and I know a lot of people thing ‘goth’ and ‘cool’ are mutually exclusive, but it was before all of that terrible Marilyn Manson tripe and every 14 year old started wearing dog collars to school), and my wardrobe consisted of only one colour, black.
Me and my gothy pals used to spend a lot of time on our appearance, trekking all the way to Manchester for specialist shops, scouring charity shops for 80s throwback fashion and spending inordinate amounts of time waiting for the dye to develop on our hair. Our make up was immaculate. I used to call up my friend Carla to see if she wanted to go out for a drink, and her answer would be ‘give me two hours, I need to draw my eyebrows on’. I remember being on the train to a concert in Manchester with three friends and a drunk insisting that we were a famous rock band, and to be fair with the amount of leather and sunglasses on display we probably did veer a little too close to looking like U2.
So with my outer wardrobe being so, you can imagine what my lingerie draw looked like. Although this often crossed over into my outer wardrobe. I wore fishnets whatever the occasion, or stockings and a garter belt. Curiously, my mum quite enjoyed bringing home lacy bustiers from car boots sales and charity shops and watching me happily trot out to the Krazy House in them and not much else.
So yeah. Sexy and cool. Even when I stopped listening to the music and going to the clubs, I couldn’t get out of the habit of wearing nothing but black. In fact, I remember getting a new pair of baseball boots and feeling really self concious about my shiny white toes. Over the years I’ve relented quite a lot and have even made the full transition from black to blue jeans. You wouldn’t give me a second glance if I walked past you in the street these days, I’m quite boring.
But what the hell possessed me to make these?
Answer: knitting. These socks are the antithesis of both ‘cool’ and ’sexy’ and yet I love them, I’m proud of them, I will probably wear them in public and even roll my trouser leg up and plant my feet on the table to show everybody.
RIP Credibility. 1995-2008.
At the risk of taking you down yet another cool cred-notch (that almost came out cred crotch. Hopefully a post for another day??), I need to say that you really are n’adorable.
And the socks take my breath away.
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Yep, those are cheek-pinching adorable.
My deepest sympathies regarding your cred.
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I really could have wrote this, word for word
Although my credibility was lost a lot earlier. Ah well.
Those socks are lovely!
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I feel like I could have written this, although I was knitting lots of black through my gothy times. Somehow, knitting made me lose my fear of color. (Damn you, Noro!) I love those socks. I’m working on some equally obnoxious ones myself.
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I’ve been loving your Rav posts for a while but only started reading your blog after some f*wit decided she coudlnt’ beleive anything you said because of the *shock* name of your blog.
I think it is the most amusing one on my list, I love it (you?)!
I also could have written this post (minus the bit about your mum, I didn’t get properly into goth until uni, my mum still has little idea….)
I don’t have any noro yarn yet, but have a kind of love/hate relationship with it! My downfall has been learning to dye. Bright colours are more fun to play with!
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the socks are beeeyouuutiful. credibility is in the lav, but fuckit, your feet are warm.
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That was the best blog post I have read in a long time.
If not a goth, I would have laughed so much, I would have had to wipe my beautifully applied liquid eyeliner off my ghostly white cheeks as I typed, smeering my blood red lipstick with the back of my black - nailed hand.
You and me both my dear
love Ruby xxx
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Yeah, I think it’s funny showing my old punk/rocker friends thinkgs like Noro rainbow sweaters and cable knits and lace shawls just to see how they react. That’s why in the “about me” section of my ravelry profile all it says is “Multi is the new black”.
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Nothing to worry about; it’s just age.
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Hahahahahaha, those socks are great.
I am new to reading your blog, I love it.
Just kick a puppy or a small child and you can get your street cred back asap
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The Wilk reply on May 21st, 2008 5:31 pm:
Ok, will do. Do you want me to take photos while I’m doing it?
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Ok, will do. Do you want me to take photos while I’m doing it?
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My cred died a wimpering death sometime ago. Once I thought I was cool (whether I actually was or not is another matter)..now alas I know I am ‘conformist’. I wore Doc marten boots, German army jacket, shaved my head and pierced my face. Now I have a very sensible bobbed haircut in my horror of horrors..natural hair colour, have only one hole in each earlobe and have shhh..been known to shop for clothes in Asda..shriek!!
Maybe I need to go drink some K cider and listen to The Smiths for a few hours…instead of sitting down to watch ‘I’ll Do Anything’ on a Saturday night with a nice cup of tea and my knitting!!
Super socks by the way..for ultimate effect wear with sandals!!
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I’m not goth but I am a new yorker and we all pretty much wear black. My mom calls us shadow people, she’s weird. Anyway because of my knitting I’m now attracted to all kinds of colors I never would have thought of before I started knitting. Its a little insane. If you go through my stash and my closet you’ll notice a huge disconnect it terms of color.
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