In 1589, an English clergyman called William Lee invented the first stocking frame knitting machine. Higher-born women were especially fond of silk stockings, delicately crafted by hand using many different colours of silk and worn to display the owner’s wealth and accentuate their shapely legs and ankles. Garters, or bands, were placed over the top of them to prevent them from falling down. During the Middle Ages, socks grew in length to cover the whole leg and become known as stockings. Stockings and socks were popular with men and women throughout history, and fashions changed and evolved to incorporate them in various guises. ![]() Indeed, Roman soldiers apparently sent word regularly back to Rome asking for more socks to be dispatched to keep their feet warm during battle. Romans were fans of the sock-sandal combination too and found warm foot coverings made from leather and fabric strips essential in the colder climates of Britain during their invasion. ![]() Ancient Egyptian socks were made from brightly coloured wool and designed to be worn with sandals – now considered an example of questionable sartorial taste! Yet the history of socks can be traced right back to Ancient Egypt, where evidence has been found in excavated graves that revealed their existence way back in time, from around 1500 BC. Pretty much all of us are used to simply pulling on a pair in the morning and not giving the matter any further thought.
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