It’s official: I’m now a sock designer! Today, I’m delighted to unveil my first ever fashion collaboration, with the wonderful team at Peper Harow Socks. This local, sustainable sock brand invited me to design a pair of socks for their Autumn/Winter collection and I knew immediately what I wanted: perfect Mary Jane socks!
Mary Jane shoes were invented in the early 20th century, and have stood the test of time since then. They’re a classic style of shoe, and yet, I could never find a sustainably-made sock that had the right length and dainty ruffle trim to fit in them. So, I designed a pair, and today, they launched on the Peper Harow site!
How I Designed The Perfect Mary Jane Socks
I’ve been a fan of Peper Harow since 2022. I was introduced to the brand after being gifted their luxurious cotton socks, and discovered they were local to me. That inspired a factory visit, where I discovered their single solar-powered building, small team, and entire in-house production. They tick so many boxes: using sustainably-sourced and recycled materials, designing for longevity, and with British heritage too. I now only buy my socks from them, and have gifted a fair few pairs to friends and family too! But the most exciting development was when Peper Harow approached me to design a pair of socks! Of course, I said yes!
Sustainable fashion starts at the design stage. I wanted to design a sock that would be well worn, with classic style, and would fill a gap in my wardrobe. Very quickly, I realised, it had to be a pair of perfect Mary Jane socks. I’ve enjoyed wearing Mary Jane-style shoes for the last 10 years, and while I’ve been able to find sustainably-made shoe styles, I couldn’t find sustainably-made socks to match. And yes, I’m being picky there: what I wanted was a sock that could be pulled up on the calves, or rolled down around the ankles, a sock with dainty ruffles, and a sock made from sustainable materials. I put together the above mood board (of socks that looked right, but just weren’t sustainable!) and sent it to Peper Harow.
Five months later, and the socks are now a reality! We went through mockups, prototypes, and then product testing to get them here. I’d love to know what you think!
Why We Chose Organic Cotton For The Mary Jane Socks
Peper Harow has been making socks for years, and early on the team identified organic cotton as the best thread for my Mary Jane sock design. They use Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) Certified organic cotton as standard, so after some testing, we settled on a predominantly organic cotton composition, at a 168 needle gauge knit so they’re breathable and lightweight.
The result is a super soft sock that fits perfectly in a Mary Jane shoe. They can be rolled up or down, and stay in place. The composition of the Mary Jane Socks is 54% GOTS Certified Organic Cotton, 44% Polyamide, 2% Spandex. The polyamide is included to reinforce the socks and provide longevity, while the spandex gives the little bit of stretch you need for a comfortable fitting sock. Overall, I’m so happy with the outcome, and now have two pairs in rotation in my wardrobe!
Get 20% Off All Socks At Peper Harow
As part of my on-going partnership with Peper Harow, I’m delighted to extend my 20% discount code to my new Mary Jane Socks! You can get 20% off these, and site-wide on peperharowengland.com with code: BESMA
I hope you love these socks as much as I do! Let me know what you think below!
