Once upon a time when I was in high school, I was getting ready to leave for class when I noticed that my only 2 pairs of socks clean each had one sock with a hole in the bottom. It just so happened that both pairs were of the same brand, so it occurred to me that I could literally wear the mismatched socks - one sock from each pair - and my feet wouldn’t know the difference. Ever the nonconformist, I did just that – I chose the intact sock from each pair and wore them to school, not caring whether anyone noticed I was wearing two different socks. In fact, I was actually proud of this fashion innovation and pointed it out to my friend Sarah while changing for gym class. Ever the tightly-wound conformist, Sarah scoffed at me for making what she considered an uncool fashion faux pas. Well, in this segment of Spectacular SOCKS, I would like to point out that my supposed fashion faux pas had made mainstream fashion with LittleMissMached!
I discovered LittleMissMached while browsing the children’s section in Chapters at Devonshire Mall. Being a sock enthusiast, I was immediately drawn to a spinning rack displaying packages of socks. To my amazement, the packages did not contain pairs of identical socks, but a trio of unique socks! Talk about lonely socks! I bought the following 2 pairs for $10.00 each:
At first I thought $10.00 was a bit pricy for 3 unmatched socks, but then I considered that with each package the buyer receives 3 different options for combining the socks, and thus with each package really contains 3 pairs of socks! Observe:
3 socks in a package: Sock A, Sock B, and Sock C
The following combinations are optional:
Sock A + Sock B = 1st mismatched pair
Sock A + Sock C = 2nd mismatched pair
Sock B + Sock C = 3rd mismatched pair
Three combinations of mismatched pairs of socks can be made – and if you choose to alternate which sock you wear on which foot, you can even argue there are six possible combinations per package!
I visited the website LittleMissMatched which you can reach at the following link:
http://www.littlemissmatched.com/
Apart from socks, the website offers apparel for girls and women. You can shop according to which clothing items you are looking for such as T-shirts or Pajamas, or browse the various Collections like the Zany collection. Zany boasts that it includes every colour: “You’ll never have to choose one colour over another!” while Kooky includes complimentary colours: “Opposite colors attract when it comes to our Kooky stuff!” Another collection called Preppy Zoo is “a colourful zany twist on bold animal patterns!”
I love the other socks they have available, not to mention the accessories such as Duffel Bags, Tote Bags, Flip Flops, and Water Bottles. What I love the most besides the patterns and designs themselves, is that the patterns on the accessories actually correspond to the patterns or designs on the socks! This means that if there is a particular pattern or set of designs you like in the set of 3 socks, you can buy other items with these same designs! The Zany Black Backpack, for example, matches all three patterns of stripes, polka dots, and stars in my black set of socks. So while your socks may not match each other, they can certainly match your purse and flip flops!
There is also a Bed and Bath section on this website that offers fun and “zany” items for girl, baby, and toddler bedrooms.
While I love the products available on this site, I have a few very large complaints and I greatly hope this store will work on changing them:
Complaint # 1
This store ships within the U.S. only. It ships to all 50 states and to Puerto Rico, but does not ship to Canada – which means that I cannot order anything from this website, no matter how much I love the products. This is a shame, as I am obviously a big sock enthusiast.
Complaint # 2
This store only gears its products to girls and women. Perhaps it is apparent in the name of the store, LittleMissMatched, but I was a little bit disappointed that they have no products geared towards boys and men. Some products in the Bed and Bath section that for toddlers and babies seem to be targeted at boy children, but I am merely assuming this because the colour blue is featured. This seems a little bit disappointing, as the products for girls have such a variety of colour. Even if the products for boys have a slightly different colour palette, I think they should be just as bright and colourful. I would love to see more products on this website marketed to boys and men – from socks and apparel to accessories and bedding.
Complaint # 3
This store does not carry plus-sizes. Even though products are labelled as being for “Girls and Women” the largest size available in clothing is a size 16, which is meant for a woman with a 27 inch waist, 32-33 inch chest, and an overall weight of 101-110 pounds. If this store was only targeting children or girls, I would not necessarily have as big a problem with this. The labels on the website, however, specifically say that the apparel is for "girls and women". Furthermore, even if the products were geared to children and teens only, I would still like to see plus sizes available for them.
In conclusion, I love the idea of selling mismatched socks. I also love the fun colour combinations, patterns, and designs available. The variety is great, and I love the different collections. I also love that, while the socks may not match each other, they can match other accessories available. Still, I would love this store so much more if I was able to order the products from their website and have them shipped to my home in Canada. And of course I would prefer to be able to wear ALL of the products, including the clothing, which is not available in my size. If anyone from LittleMissMatched is reading this, I love the products from your website, and if you can make your products available to Canadians you can be sure that I will be your first Canadian customer. If you can broaden your apparel to include plus size clothing, I will most likely spend even more money buying the clothes from your website. I am willing to bet that other Canadians and plus size women will do the same, and if you make a line of products aimed at boys and men, you will probably gain even more customers!
That's all for this segment of Spectacular SOCKS. If anyone has any comments, please feel free to share them, and if you have any suggestions for more Spectacular SOCKS blogposts and reviews, please let me know.
