What your socks say about you
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (Oct 30/00) - Bloor Street West -- the area of Toronto where Cartier rubs elbows with Armani, where fashion is the name of the game and where socks are as integral to style as fur is to staying warm in the Arctic.
What spot on earth could be better to learn what your socks say about your personality? And who better to analyze than those people chosen to represent Nunavummiut.
Yes indeed, it's time to take a close look at what MLAs wear on their feet and what that says about them. It's not exactly handwriting analysis, but it's a fun (albeit silly) form of psychoanalysis.
The setting? Oct. 18, the first day of the current sitting of the Legislative Assembly and a day special enough to coax the MLAs into putting a little extra thought into their attire.
Andrea Hoadley, the assistant buyer for men's intimates at Holt Renfrew, kindly volunteered her fashion sense for the experiment. An employee of Holt Renfrew for 18 months, Hoadley purchases the men's socks sold at all of the chain's Canadian locations. That qualifies her as somewhat of an inner footwear expert.
So Andrea, what can be said about the 10 politicians sporting various forms of dark-coloured dress socks under their first-day finery?
"They take great care with how they look. They're more detail-oriented because they're going to great lengths to pay attention," said Hoadley. That should make the electorate feel reassured about their leaders.
Does that mean however, that we should be worried about the five politicians wearing startling white socks under their garb? Or, were they just too busy doing their jobs to fret over their feet?
"If you care about your suit, you should care about what's on your feet," said Hoadley.
"For me, in a work environment, it's unprofessional if the socks are odd or don't match the outfit," she said.
Oh, oh.
What about the MLA sporting boldly patterned socks?
"Very charismatic. That's the way they want to be recognized...as a unique individual."
And, last but not least, what to think about the two kamik-wearing politicians?
"They're obviously concerned about warmth."
As for me, I wore wool work socks that day.In Hoadley's book, that makes me "very casual, relaxed, carefree," a person whose "main priority is comfort."
