A post from Benjamin Spain of California, quite possibly Corgi’s No.1 fan worldwide:
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For a long time I have felt that the sock is the most neglected men’s accessory. In college I tried to challenge the norms by wearing socks that were loud and colorful, unfortunately all I could find were solids by Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein; bright stripes for men were unheard of.
I first discovered Corgi in 2003 shortly after seeing a picture of Prince William in a pair of striped socks at St. Andrews. I did some further research about sock makers in the UK, found Corgi’s website, and learned that they had a royal warrant from the Prince of Wales. Also in 2003, GQ published an article about how London was the colored sock capital of the world, and mentioned Corgi, as has the ‘Style Guy’ for the magazine multiple times.
Unfortunately, at the time I was living in the Midwest where men wore only black, navy or tan socks to work and white athletic ones outside of work. Being that Corgi did not have an e-shop at the time I was at a loss. However, I made it a point to reach out to Chris at Corgi anyway and asked him to keep me up on the brand and its expansion. Then, in the summer of 2004 I received an e-mail from Chris regarding a limited color range of stripe socks that I could order directly from him. I ordered my first three pairs of Corgis and they instantly became my favorite socks. They made quite the impression at work, as no one there would think to wear such bold socks or even know where to get any.
Then in 2005 I moved to California, and on my first trip to Barney’s NY in Beverly Hills, I stumbled upon the ‘ mother-lode’ of colorful men’s socks. On that trip I purchased almost one of every pair they stocked, and about a dozen pair were Corgi. In total I spent close to $2,000 in socks alone, and had two very large shopping bags to show for it. Once home from my shopping escapades, I threw out all my old boring socks and started fresh with my new collection of fun and colorful patterns.
Over the next year I moved to Las Vegas, where during the holidays, I stumbled upon some Corgi socks at the local Saks 5th Avenue, under the Drakes label. Again my collection grew, but not by much, about three pair.
After returning to California in 2006, I gradually picked up a pair or two every season, over the next few years. Of all my socks, my Corgis received the most attention from friends, co-workers and even strangers. I also found that of all the socks I had bought two years prior, the Corgis wore the best. I had also developed a reputation at work for wearing the best socks, which made each trip to Barney’s exciting.
Then in 2009 I discovered the website of Pakeman, Catto & Carter, a great men’s shop that was no stranger to funky colored Corgi socks. I hadn’t seen combinations this bold since my first trip to Barney’s four years earlier, as they had started to stock less options and fewer crazy colors combinations, due to the recession in the States.
In 2010 I found a few more web shops that carried Corgi socks and my collection really exploded, to the close to sixty pair I own today. I also purchased some stripes from the women’s line for my mother on her birthday; they have become favorites of hers as well.
Over the years my ‘taste’ in patterns has changed and I’m pretty much only a stripes guy, giving most of my checks and spots away to friends who are envious of my collection.
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I recently had Chris make me a special order of stripes, made up of seven of my favorite colors, these socks are by far my favorites and have gotten so much attention from everyone. I love telling people how I had them specially made for me in Wales and the story behind the brand.
To say I am envious of Chris’ job would be an understatement; to design and produce the socks he does would be my dream job. I really appreciate all that he has done for me and I do my best to share the brand with anyone who inquires about my socks.
