{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O78752"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78752/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM7660/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AM7660/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AM7660","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AU4922","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London/I. & R. Morley Ltd.","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O78752/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O78752","accessionNumber":"T.152&A-1975","objectType":"Pair of socks","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"<b>Object Type</b><br>People have been wearing socks since at least the 8th century, but socks really came into their own at the beginning of the 19th century, when men began wearing trousers instead of breeches.  (They had previously worn stockings but socks were easier to keep in place beneath a trouser leg.)  By the 1840s they were being made with ribbed cuffs, so that they did not fall down. Men's socks were usually made of cotton, merino or silk.<br><br><b>Ownership & Use</b><br>These socks would have been worn during the day or evening and would have added a touch of colour to the owner's dress. Although black was a fashionable colour for socks, brighter colours were also worn, such as scarlet, bright blue and green. The writer  Lytton Strachey is shown wearing olive green socks with a grey suit and a green tie in a portrait of 1904 by Simon Bussy.<br><br><b>Trading</b><br>Technological improvements led to a great expansion in the stocking-making industry after 1850. This meant that socks could be manufactured in greater numbers.  I. & R. Morley Ltd. was probably the largest firm in the 1890s, employing thousands of workers and with factories and warehouses in London and the provinces.  By this time the company was producing knitted underwear and sports garments as well as socks and stockings.","physicalDescription":"Pair of dark green socks of amchine knitted silk, embroidered with forget me not sprays. It is fully fashioned, with 'M' worked below the ribbed cuff and two holes.","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"I. & R. Morley Ltd.","id":"A9129"},"association":{"text":"manufacturer","id":"x33306"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"Machine-knitted silk, embroidered, ribbed cuff","categories":[{"text":"Footwear","id":"THES48951"},{"text":"Men's clothes","id":"THES49043"},{"text":"Europeana Fashion Project","id":"THES265804"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2006AM7660","2006AU4922"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"125B","id":"THES49893"},"free":"","case":"CA3","shelf":"","box":"26"},{"current":{"text":"125B","id":"THES49893"},"free":"","case":"CA3","shelf":"","box":"26"}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Sock","id":""}],[{"text":"Sock","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"England","id":"x28826"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1904","earliest":"1899-01-01","latest":"1908-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by F. H. Hawkins, on behalf of I. & R. Morley Ltd.","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"50","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"maximum","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"20","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"maximum","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Dimensions checked: Measured; 13/05/1999 by LH","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"A paper label 'A950/12/4' is stitched at the top.","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""}],"objectHistory":"Manufactured by I. & R. Morley Ltd., London","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Pair of man's socks of machine knitted and embroidered silk, manufactured by I. & R. Morley, England, ca. 1904.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Farrell, Jeremy; Socks and Stockings: The Costume Accessories Series, (Batsford, London, 1992) (colour plate 7)"}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"British Galleries:\nMen often wore coloured socks to brighten up their evening dress. Hand-embroidered dots, stripes and floral patterns were also popular and helped soften the effects of the dark suits. They would have looked very elegant with a black patent dress shoe.","date":{"text":"27/03/2003","earliest":"2003-03-27","latest":"2003-03-27"}}],"partNumbers":["T.152-1975","T.152A-1975"],"accessionNumberNum":"152","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":1975,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Sock [1]","Sock [2]"],"assets":["2019LP5520","2019LR5645","2019LU4967","2019LV7182"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-12","recordCreationDate":"2003-03-27","availableToBook":false}}