Dana, this is exactly why I spend ten years only wearing black shoes.

Right? But then I feel like if I now own a pair or two of brown pants, I ought to at least have a pair of brownish shoes.

I am not wearing socks with a frill. Sorry.

Watchya' gonna' buy?

Continued gas, phone, electric service. Food. That sort of thing.

"That Connie," we always say. "That Connie -- she's so damned frivolous!"

Seriously -- the unexpected bonus (as well as the prospect of more in the future) is fantastic for you!

No alerts on the MBTA site for the North Station commuter trains, so x-fingers.

It seems to have blown over for now. Hope the commute home is ok for everyone.

Dana, I have some Mary Janes and I wear whatever the hell socks I wanna wear. They usually match what I'm wearing, but some days, well...we won't talk about laundry days.

I am for matching socks, but not in an obnoxious way. Today I have a thinly-striped back and white shirt with a black jacket over it and jeans and my socks have thick black, white and red stripes. You can use socks to add a little color or goofiness in an understated way if you are wearing pants. The only sock issues I have with maryjanes is that socks which have a pattern up the sides, rather than all over, can look odd. Just put them on and look at them to see if they look bunchy or mismatched to what you have on and if not, you are good to go.

Dear User,

Sending me a message asking me what an e-mail is for indicates that you either didn't read the e-mail I sent you, or you are functionally illiterate, because the purpose of the e-mail is clearly stated IN THE DAMN E-MAIL.

OMGWTF,
shrift

If you're Paul Wolfowitz (architect of the Iraq war and now head of the World Bank) and you're visiting a mosque on a business trip surrounded by press taking photos, make sure your socks don't have big honking holes at the toes!

Also, you can wear subversive socks. I have a pair I got in France which look like black socks, until I reveal my ankle, at which case you can see a retro cat on them. Kinda cute, kinda funky. But THEN, if I choose to reveal the top cuff of the socks, you can see they say "pussy" around the top. Makes me laugh every time I wear them.

look at them to see if they look bunchy or mismatched to what you have on and if not, you are good to go.

I can do bunchy, but my instinct for mismatched fails me when it comes to socks. And sometimes other things.

I don't think I have any striped socks, though. I might have to fix that.

I've taken to staring at other people's feet to try and gain some knowledge. So far, no one has looked at me funny or threatened to take out a restraining order.

Target is an awesome place for socks, BTW.

Target is an awesome place for socks, BTW.

Someone should tell Paul Wolfowitz.