If you have ever wondered where your socks have been disappearing to, it’s time to stop blaming the dryer and time to start blaming this lady.
Anyway, Hong Yi, also known as Red, at oh I see red! is the adorable artist who made me stop hating black and white socks.
Listen, though it pains me to admit it as I’m already a bit of a social pariah, I am weird about socks. I love socks, I totally do, except for white socks. I know that makes me a sock racist, but admit it, white socks are incredibly boring. I can honestly say that I do not own a single pair of white socks, nor do I own a single black sock either. See, I’m an equal opportunity sock discriminator.
But seriously, if you look through my sock drawers (yes, I said drawers. I am that person) you will find nothing but colorful socks. Sure this makes getting dressed in the morning that much more annoying as I am also a person who dumps all of their loose socks into their drawers without pairing them up, but it’s really not hard to find both neon striped socks, especially if you are willing to be liberal with the definition of “matching.”
Okay, so I am currently wearing one lime green argyle sock and one black sock with green clovers on it, but I declare that theme and color coordination counts as matching. Fine, I’m a mess. Whatever.
While I have no intention of adding either into my wardrobe, I can appreciate someone who creates art out of anything she can get her hands on.
Also, can we for a moment acknowledge how adorable Red is? ADORABLE.
Her sock art was inspired by the residents of Shanghai who hang their clothes out to dry on bamboo.
You see this
She sees this
While some might see this as just laundry, Red sees them as inspiration for some really unique art.
Fun fact: the red underwear in the above picture probably belongs to someone whose age is divisible by 12 (12, 24, 36, 48, etc). While spending some time in Beijing and Shanghai, I learned that when your “benming nian” (your zodiac year) comes around, it tends to be unlucky, so family members, lovers and friends will give red underwear to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. Traditionalists will wear red every day, all day, all year long, but for those who cannot pull off red accessories, underwear is the perfect way to stay protected without projecting your age. And you probably thought they belonged to a naughty little minx.
