Ped fans, have you taken a gander at all the beautiful socks we’ve recently received from Antipast and Bonne Maison? They are really something this season!

We realize embracing the socks-with-sandals trend is a stretch for many of you, but these sock-tastic designs really deserve to be seen! Plus we love the vintage sweetness of the look!

So without further ado, here are several ways to give your saucy socks air time!

The Argila Rosa is a lovely and understated neutral sandal on its own, but add some striped socks and KAPOW! Suddenly, it’s no longer shy but still oh-so chic!

We love the Rosa with both Bonne Maison’s Calm Stripe Socks in Grey/Khaki and Antipast’s Beach Stripe Socks in Ivory! Talk about pizzazz!

One of the prettiest shoes in the Ped house this season is Chie Mihara’s Amor. Why not take its femininity in a whimsical direction by adding even more flowers?

Bonne Maison’s Brocade Socks in Geranium Red offer a whimsical way to take the Amor‘s sexiness in a new direction! (The green toe is especially fun peeking out from under the Amor‘s rosette.)

Another unabashedly sexy sandal is the Coclico Shae. Give it a different twist by wearing it with Antipast’s Bubble Socks in Khaki, or go for full-on fun by pairing it with Bonne Maison’s Flamingo Socks in Honey.

Everyone will admire your bold style (and wish they knew how to look so edgy and cool)!

If you prefer wearing socks with a closed toe flat, but still want to show off, here are a couple of ideas for jazzing up the Cydwoq South!

If you’re feeling sweet and girly, tie up the South over Antipast’s Bouquet Sock in Beige. Feeling bolder? Then make it a luau with Antipast’s Lei socks in Beige!

Another skip-around-town style that looks terrific both barefoot and with socks is Fiorentini+Baker’s Leda clog!

Add Antipast’s Bubble Socks in Blue, and it instantly gets a jolt of juice! The bubbles look great effervescing through the Leda’s star-shaped cutout!

Many other possibilities for sassing up sandals with socks await you at Ped’s main site. So open your mind to summery socks with sandals and frocks!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Ped fans! Everyone here at Ped HQ hopes your 2014 is off to a fantastic start! Thanks to longtime Ped fan, Peggy R., ours certainly is!

Peggy’s Tale of the Sole is simply beyond wonderful to us—it’s like a giant hug sprinkled with sugar! Here is what she sent:

In 1998, I got my first pair of shoes from Ped, a pair of Giraudon oxfords, and I was immediately hooked on wearing cool shoes! Whenever we were in Seattle, we headed to Pioneer Square to visit Ped and, hopefully, make a purchase. There was just something about wearing great shoes that made me smile and feel so good! Once Dayna opened Ped online, it was hard to pass up the incredible styles. So…. I have a lot of fabulous shoes, handbags, and treasures from Ped!

Peggy’s first catalog from Ped! (We’re so flattered she kept it.)

I decided this fall to document my Ped collection on a daily basis. The challenge was to wear a different pair of shoes or something that I had purchased from Ped for the entire month of December. I called it “The 31 days of Ped.”

The first 12 days of Peggy’s “31 Days of Ped.”

Being a nurse, the workdays were a bit of a challenge—lots of Trippen, a few Cydwoq, and sometimes just my beautiful Antipast socks. Many of my coworkers, as well as patients and their family members, commented on my shoes. I’ve shared Ped with a lot of people!

Days 13-23 of Peggy’s “31 Days of Ped.”

On my off days, it was easier to wear my boots, heels and—thanks to the warm December we had in Sacramento—even a few of my sandals. And every day I smiled!

The final eight days of Peggy’s “31 Days of Ped.”

Dayna and I have had many conversations on the phone over the years. She knows what styles I’ll like and what shoes will fit my feet. I appreciate Ped’s quality and the incredible customer service—but mostly, I like knowing where to get the most fabulous shoes! Dayna has said to me, “Fashion starts with the feet.” And I believe it’s true! Thanks Ped for making me smile!

Oh, Peggy!!! Your smile can’t be any brighter than ours after reading your Tale of the Sole! THANK YOU for starting our new year off with a big burst of Ped love!

We’re delighted to give Peggy $100 in Ped credit as a small token of our HUGE appreciation!

Do you have a Tale of the Sole? Tell us—and show us (we LOVE pictures!!!)—what happened to you while wearing something from Ped, and you, too, might be the recipient of $100 in Ped credit. We’d love to share your sole-ful story on the blog, so let us know what in the world you’ve been doing in your Ped!

Ped fans, you may not think of us as a “one-stop shop,” but if you have daughters, mothers, aunts, sisters, or simply female friends you want to make smile this season, we’re confident of the pleasing power of Ped presents! Here are just a few ideas to brighten your favorite gals’ holidays:

When you’re mystified by your recipient’s size, there’s no need to scratch your head. Simply give her something toasty to wrap around her neck, like Ben Alder’s Edinburgh Scarf:

Such stripe-tastic fun, this soft scarf is knit from the finest Scottish new wool! One size makes everyone look stylish! We’re in love with this smashing Blue/Lemon/Fuchsia version, but Ped also offers the Edinburgh in three other great color combinations!

Word to the wise gift giver: Ben Alder also knits wonderful striped gloves!

Make her fingers festive and protect them from frostbite! If purple and green don’t float her boat, perhaps Ben Alder’s other color combos will make her heart set sail.

As long as we’re keeping the extremities warm, let’s make sure the tootsies stay toasty! Socks can make a sensational present, especially when they come from Antipast:

Everything Antipast designs is like a party for your toes, but we are especially crazy about the Winter Skier Socks. They are so clever! Beneath a snowy sky of polka dots, a tiny skier whooshes down a mountain of stripes!

We also have a new kid on the sock block: Bonne Maison! Why not give your gal the gift of a garden walk with Bonne Maison’s Autumn Flower Knee High:

This carmine version makes our hearts sing, but perhaps the honey or aged green options are more in tune with your gal.

If you want to up the ante with heating things up, a Sophie Digard work of wearable art is an excellent way to express your affection.

Sophie’s hand-crocheted Cercle Pop Scarf, for instance, is guaranteed to thrill! When she’s not wearing this stunner, your lucky recipient may opt to keep it out where she can simply look at it!

Another gift every woman welcomes is a fantastic bag. Cydwoq offers beautiful ways to help her haul it all through the day!

We just got in two new versions of Cydwoq’s terrific Leather Market Sack! Isn’t this navy and rust argyle pattern to die for? (We’re adding it to our own wish list!) The olive herringbone option is equally gorgeous!

Of course, if you really want to “wow” her, something sparkly from Jamie Joseph is just the thing!

The gold and diamond treatment of Jamie Joseph’s 14kt Gold Organic Circle Necklace is a sure-fire way to kiss holiday doldrums and winter blues goodbye!

As always, there are more goodies at Ped’s main site, so let your stylish thoughts count as you spread the love!

By the way, if you want to make absolutely sure the women in your life will like their gifts, invite them to browse the Ped site and click “add to favorites” for whatever strikes their fancy. Once they’ve finished making selections, they can share the list with you via email. That way the pressure’s off, and happiness is on!

(Psst, the Sweet Treat this week, Sophie Digard’s Velvet Lune Scarf,  would make a fabulous gift, too, even if it’s just to deserving you! Simply click “be sweet to your feet” at the bottom of the box on the left at Ped’s main site. When you land at the Velvet Lune Scarf’s page, just pop it in your shopping bag to get 20% off!)

Ped fans, you know we are all about beautiful, fun, artistic and comfortable shoes, but style cannot live on shoes alone. It needs a few other items to make it zing—like zesty socks or an eye-opening scarf or the perfect bag!

We’ve already introduced you to our fresh line of Bon Homme socks, but we have new goods in the Ped house from Antipast, Epice, Sophie Digard, and Trippen, too, to amp up your flair as the temperature drops. Let’s take a look!

As always, Emiko and Junko at Antipast have made it easy to walk through fall and winter with a smile, thanks to their always-fun sock designs! Even if you’re not quite ready for snow yet, who can resist Antipast’s Snowball socks?

We love the shift in color and dot size from top to bottom!

Snow also inspires  the charm of Antipast’s Winter Skier Socks:

These sweethearts have everything we like: stripes, dots, colors, and a fun narrative! Prefer your socks longer? You’re in luck because we also have Winter Skier Knee Highs!

On the other hand, maybe you’d rather have your woolies remind you of warmer days, in which case the Antipast Spangle Knee Highs are singing your song:

Birds, beasts, and blooms—it doesn’t get any better than these beauties! By the way, we also have trouser-length Spangle Socks.

Now that your toes are toasty, let’s sample a few lovely ways to bedeck your neck! When it comes to exquisitely loomed textiles, Epice has our hearts! The new Licorice Scarf  is the sweetest way to spice up an overcast day:

A solid-color wool coat becomes infinitely more interesting when you add a lick of Licorice!

If you prefer to keep cozy in a more understated way, perhaps Epice’s Lunares Scarf will light up your sky:

Luminous ivory moons dot the charcoal background, all sweetly bordered by ivory and periwinkle stripes. (We also have offer this woolen beauty in royal blue with golden lunettes.)

Sophie Digard also has moons on her mind this season! Bask in the dazzling glow of her Velvet Lune Scarf:

Soft velvet moons shine from within hundreds of hand-crocheted merino wool squares! Your fans will be starstruck when you wrap this gorgeous scarf around your neck!

Another multi-textured masterpiece is the Sophie Digard Manouche Scarf:

Velvet and wool squares of all sizes mix it up in this wearable work of art!

Perhaps our favorite of the new Sophie Digard scarves, though, is the Cercle Pop Scarf:

We adore the fresh colors of this crocheted mosaic of joy, guaranteed to make winter days a lot more fun!

Your ankles are covered, and your neck is nice and warm, so all that’s left is to find a stylish way to carry your essentials! Happily, the genius German shoemakers at Trippen have now ventured into designing fantastic bags! Need to haul a lot? Check out the spacious Trippen Claudia Bag:

You can tell how buttery the leather is just by looking at it! Choose either the black version of the Claudia pictured here or the equally beautiful and versatile brown version.

Need to carry a little less? Then sling the Trippen Carola Bag over your shoulder:

We love this boxy little bag—so streamlined and modern!

Of course, there’s still more to see over at Ped’s main site. So rise up and accessorize—it’s the easy way to add soul to your soles!

(Psst, the Sweet Treat this week is the Argila Madrid boot. Let your inner cowgirl kick up her heels by clicking “be sweet to your feet” at the bottom of the box on the left of most Ped pages, which will take you to the Madrid’s page, where you will find a magic code that will bring 20% off at checkout! Yee-ha!)

As daylight dwindles and the mercury sinks lower, the sock drawer once again opens. Yawn.

Wake up! If you think putting on socks is as exciting as watching paint dry, you clearly need to sass up how you warm your toes! Pulling on the woolies can be wonderful with a little help from Emiko and Junko, the Japanese mother-daughter team behind Antipast!

This season’s shipment of Antipast goodies just arrived at the Ped warehouse, and every whimsical pair puts the “fun” in “functional” and brings out the “win” in “winter”! Take a look:

When the days go grey, what we really crave is color and lots of it! Antipast to the rescue:

We are mad for all things striped, so these Gradation socks are just the ticket! We think their architectural pattern is reminiscent of the window-paned walls of Mies van der Rohe’s buildings. (Like knee-highs? You’re in luck!)

Stripes are terrific, but we also love dots. Put the two together, and you’ve got a party down below! Behold Antipast’s cute-as-can-be Candy Knee Highs:

How fun are these? Imagine how jazzy these sweethearts would look with short-ish skirts and mary janes or ankle boots! (Prefer trouser-length socks? You can still have your stripes and dots!)

Stripes also add a dash of fun to Antipast’s Cokrico socks:

We love wearing florals in winter because it reminds us of spring. The bouquets on the Cokrico are like a garden party for your ankles! (Want even more flowers? Pull on the knee high version!)

Need something a little more subdued (though never boring)? How about Antipast’s Pearl Shower Knee Highs?

Strands of pearls cascade from a central medallion, draping across a geometric diamond pattern. The toes, heels, and top band provide a pop of brilliant color. (You can also go luxe with a trouser-length sock.)

Another “quiet” Antipast lovely is the Diamond Flower sock:

So pretty! Stylized clusters of flowers drift like colorful snowflakes across a subdued diamond-patterned background. (Yes, we have knee highs in this pattern, too!)

Sometimes it’s kind of a shame shoes and boots inevitably cover up Antipast’s artistry. Case in point: this season’s beautiful Peace Bird socks:

Yes, the spectacular peacocks spreading their colorful tail feathers are the stars of the show, but the chevron stripes and windowpane pattern over the foot are stunning! (It can be your little art secret!)

We’ve saved the most eye-popping Antipast sock for the finale (and it’s our favorite): the New World Knee High!

Colorful camouflage? Look closer! These knee highs are alive with fantastic landscapes, rolling with woodland hills and pastures dotted with grazing cows. Stuck in a boring meeting? Just look down at your legs for a pick-me-up! (We also have trouser-length New Worlds!)

Who knew keeping your tootsies toasty could be so much fun? Just think how many people’s days you’ll brighten simply by wearing your Antipast out and about!

(Any of Antipast’s knee highs would look fantastic topping off this week’s Sweet Treat, Cydwoq’s Pilot Boot! You have until Tuesday to take 20% off by clicking “be sweet to your feet” at the top of any Ped page, which will whisk you to the Pilot, where you’ll find the magic code to enter at checkout.)