Is Wearing Socks with Sandals a Modern Trend?

For most people, socks and sandals go together about as well as peanuts and chewing gum, but it now appears that some ancient Romans would disagree. Archaeologists excavating a 2,000-year-old site in England uncovered the remains of a Roman legionnaire's sandal and some attached fibers, suggesting that the serviceman donned socks with the open-toed shoes. The team dug up what was left of a mill used to produce food for the soldiers, some pottery, and 14 graves that contained evidence of socks. One archaeologist working with an on-site heritage team said that there was solid footing for combining socks and sandals in the North Yorkshire weather, despite how aesthetically unpleasing it might seem. "I am sure they would have been pretty keen to get hold of some (socks) as soon as autumn came along," Blaise Vyner said.

Fashionable facts:

• On average, U.S. women own seven pairs of jeans, but about 25 percent own at least 10 pairs.
• Portugal's Queen Juana invented the hoop skirt in the 15th century as a way to hide her pregnancy.
• Queen Victoria is credited with making a white wedding dress the standard, wearing one despite objections from her court.