I dip into fashion mags now and again--mostly, I confess, for the humor. Largely unintended, or so I hope--although sometimes I suspect the folks who write the copy are having a laugh, too.

So this example, which I think may be serious, is from T Magazine, an occasional section of the New York TImes. It's a poem to the most down-home of cold-weather apparel: socks and other clothing made of ragg wool. Author Bruce Pask explains what ragg is, although not where the name came from, nor the fact that there's ragg cotton too.

This must be T Magazine's indirect acknowledgment of the world's present financial chaos. Ragg is a fine choice. I never thought of it as a high-fashion fabric, but it's reasonably priced, durable, and wonderfully warm. It's thick though, so if it's ragg socks you acquire, your shoes will need to be accommodating.