No, I don’t mean poked on Facebook or even Punk’d by Ashton Kutcher… I’m talking about Pook Toques.What could be more Canadian than a toque, right? Add in a great sense of humour, some classic styles like the “moose”, the “turtleneck” and the “mullet” and we’ve got ourselves a winner! You’re probably confused right now. That’s okay, so was I.

At the OOAK show in Vancouver, my friends and I almost walked right past a rather empty-looking booth with a table of grey and red sock hats on it. Until the pitch started and we were hooked… Pook Toques are all about the variety, my friends. Made out of traditional grey wool socks, and lined with a cozy fleece, the hats are designed to offer a multitude of styling options. Roll up the “ears” or tuck them into the folded toque or flip it inside out and pull the toes over your ears… the Pook Toque manual offers over 30 ways of wearing this one ingenious little hat.

Not convinced it’s possible to wear that hat 30+ different ways? Check out the manual. Go ahead, I’ll wait until you get back…

… See? Now, imagine you’re at a craft show and a guy stops you in the aisle and performs all of those varieties at top speed with full narration and explanations. It was, frankly, hilarious. My friend Shannon bought 4 hats.

Pook Toques is the creation of Tony Pook and Kevin McCotter from St. Mary’s, Ontario – it all started with a few (*ahem*) beverages, but has turned into a bit of a phenomenon to say the least. They’ve even pitched their business on Dragon’s Den! Since the initial hat design, they’ve also added Pook Dukes (mittens), the Pook Loop (a scarf), the Pookie Toquie (for the stylin’ little person in your life), Pook Boots (fleece lined socks – they sound so cozy!!) and, of course, a Pook Monkey.

For the hockey fan in your life, there’s also the Hockey Sockey, which is nothing if not arena-approved. The Hockey Sockey comes in a variety of team colours (13 NHL teams to choose from, plus Team Canada) and is made out of actual hockey socks.

And here’s the Pook Toque in action:

You can shop online at PookToque.com or find them on Facebook as well!

Cheers,
~Sarah
P.S. for anyone suffering from a case of Bieber Fever, you might want to view this particular video.