Every morning I wake up and find joy in picking out and putting on an outfit. Then I despair. The culprit? Realizing that I have to pick out socks. I open my sock drawer, and the abyss of mismatched blacks and dingy whites stares back at me. The drawer is stuffed, but there’s not a pair that would be truly satisfying to slip on the way any item of clothing should be. But then I’m late—who isn’t in the morning?—and I choose the least depressing pair and get on with my day.
You may be wondering: Why not just buy new socks? Well, I’d turn the question back on you and ask when was the last time you thought, Yay, it’s time to shop for socks. It always feels like a defeat—this is what I’m spending my hard-earned money on? I’m not going to text my friends a picture of my new purchases only to have them respond quizzically: “What’s new about this outfit?” “Zoom in,” I’d have to say, “on my feet.”
My sock collection is the byproduct of years of haphazardly buying socks on Amazon, losing them in the washing machine, and acquiring friends’ least-liked pairs when visiting. There are my tube socks from camp, vaguely athletic ones from my high school basketball career, and many mismatched neon pairs from a brand called Hot Sox. I’m here to say that, chances are, your best friends, siblings, and loved ones are in the same predicament.
Enter the gift of socks. It’s a gift that is, in a sense, priceless: You’re crossing something off someone else’s to-do list. For the minimalist, you might scoop up a selection of wool, cashmere, and cotton pairs in an array of creamy browns and fresh, ribbed whites, all sure to be a cozy delight. For the maximalist, there are tie-dye pairs and brightly colored yarns playfully spun together. The best part is you can buy many pairs without breaking the bank. If you’re not buying a luxury item, why not lean into abundance?
Still unconvinced? Here’s a testimonial from my own life: A few months ago I was pondering what to get my best friend and roommate, who I knew needed nothing in particular. I poked around the internet and window-shopped, but it all just seemed like stuff. More stuff that I didn’t want to add to his life to be enjoyed for a moment only to be pushed to the back of a closet. Out of ideas, I briefly considered a gift card to Ssense—but no, I thought, that would be just too impersonal.
Idle clicking led me to the socks tab of an accessories site, and I found myself smiling. I thought back on our years living together and how he seemed to be wearing too-small socks taken from his brother’s closet (incongruous for a man who deeply loves clothes). So I bought him six new pairs. “Oh, my god! Thank you! I HATE my socks,” he exclaimed, almost as if he had just remembered. The payoff of this gift keeps on giving: Every time I see him, he is invariably wearing a pair I picked out.
For gifts, I believe the recipe to success has two paths: Get something you know they desperately want, or get something they didn’t know they desperately need. So this holiday season, give them a pair of socks and give the gift of making every day a bit easier.