Once upon a time in gift giving socks were a faux pas.
One gave socks because they didn’t care about the person they were gifting, they forgot about that office Secret Santa, or they waited until the very last minute to get something. And it wasn’t just at the Holidays. Father’s Day was notorious for the bag of sports socks wrapped in the comic pages of Sunday’s paper. But those were the days of the old school white tubes with the red and blue stripes at the top.
According to Statista Online, a partner of Dow Jones, leading sock brands saw significant growth for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. While Hanes saw an increase of 23 percent, brand No Nonsense saw saw their sock sales grow 64 percent.
The reason for such growth can be in part be attributed to companies taking a proactive approach to make the accessories as chic as possible these days. Rather than the eye-rolls of the past, the gifting of socks is now met with a smile.
Joy of Socks and Ozone Design offer affordable fashion socks for everyone in the family. Ozone’s website is even edgy, with women showing off their designer socks in sexy poses and fashionable scenes. Stance, a California based brand, has devoted an entire Instagram campaign to sock appreciation.
The campaign, “How We Kick It” is a photo scrapbook of notable fashion insiders and A-Listers showing off how they wear their Stance socks. For spring 2013, Stance is rolling out a collection that includes swanky details including fringe, studs, and beading. Swedish brand Happy Socks has done fashion collaborations with Keds and with Opening Ceremony.
"Socks are like underwear, they're very personal. Certain socks make you feel a certain way. It's great when you see socks and catch a flash of color and prints," says staylist Lysa Cooper, who has worked with Rihanna.
So now when you see that gift under the tree wrapped in Ziggy, get excited. There’s probably a little something in there to keep your feet styling through the holidays.
