When I get dressed each morning, I often think about the episode of “All in the Family” when Mike and Archie were having a debate about the order to put on shoes and socks. Is it sock-sock, shoe-shoe, or is it sock-shoe, sock-shoe?
That may be a silly debate, but socks are serious business. In fact, according to Beneath The Knees, the total addressable sock market is $14.3 billion, and the sock industry is expected to grow 2.82% annually between 2023-2027. One in five clothing items purchased in 2021 were socks. Seriously.
The COVID-19 pandemic socked it to the sock industry, though, as the average revenue per capita for socks was $1.55, the lowest it had been in the prior nine years.
Here are a few more sock shocks. In total, 64% of adults wear socks at home. Interestingly, men are more likely to wear socks in the house than women. Meanwhile, the biggest growth driver in the sock industry is people purchasing socks for sleep. From 2017 to 2021, this number increased by 21%, four times the growth compared to the sock industry as a whole.
Socks were once meant to match a person’s clothing and blend in. Not anymore. You may have noticed people in business attire wearing flashy socks with suits, some even with their company logos.
I have a degree of color blindness, so I often ask my wife what color the socks I take out of my drawer are. She convinced me to keep it simple and only buy black socks. “Black goes with everything,” she tells me.
Maybe, but in the 1970s, black socks were fashion faux pas. Every kid wearing shorts had to have white tube socks pulled up to their knees, preferably with stripes at the top. The socks had to stay pulled up, too, as saggy socks were not cool.
Meanwhile, when my dad wore shorts (which was rare), he would also don black dress socks, which contrasted greatly with his bright white legs. Years later, my teenage daughter Sara would often steal my black dress socks out of my drawer and wear them. I don’t get it. But, for what it’s worth, I buy most of my socks at a hardware store.
And, in case you are curious, I side with Archie. Sock-sock, shoe-shoe.
Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com | 
