Hasta La Ideas

Inspired by the pseudo-mythical life of a Mexican-American skater and sock factory worker, Alfredo Gonzales is a self-proclaimed “lifestyle sock brand” that bridges dress socks with streetwear style. Colorful stripe patterns and argyle are par for the course when it comes to Alfredo Gonzales’ stock, which offers mid-calf rises…

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The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada, is a self-described “unique and charming” museum that displays well over 10,000 shoes and hosts podcasts about “one fantastic shoe” every month. And, shoes aren’t the only thing on display. The museum also held an art exhibit featuring socks and the history of their humble beginnings.

The curious thing about socks is that they often lose their mates and become a source of clutter. Unlike those featured at the Bata, the ones in your home can end up under your bed and in between the sofa cushions. They are also often relegated to the dark recesses of shopping bags when Justin Case comes for a visit.

“I’ll keep this sock, just in case its mate turns up.”

Does that sound familiar? When we misplace an item from a matching set, we tend to hang on to them for a while, especially when the items cannot be used without each other (such as a gadget and its power cord). We probably keep lonely socks because we still see some value in them, even though they are now orphaned and we may not want them anymore. Fortunately, there are uncluttered alternatives to keeping mateless socks:

1. Wear them! This may not seem as obvious (or maybe it’s so obvious that it’s often overlooked), but you can still wear them. You can make a pair using another lonely sock and wear them around the house.
2. Use them as padding in your packages. Clean socks can be used inside packages to protect the items that you’re mailing. This is a good way to keep the contents of your package safe, but you should let the recipient know that the socks can be discarded.
3. Use them to protect holiday decorations. You can store some of your holiday decorations (like ornaments) inside the socks before packing them away.
4. Dust with them. I’m not a fan of dusting, so this is my least favorite option, but you can add mateless socks to your cleaning supplies. Just be sure to keep a specific number of sock dusters so that you don’t end up cramming more and more of them in with your supplies.
5. Use them in craft projects. This is perhaps the most fun way to repurpose socks (especially for children). From sock puppets to doll accessories, get creative and make something new. Looking for inspiration? Check out the book The Lonely Sock Club: One Sock, Tons of Cool Projects!.
6. Make a pet toy. If you have pets, you can make a cool tug-of-war toy for them. Have a look at this tutorial from Real Simple on how to make one. If you have a cat, you can stuff a little cat nip inside it, close it up, and watch your cat go nuts. You may also want to check with your local animal shelter to find out if they have a need for them.

The next time you end up with orphaned socks, be sure that they don’t overstay their welcome and turn into another source of clutter. You can use one of the suggestions above to breathe new life into them, but remember that it really is okay to let them go if you have no use for them.

Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.

Stars, stripes and digi camo in the latest collection of American-made socks

While the warmth of summer is still keeping most of our ankles out in the open air, the bold stylings of Richer Poorer’s latest line has us looking forward to socks. Dropping this week to coincide with Capsule Las Vegas, the seven-style Union Thread collection introduces a handful of…

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Socks with athletic support and snazzy looks guaranteed to set you apart from the masses

If you weren’t lucky enough like me to have a wise Italian friend give you the tip, a glimpse of white tube socks will likely make any stylish woman run the other direction. And why run the risk of boring choices that may suggest a similar inner spirit? Thanks to imaginative companies like Stance, my feet will never be subjected to the abuse of plain again.

The San Clemente, CA brand may be rooted in California board sports (the socks have all the ergonomic support you could hope for), but Stance also has a literal foot in the creative community with many of their “society” of “Punks & Poets” doubling as talented athletes and artists. Some of their growing roster of supporters even put their own spin on a pair of socks through the brand’s Artist Series.

Artists like Kid Creature, Urethane, Russ Pope, Matt French and others expressed their personal style with socks serving as their canvas. Dominated by bold graphics and colorways, the series captures the feeling of sunny days on a surfboard and the graffiti-riddled streets seen by skaters.

In addition to jazzing up a simple ensemble of t-shirt and jeans, the super-soft and comfy socks have firm elastic at the top to keep them up while in action. As French points out on his blog, Stance are “really good socks that care for your toes like two litters of little marsupial babies.”

Selling through Tactics and their own online shop, Stance socks span $6-25 depending upon style, size and collection.

The ultimate socks and gloves for pushing the limits when cycling the city

by Scott Cooke

As an avid city cyclist and man constantly on the move, finding accessories that can keep up with my lifestyle is a challenge within itself. Although I’d heard good things about the brand, I was reluctant to try DeFeet socks and gloves at first, due to their ultra sporty appearance. But after three weeks of wearing them through my daily urban triathlon, I am amazed by how useful they really are.

Made from CoolMax performance fabric, the Dura gloves are the perfect weight for riding my bike. The finger grips are not only great for switching gears, but they function so well I can easily grab stuff out of my pocket, mash buttons on my Blackberry and most impressively, pull credit cards out of my wallet all without taking the gloves off. The extremely comfortable fit improves with incessant wear, and the bright neon color helps keep me visible when signaling through NYC traffic.

The machine-washable Dura gloves come in 4 sizes and cost $15 from DeFeet

Cushioned in all the right spots, DeFeet’s $12 Cyclismo socks actually do help with my pedal pushing, balance and stability. They are comfortable, higher than an ankle sock and lower than a basketball sock, and they don’t grab manly leg hair. I also like the colorways, with the red and blue stripes and white base they keep a classic look suitable for casual days at the office.

Defeet is a world-class cycling company founded by a group of cyclists to meet the needs of road warriors everywhere. Their collection of socks, gloves and other bike accessories all sell online from the DeFeet website.