Wool Socks

I wanted to take a moment to put down some words about wool socks.

It is often been my experience that wool socks are maligned things. “They’re itchy,” I am told. “They look goofy,” they say. The intimation is that wearing wool socks brings with it immediate and irrevocable membership in some nebulous club that cares about recycling, saves kitchen scraps for the compost pile and is likely vegan. Plus wears socks with sandals. Ignore all that. Here’s the thing:

Wool socks keep your feet warm.

There is more. Here in Pittsburgh, walking in the winter will, at least once, involve plunging a foot into an icy puddle. There will be traffic worth watching, and it will be dark, and that solid-looking pile of hardened snow will be but a delicate crust, through which a foot will go into several inches of remarkably cold water. I have a talent for this sort of stunt. It’s a pretty poor experience. So here’s the other thing:

Wool socks keep your feet warm even when they’re wet with icy water.

I’m not too clear on how that works, exactly, but I frankly don’t much care. Also, so help me, wool socks make sandals comfy.

Good winter!

Additional Resources

• For a sock that is both comfortable and sturdy, call upon the good folks at SmartWool. This is expensive clothing, but the things last.

• I’ve heard tell from those I trust that it’s easy to get good at knitting socks. I’m not very good at knitting socks. Yet.