Socks on the Rocks - April 15, 2018

Now that I have been wearing my base layer for months in Boston’s long winter—in my boots, around the house, for sleeping in—I see my socks wearing out faster than I ever remember. I don’t think it is my dry aging skin. I think it is the declining quality of the textiles I’m in.

No matter how smart I think I chose, I’ll still look down and see my toes and, no matter how tough a new pair feels, eventually, I’ll see my heels.

The holes in the cotton or wool ones don’t look fresh and the synthetic blends molt down to their mesh. They just don’t make them they used to. Is this a phenomenon of mass production or a planned campaign of marketing seduction?