New York City street-style photographer Christopher Fenimore says they “last hundreds and hundreds of washes before fading or tearing” (Nicolás Lazaro, a community specialist at menswear-resale site Grailed, says he has been wearing some of his Uniqlo socks for “more than a decade now.”) Alexander-Julian Gibbson, a celebrity and editorial stylist at Ebony and Grazia, says he buys new colorful pairs monthly. Phillip Wong, co-founder and creative director of Hawthorne, appreciates the socks’ medium height and thickness, which make them work for many different outfits and activities. But if that’s not convincing enough, they also come recommended by nine of our panelists and several Strategist staffers, myself included.

They feel good - snug but not too tight - and last for years. Uniqlo crew-height socks come in more than 40 different colors, can easily be worn with any type of footwear, and at $5 a pair, are super-inexpensive. Material: 59% Cotton, 26% Acrylic, 12% Nylon, 2% Spandex, 1% Polyester | Thickness: Medium weight | Height: Crew Read on for the criteria we considered, or use the table of contents to jump to any of our sock superlatives.

The resulting list, based on their recommendations and ours, includes simple and affordable everyday staples, statement-making styles, and even a pair for those of us who want to make it look like we’re not wearing socks at all. Our panel includes clothing designers, photographers, footwear designers, runners, and stylists. To help find the very best socks in what feels like an almost infinite sea of options, the Strategist asked more than 20 stylish people what socks they like to wear for a variety of occasions and tested several pairs ourselves. Suddenly, unwrapping a fancy pair of socks made of cashmere or moisture-wicking merino wool makes us smile rather than roll our eyes. There are so many ways socks can go wrong: when they don’t hug your ankle tightly enough, when they develop heel and toe holes suspiciously fast, or when a single wash cycle turns them into something entirely different from what you bought.Īs we age, it’s easier to appreciate the mundane pleasures of a good pair of socks - the ones that last forever, go with everything you wear, and those that feel so good they make workouts and long workdays less of a pain. If they’re bad, you can’t help thinking about them. Every day, you put on socks and forget about them - if they’re good.

Best compression socks wirecutter