askchapo

I was thinking about my next move in socks, then remembered my last move in socks and then this post.

One of the things holding me back from being a shorts guy was that I never had socks I was happy to show the world when I wore them. I went to the store to address that and found these low-cut ballerina-slipperesque socks in the mens' section. I checked the package to confirm that it had the "M" of approval, bought them and took them home. Only after trying to wear them did I realize that they failed the most basic test of a sock, separating my foot skin from my shoes.

Another time, I was looking for a scarf but felt compelled to seek out an employee to confirm that the scarves were unisex and I wasn't going to commit a faux pas by buying from the wrong pile. Now that I search, though "women's scarves" does appear to be a real category.

And then there was my first winter somewhere really cold. I went to a bougie store and got a winter hat ahead of when I would actually need it. When I did put it on, it was really roomy. I have a big head so I had never experienced that before. The only explanation that I could think of was that the hat was designed to allow a big elaborate hairstyle underneath to maintain its shape underneath. "Had I bought a women's hat?" I asked not one, but two friends and we didn't come to any definitive conclusions but since I had been wearing the hat around for a week, decided to keep doing so.

I wish I hadn't been programmed to care so much about the appropriateness of clothes to my gender.

Back to socks, though; the ballerina socks were among the few I've thrown out before wearing holes into them. All of my other socks have fallen into the "fine" or the "bad but I'll still wear them" categories. Some have to be thrown out and I want to be a little more deliberate in my shopping this time because I'm traveling for a while and can't take the whole drawer with me. Does anyone have socks they really like? They will be subject to much walking in warm but not scorching temperatures. Brand, fabric or style recommendations would be great.