High school and college students are heading back to classrooms soon — so that means it’s time for school shopping. With summer coming to a close, we’ve pulled together a guide of gifts that won’t break the bank. That way, you can help them celebrate the start of another school year and make sure they’re the most fashionable kid in class.
This guide includes colorful socks, graphic tees, and accessories to help you find the perfect back-to-school gift.
All products in this guide are made using eco-friendly materials whenever possible and support our mission to help homeless youth.
Our collection of 70s inspired graphic tees are made in the USA with a soft organic cotton blend.
Accessories can add so much to an outfit — and they're even better when you know they help homeless youth.
We hope you're able to find a gift that your student will love! We busy working on designing fun new products for the holiday season and onboarding new non-profit partners. If you have any product suggestions you'd like to see, or know of a non-profit doing great work with homeless youth, let us know in the comments!
]]>As you can imagine, the length of socks you should wear will vary depending on weather conditions and where you’re hiking.
Ankle socks are a great option for hot days when you’re hiking a relatively easy trail. A good indicator of whether you can get away with ankle socks is whether or not you’re able to complete the trail in a low-cut shoe rather than hiking boots. Since your ankles won’t be covered by fabric, it can help keep your feet cooler during your hike.
Other features included in your ankle socks can make your feet more comfortable on your hike. For example, a blister tab on the back can keep your shoe from rubbing against your ankle and causing a blister.
When it’s still warm out but you’re hiking on more difficult terrain, we suggest going with a quarter crew length sock. This will provide a nice protective layer between your ankle and hiking boots without trapping too much heat on your legs.
Most standard hiking socks come in crew length. This is long enough to prevent boots from rubbing and low branches or plants from scraping your legs. In most scenarios, you should be fine wearing crew hiking socks.
For cold weather hikes, long knee high socks can provide some extra insulation. It’s important to not overdress though — once you start sweating, you’ll actually get colder than if you hadn’t dressed as warm in the first place.
Once you’ve figured out the right height for your hiking socks, the next step is to choose the right material. You may be able to get away with a casual pair of cotton ankle socks or gym socks for more leisurely hikes, but we suggest wool for more serious trails.
No one likes walking with wet, sweaty feet. To avoid this, moisture-wicking material is essential. There are many different blends of fabrics that can make sure your feet stay dry, but our favorite is merino wool. It draws sweat away from your feet and allows it to evaporate.
“Ultimately, so long as you avoid cotton in your socks (because cotton makes you cold when wet and takes a long time to dry), most of the fabrics used in purpose-built hiking socks are functional enough for the trail. It all depends on your budget and what your priorities are.” - Gaby Pilson, Outdoor Educator and Climbing Instructor at Outdoors Generations
There’s no reason you need to go for a hike in an old pair of tube socks. A good pair of hiking socks will include features that make them feel better on your feet.
The average person takes about 2,000 steps to walk a mile. That’s a lot of work for your feet! A bit of padding on the bottom of your socks can help prevent sore feet after a long hike.
By knitting elastic into the area around your foot arch, your socks will provide slight compression to your foot helping to prevent achy feet.
A good pair of socks should have extra elastic around the top cuff. This keeps them from sliding down while you’re hiking.
If you’re going with a low cut pair of shoes and ankle socks, a blister tab at the back can stop blisters from forming.
No one likes that irritating seam at the toe of your sock. Good hiking socks have this seam placed along the top of your toenails to prevent irritation.
We hope this helps you find the right socks for your next hike. Visit our wool sock collection to find the perfect pair.
Happy trails!
If you’ve ever worn a thin pair of dress socks on a cold day, or a warm pair of wool socks when it’s hot, you quickly realized that the material of your socks matters. When you look at fabric compositions of socks, you’ll notice that they almost always are made from a blend of different materials. You won’t often find 100% cotton socks, because cotton isn’t naturally elastic, so the socks won’t hug your foot or stay up on your calf.
Each material in a pair of socks plays a different purpose. Nylon is great for knitting designs, elastic and lycra make your socks stretchy, but what about cotton vs polyester? When cotton is used as the base material, you get a much different feel than when polyester is the primary material.
There are many different material blends that can be used in socks, but let’s compare two of the most popular base materials: cotton vs polyester.
Polyester is a less insulating material than cotton. If your goal is to find warm socks, then cotton is the winner. Other materials such as wool and alpaca fleece are even better cold weather options.
Keep in mind that the thickness and tightness of the knit will play an equally important role in how warm a pair of socks feels.
Polyester is typically a more durable material than cotton for socks. If your goal is to find the longest lasting pair of socks possible, then blends that include polyester may last longer than cotton.
The type of material is just one factor that determines how long a pair of socks will last. The quality of the material and knitting is also important. A well knit pair of cotton socks with high quality cotton will last longer than a poorly made pair of polyester socks that use the cheapest possible materials. Ultimately, you get what you pay for.
Both cotton and polyester can have benefits for people who have sweaty feet. When you sweat, you want the moisture to evaporate. If it doesn’t it can form bacteria when trapped against the skin, leading to stinky feet.
Since your socks are often in shoes and your sweat can’t evaporate like it can on parts of your body with more airflow, a good pair of socks should wick moisture away from your feet and dry quickly. For this reason, blends that use both cotton AND polyester are great. Cotton is naturally moisture wicking, while polyester allows sweat to evaporate quickly.
When it comes to make fun sock designs, we have lots of different options.
Polyester and cotton both hold colors very well, though you’ll be able to get the most vibrant colors in polyester blends.
In recent years, a process called “dye sublimation” has made printing on polyester fabric more popular. This printing style allows you to get very detailed designs such as putting your face or a pet on a pair of socks. Dye sublimation can create some great quirky designs, but doesn’t have as high-end of a feel as other design styles.
Other options include embroidering logos into socks after they’re made or using a process called “jacquard” to knit designs directly into the sock while they’re being created. Both options are great embellishment styles that can be used on both polyester and cotton socks.
Many people want to make sure that they’re purchasing products that aren’t harmful to the planet. We frequently share information on our efforts to be more eco-friendly and how this often starts with choosing the right materials. One of the first things to consider here is whether or not the socks are made using renewable, natural materials.
“As a general rule of thumb, naturally occurring materials are more sustainable. Many synthetics such as polyester and nylon are derived from chemical and petroleum products. The creation process of these materials can be polluting and use non-renewable resources. Once you eventually wear out your socks and dispose of them, these materials usually aren’t biodegradable.” - The Sock Dude
In the comparison between cotton and polyester socks, we believe cotton based socks are better. Not only does it make a more comfortable pair of socks for most activities, but it’s also better for the planet.
Our collection of Cotton Socks is knit with soft and breathable blends of recycled cotton, ringspun cotton, and other premium materials your feet will love. If you prefer wool socks for hiking, head over to our Wool Sock Collection for merino wool and alpaca fleece blends.]]>If you’d like to skip the guide and just see our Groomsmen Sock Collection, please click the button below.
Socks will be a smaller accent item in your groomsmen outfits in most cases. As a rule of thumb, you’re going to want to start by selecting a suit color, followed by shoes and belts, and then socks last. If you have an accent color already picked out for your wedding, you can use this to help you decide which socks will work best.
We actually suggest avoiding dress socks for weddings. Dress socks tend to be thin making dress shoes rub and feel less comfortable. They also are typically made with a high percentage of synthetic materials — leading to sweaty, smelly feet.
Instead, picking a crew length cotton sock that has a bit more cushion can leave your feet feeling better after a long day on your feet dancing and greeting guests. The moisture-wicking in these socks keep them breathable and help prevent smelly feet. All of the socks we suggest in this guide fit those criteria.
You probably didn’t start your wedding planning by deciding on socks. By now, you probably know the general theme or feel of your wedding. Which of the following best describes your wedding’s personality?
Traditional - socks should play a subtle, non-distracting role in the outfit. More muted colors and traditional patterns work great here.
Modern & Sophisticated - more contemporary wedding styles let you get a bit more playful with pattern and designs, but you still don’t want the socks to overshadow the rest of the groomsmen’s suits.
Quirky & Colorful - if you want a non-traditional wedding and want to use socks to showcase a bit of personality, then there are no rules! Colorful socks, fun patterns, and bold designs can be a great way to make your groomsmen socks a statement piece.
By having all your groomsmen (and the groom) wear the same socks, their outfits will be much more cohesive. It’s a great way to show a subtle attention to detail that your guests will appreciate.
"Matching socks are not mandatory for a groomsmen party, as most or all of the sock will be covered by their slacks. Encouraging groomsmen to have their own sock choices gives them reign to showcase their personality in their outfit without taking away from the overall cohesive bridal party theme."
— Louise Hall, an expert Fashion Stylist at House of Colour
On the other hand, it can be fun to let each groomsman wear their own pair of funky socks — though this can be a bit distracting during your wedding service.
If you’re looking to get all of your groomsmen matching socks, check out our Groomsmen Sock Collection.
If you’re looking to send guests home with a keepsake that they’ll actually use, makingcustom socks can be a great way to add your own memorable touch to your wedding day. Minimum orders start at just 120 pairs. See custom sock examples and request more information.
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