A 2013 New York Times report blamed trend-slave millennials for the rise of sock-of-the-month clubs, the subscription services that deliver a pair or two of socks to your home each month. But the industry’s growth suggests a considerable foothold. Slate was surprised to find nearly a dozen vendors offering such services, with names like Foot Cardigan and Sock Panda, and we were even more surprised to find a real range in how they look and feel when we tried them for ourselves.
In the video above, Lily Hay Newman and Jordan Weissmann unbox a selection of deliveries we received from various sock companies and try them on for the camera. The takeaway: Not all novelty socks are created equal.
Lily recommends: Ozone Socks ($150 for 13 pairs delivered over a year) and Soul Socks ($12 a month).
Jordan recommends: Foot Cardigan ($11 a month with shipping) and Soul Socks.
Services we tried: Foot Cardigan, Soul Socks, Sock Work, Ozone Socks, Sock Panda (edited from video).
