For the lordly price of $12 on their kickstarter page, and the privilege of helping start Noble Stitch reach its fundraising goal of $15,000 [1], I received a pair of Marrakesh socks yesterday in the mail, and decided to wear them and review them, since the opportunity to review fashion items is rare [2]. First, I would like to comment a bit on what led me to spend $12, which is a bit spendy, for a single pair of boutique socks. Even if it makes me feel like a hipster, it is worth discussing the social and environmental goals of Noble Stitch, which I thought noble enough to participate in. For one, the startup seeks to provide socks to the homeless, as socks are apparently high in demand among clothing items for the homeless [3]. Additionally, the socks are not made out of cotton, but are mostly (around 85%) bamboo fiber. The rationale behind using bamboo fiber for the socks is one of environmental sustainability, since unlike cotton, bamboo grows rapidly and is undemanding in terms of fertilizer and soil conditions. Ideally, using environmentally sustainable products that do not require a great deal of soil maintenance should lead, in theory, to a lowered per unit cost, even if a significant amount is going towards the homeless, so it would be worthwhile to see if the price point of these socks eventually moves down from their current Nordtstrom’s-like levels and approaches the cost of my usual argyle socks, which I am most fond of wearing.

Moving beyond questions of price and moral considerations, how do the socks look and feel? As far as their looks are concerned, this particular design is excellent. The base color is black, with dark blue for the toes and heel, and aside from the Noble Stitch logo prominently on the leg portion of the sock, the main design element consists of a wide variety of circles about half an inch in diameter, most of them with different ways of being divided between equal amounts of white and grey portions. The whole design has a strong geometric appeal to it with striking colors, and is one of the more stylish socks that I have, even if I am not sure they would be quite formal enough for me to wear to church services, which is one reason why I tested them out at work. Concerning the feel of the socks, the socks were snug to put on, but feel very comfortable and cozy, much like the very thick wool socks that I sometimes wear in winter, except these are much thinner fabric, about as thick as my other high-fashion socks that I received as part of my swag at Domopalooza [4], a little more thick than most of my church socks, and about as thick as my usual cotton socks. Time will tell if they are durable in maintaining their color and smoothness after repeated wear, because I plan on wearing these socks repeatedly. Additionally, they feel exceptionally smooth when walking. If they had a design that was suitable to wear for sporting events, I would definitely want to try this out for coaching or refereeing volleyball games, as it would greatly alleviate my frequent foot pain.

What kind of people would be interested in this particular kind of sock? I would divide the likely market for people having this sock, aside from the homeless who would greatly appreciate these immensely comfortable socks, into several possibly interrelated groups. There will be some people who would be interested in this sock strictly for moral or environmental reasons, like helping the homeless and promoting sustainable fabric consumption. There will be others who will be impressed by the striking design of the socks and the fact that they are stylish, and the fact that they are on the pricy side would make them quite a status symbol for those looking to compare socks. Fortunately, though, the comfortable feel of the socks would also be useful for those like me who struggle with frequent foot difficulties, and will hopefully encourage others to make similarly comfortable (but hopefully less expensive) clothing products out of bamboo. Having other clothing items with equal comfort, like shirts or underwear, would be quite excellent, and I imagine such items are likely to be made in the future if this and other like products are sufficiently successful. Consider this product something that excels in most levels, for as long as someone is able to afford it, this is an excellent item in terms of comfort, style, and the narrative story of the product itself. Consider these socks a conversation starter, and try not to sound too hipster when talking about bamboo threads and the like. My feet will certainly appreciate these socks, that’s for sure.

[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/08/03/join-or-die/

[2] See, for example:

Twenty-Four Tieclips

Book Review: How To Tie A Tie

[3] See, for example:

http://goodlyblog.com/tag/helping-the-homeless/

http://blog.salvationarmyusa.org/2013/12/11/hanes-sock-donation-warms-the-hearts-feet-of-shelter-residents/

[4] See, for example:

I’m Just Here Because I Love Data