The socks resemble deflated foil balloons and emit a faint crackling sound when worn initially. Crafted in Italy, each pair costs around $50 — a price deemed worthwhile by some for the sheer delight they bring.
“I felt compelled to acquire them,” shared Cynthia Cohen, a 75-year-old from Colorado working in public health. “The price took me aback, but I chose to ignore it.”
At times, Ms. Cohen adorns the socks to enhance an outfit, while other times, she wears them simply to uplift herself: “I wear them for my own enjoyment, to inject a sense of fun into my day.”
Since Maria La Rosa, the Milanese brand behind the socks, launched them in 2020, they have sold approximately 25,000 pairs, with over half of those — around 14,000 pairs — being sold in the past year alone.
Available in about 40 colors, the socks are now stocked in department stores like Bergdorf Goodman in New York and Galeries Lafayette in Paris. However, most sales in the last year have occurred in independent boutiques like Yucca, the Denver store where Ms. Cohen bought hers.
“In my opinion, they defy all logic,” remarked Kimberly Keim, the owner of Yucca, who started retailing the socks two years ago. The appearance of the socks has puzzled some customers: “They are incredibly thin like a sheet of paper,” she added. “Many people pick them up and assume they are disposable.” (They are not.)
Despite this, Ms. Keim has managed to sell hundreds of pairs in shades like aqua blue, gold, and silver. Joanna Napies, a 57-year-old from Denver working in digital advertising technology, purchased her second pair of socks, this time in a metallic navy blue shade, at Yucca in December.
“They lift your spirits,” she expressed about wearing the socks. Ms. Napies pointed out that they remind her of the foil wrappers enclosing certain hard candies.
Crafted from a finely woven silk and polyamide blend, the socks get their shine from a reflective foil coating that lends them a somewhat rigid appearance. According to Lisa C. Ferrari, one of the owners of Maria La Rosa, the design took three years to develop.
“We aimed for something luxurious yet unconventional,” she stated.
Fantastical socks have been a signature product of Maria La Rosa since the brand was founded by Ms. Ferrari’s mother in the 1990s. Other styles include socks adorned with paillette sequins resembling confetti and rows of glass bugle beads skirting dangerously close to the Achilles’ tendon.
However, as per Ms. Ferrari, none have garnered as much attention as the foiled versions, termed ribbed laminated socks by the brand. “It’s an unusual look that piques people’s curiosity,” she noted.
Katie Bowes, who started stocking the socks at her Portland, Maine store, The Post Supply, last autumn, agreed that they appear peculiar — until worn. As she explained, when the socks are worn for the first time, their foil coating gently stretches out, rendering them more supple and emitting a sound reminiscent of soft radio static or the effervescence of freshly poured seltzer — another distinguishing feature of the socks.
Ms. Bowes revealed that she keeps a pair of worn-in socks behind her store’s register to show customers that “this is a silk sock with a unique detail, not something strange and plastic.” She added that many customers bought the socks from her store after seeing them in a gift guide published last November by Wirecutter, the product recommendation service of The New York Times.
Eliza Rauscher, a 40-year-old real estate agent from Portland, purchased a fuchsia pair of socks at The Post Supply earlier this month. She learned about them through friends, describing the socks as perfect for showcasing properties where she can’t wear shoes indoors.
“They’re not your typical gym socks or ones you hide beneath shoes,” Ms. Rauscher remarked. “They are socks that demand attention.”
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