In Summer’s Great Sock Debate, There Are No Winners
President Biden’s bare ankles sent waves across Twitter on Sunday, after a New York Times photographer tweeted that the head of state had stepped onto Air Force One in sneakers without socks. A debate quickly broke out among the platform’s self-appointed footwear authorities about Sockless Joe. He was just wearing no-shows, some said.
Others noted that his Skechers are marketed to be worn sock-free. The squabble recalled Barack Obama’s infamous tan-suit incident, when the then-president wore an anomalous khaki suit to hold a press conference about Islamic State. (The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment on Biden’s socks.) Days before this presidential sockgate, New York magazine’s recommendation site, the Strategist, ran an article in which its advice columnist Chris Black ruled firmly against no-shows—an extremely low-cut variety that tenuously hugs one’s toes and heel.
“I want to be very clear. No-show socks are a crime," Black wrote. While it didn’t rise to the level of a continent-spanning political-style controversy, Black’s guidance enraged no-show defenders.
“They were saying how stupid I am, how I don’t know anything," said the columnist, who was still receiving feedback days after the story ran. “It hit some deeper chord." If last week proved anything, it’s that people have really strong opinions about socks. “You don’t think about them a lot, but they can have such a big impact," said Justin Mailloux, 36, a Philadelphia real-estate agent, who took umbrage with Black’s absolutist stance on no-shows.
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