This may sound really dramatic and over-the-top, but research has shown that your choice of socks tells a lot about your personality. It’s just like saying, “You can tell a lot about a person by assessing their trash.” That sounds quite corny, but it’s true to an extent, and the same goes for socks. Some people love to wear the craziest pairs of socks no matter how formal the rest of their outfit is, and this may be a sign that they are more creative, successful, and brilliant than others.
Why Do People Wear Socks?
People who actually wear socks (me excluded) may wear them for one of three different reasons. A necessity – Socks help to keep your feet dry and prevent them from stinking up your shoes. You also need them in cold weather to keep your feet warm. A fashion statement – There are tons of fashion trends out there that would be complete failures without a cheesy pair of socks to match. Finally, self-expression – This is where the crazy statement comes in. There are people out there who channel a bit of their personalities through their choices of socks. It would be weird to most people to see an adult wearing rainbow-colored socks under a black suit, but it’s only a means to channel a unique part of themselves in the most subtle way possible.
Socks may not be the most obvious piece of clothing we wear, but they tell a story about us when they flash to the notice of others. Are you the efficient sort of person who wears a black suit and don a black or grey pair of socks? This is generally expected of every normal person going about their business. Many of us are naturally inclined to conform because we can’t deal with the probing, judgment, and questioning that comes from being even slightly different.
On the other hand, are you the non-conformist who doesn’t bother about the mockery of others when they see your strawberry and mango motif socks under your slacks at work? You are on a completely different mental dimension and societal expectations are an unnecessary limit to you.
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What does it mean to be a crazy sock lover?
Higher status
According to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, visible signals of nonconformity in people indicate a higher status and more competence than people who conform. [1] The Harvard researchers found that people who do supposedly weird things such as wearing leopard-striped socks, fruit-motif ties, walking into a luxury boutique wearing gym clothes, or wearing bright-colored sneakers in a professional setting are possibly more brilliant and creative than regular people. Also, they tend to be more successful in their chosen careers, probably because they have the mental freedom to aim for heights that others may not normally dare to try.
Not Fitting in
The study’s authors wrote: “We proposed that, under certain conditions, nonconforming behaviors can be more beneficial to someone than simply trying to fit in. In other words, when it looks deliberate, a person can appear to have a higher status and sense of competency.” Another researcher explored the track of embodied cognition, the theory that what we wear has a strong influence on how we feel about ourselves.
High Confidence and self-esteem
According to Dr. Adam Galinsky, a social psychologist from Northwestern University, the crazy and silly things we wear, in part, could be a way to boost our confidence and elevate our self-esteem. There’s this feeling of detachment from the “ordinary-regular” when you find yourself wearing something that wouldn’t normally fit in. You feel unique, different, and emboldened, all because you’re wearing a pair of socks or a jacket that most people would consider “out-of-sorts.” You feel more confident because you are different, standing out, and breaking the trend whereas others aren’t brave enough to surpass expectations.
Carefree Attitude
Generally, crazy socks imply that a person has a carefree attitude, one with very few limitations, and a mind that sees beyond the horizons. They are open-minded people who can think outside the box and relate to a wide range of vastly different values and norms, without actually losing the principles they hold dear. They are brilliant and are not afraid to prove it — in fact, they are always proving it to discredit people who think they are dumb due to their choice of socks. They also tend to be more competent and successful at tasks because they are open to exploring a wide range of solutions.
So, if you’re a lover of colorful, crazy socks that even your little kids wouldn’t want to wear, don’t let anybody talk down to you. Heck, they should be impressed because you’re bold enough to do you and even more confident to raise two fingers to the world and tell it to adjust. Ultimately, its not so much about the socks, but what the socks wear could imply about yourself.
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