Amanda Hughes Loves SmartWool Socks

By Venus Zine Staff
Published: March 19th, 2010 | 8:30am

I'm a California girl. No, not in the in the Beach Boys sense. I'm not blond or tan, and I don't surf or ride my bike on the boardwalk. I'm not most of the things you picture when you think of a Californian. I don't even like palm trees.

The sun, on the other hand, I crave. Trouble is, I live in Chicago. Don't get me wrong, during summers here I get plenty of sun. (Maybe more than I want, but that's beside the point.) I'm just not used to seeing it only three months of the year. I promised myself only one thing when I moved away from my temperate coastal home: I would not, under any circumstances, cry during my first year of real seasons. Not during my first snowfall, my first sweltering humid summer or, maybe worst of all, my first icy, wet spring. Easier said than done.

I learned to resent the weatherman who told me to expect a "wintry mix." The name is kind of whimsical, but it describes an icy, sludgy, freezing rain and wet, wet snow. And wintry mix doesn't stop after winter, either. Oh no, this a bone-chilling, soul-sucking combination continues right through spring.

I remember sitting on the L after trudging through my first day of wintry mix conditions. My socks were wet and there was a painful, tingly numbness in my toes. I didn't know how cold you had to feel before frostbite set in, but I was certain my toes were turning black. And I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't survive until May, let alone keep my promise not to cry.

A fateful trip to REI changed my life. I didn't think much about the pair of striped SmartWool socks as I added them to my basket. They were just an impulse buy for an upcoming camping trip. But after I put those socks on that night, I didn't take them off for days. Okay, that's an exaggeration. I took them off to shower.

These socks are amazing. They keep your feet warm without getting hot. They don't itch, they don't pill, and they never, I mean never, smell. When my boyfriend finally convinced me to take my SmartWools off (under penalty of a breakup), they were fresh as daisies. I only washed them because it seemed like the right thing to do.

Because of these socks, I've even been able to continue running outside on those freezing rainy days. For example, last week I was running and accidentally plunged my right foot into a hidden, icy puddle. Within ten minutes, both my SmartWool sock and the foot inside it were completely dry. Bone dry, I tell you. That did it for me, and now, these are the only socks I'll wear.

Amanda Hughes is a Venus Zine editorial intern.