Dear LPG, 

This is just my opinion, but I feel that it needs to be said.  Every year, on the two most appropriate occasions, my aunt gets me my biannual stock of socks and you would think that, at my time of life I would have sufficient to keep me going, but I really appreciate them as replacements are always needed.  My cousin told me how, while accompanying her mum during her last present-buying expedition, she spent ages watching as her mother agonised while hovering over the alternatives available in the shop.

We men are fortunate because we wear trousers which hide these very necessary gifts for the most part (unless you choose the sort of trousers that my father always called ‘ankle swingers’ or you find yourself sitting in a place where your feet are not hidden by a table or something similar) but, for all the socks that I have collected over the years, finding a pair when I am ready to leave the house is still a challenge and the temptation to just grab two is so limited when there is too much colour and design involved.

For my last birthday she surpassed herself.  She chose seven pairs of brightly randomly coloured socks with the days of the week printed all the way up the sides and I can never find a pair so, on behalf of all male recipients of socks as presents, I would like to offer a little advice to all aunts, mums and grandmothers who give socks. 

Buying brightly coloured, uniquely patterned, matched socks may seem like an inventive and more exciting way to ensure that the recipient of such a present will always have a matching pair, but there are several disadvantages to this approach.

First, and I am not saying that anyone should skimp when it comes to the cost of a present but matched socks can be more expensive than buying a pack of two or three plain pairs all of the same colour. This is because manufacturers often charge a premium for the convenience of having a matching pair. This means that you may end up paying more for your socks overall, which can be a significant cost if you need to purchase multiple pairs.

Matched socks can also be less flexible and versatile. When you have a matching pair, you are limited to wearing those socks with certain outfits or shoes. When they are all the same colour you can get away with just grabbing two and putting them on without worrying about when your trousers appear a bit shorter.  When you are in a hurry (and I nearly always am), you have the freedom to mix and match quickly without looking out of place.

I think that I speak for men of all ages when I say that in my experience and, as a retired man without a wife to sort them all out for me, the less adventurous plain grey or black socks may not seem like the best choice but, if it is going to be socks again this year, your presents will be received with just as much appreciation if they are a little more generic…   

I hope that my advice is good here and would appreciate hearing from any readers who feel that I might be leading their sock-buying gift givers astray with my thoughts.

CJ, Brockley