Put a sock on it. 

Sock Day declaration.

On the Autumnal Equinox (technically at 9PM on September 21) I donned socks. Of course, when hiking through parts of Gros Morne or in the sub-arctic trails of the Northern Peninsula in August, I also wore socks. Yet in Toronto, I haven't had to or wanted to wear socks since early May. I prefer my feet to be free and unfettered for as much of the year as possible. I’ve learned to rotate a summer collection of shoes to avoid foot funk and inside the house, while I often wear my beloved Birken-crocs (a suitably accurate portmanteau of Birkenstocks + Crocs), I do love to pat around bare footed. while many times in history or in places throughout the world, being shoeless is certainly a sign of poverty, yet it still feels deliciously decadent to decide to bear one’s feet by choice.

The cold-warm-cold sandwich of fall days can be trying times for sartorial choices. Chilly mornings easily become high noon heat only to turn off the burners the second the sun gets low. There were some days I wanted to wear socks, AKA sweaters for your feet, but I pushed through until that afternoon warmth arrived. On the equinoctial morning, despite the sunny sky, the temperature hit the single digit mark and I knew it was time. Time for socks.

It is by this logic that I feel confident to declare that September 21 not only by marked by our Earth’s celestial orbit, or by a certain Earth, Wind & Fire classic but also by the presence of socks. Let’s call it what it is. Sock Day. Or at least I will call it that and honour it in song, good food, fellowship and of course, by wearing a comfortable pair of socks.