Who Spends $500 On A Pair Of Socks?

I've heard of shoes that were super-expensive but socks that are the same way if not even more expensive?

This evening, I saw an article that featured really expensive socks and tights. One such pair is a crocheted pair that runs for $500. Other socks and tights featured include leather socks with zippers (which run for $219 and look somewhat like little boots), lace knit tights that run for $625, zigzag tights that run for $220, and cashmere socks that run for $200. The most expensive pair in the bunch was a pair of check tights at $990.  There's an entire slideshow between the title and the article.

I'm used to the big bulk of my clothing coming from Wal-Mart, Target, possibly somewhere secondhand or even from my sister's closet if there's something of hers that is in good shape but no longer fits her. I might shop at the likes of JC Penney as last resort or if there's an especially good sale going.  Being a product of a middle-class upbringing, I can't really fathom spending hundreds of dollars on a pair of socks of all things.

If I really wanted a pair of crocheted socks, I could either learn to crochet so that I can make them myself, or I could ask someone in my family who does know how to crochet (I know my sister and my grandma on my mom's side of the family can) to make them. But $500 is too much for me, and at best they'd be slipper socks (or "pajama socks" as I like to think of them as I wear those kind almost exclusively with pajamas), if I'm lucky enough for that to work. (They don't look like they'd do me any favors against cold tile or wood flooring in the winter. The leather ones that were featured looked promising though.)

What about you? How much would you be willing to spend on a pair of socks or tights? And if you have seen the ones featured in the aritcle that I linked, is there a pair that you'd wear?