Nike Elite Socks

Nike Elite products came out around 2012 after professional basketball players asked Nike for new designs, specifically for the playoff games. After a limited edition pair of socks and shoes came out for LeBron James, Nike then introduced their new Elite line. In this new clothing line were socks that had a stripe down the back of them and came in any color to fit your needs. They also changed the fitting of the sock and used more of a compression style fabric to help support the arch of your foot and toes. They were pricier than their normal socks because of the new design and fit. Nowadays, they aren't quite as expensive, but a pack of them is still more than regular socks. It started out with college athletes sporting these new socks and eventually youth players started to catch onto the trend. Elite socks are still trendy with the younger population because it connotes that these are high level athletes with lots of skill and confidence. When I was younger, and even to this day, it was always the "really good athletes" that wore these socks, those who played on elite teams or traveling teams. When I see or think of these socks, I think about about middle-school aged kids who had them in all colors and have matching headbands or shorts to go with them. I believe that it is similar to the white clothing that tennis players used to wear because it showed dominance of better, classier athletes who were able to afford them, but I also think it is different because nobody was forced to wear these socks like they were forced to wear white for tennis.