In 1991, Washington Examiner Editor Stephen G. Smith, then with Knight Ridder Newspapers, spent a week trailing Brian Lamb to gather information for a profile for The New Yorker. Smith had to abandon the project for lack of time, and so never got a chance to write about Lamb’s secret quest. Nearly two decades later, an Examiner writer picked up the thread of the story:
EXAMINER: There’s one last question I have to ask you. I promised Steve Smith I would ask you.
LAMB: Are you going to ask me about socks?
EXAMINER: (Slack-jawed stare)
LAMB: (Laughing) You tell him I finally found some. Tell him, though, that I didn’t find them until the last year. That will blow his mind. I couldn’t find a pair of socks that would stay up, and I wasn’t going to spend $20 on a pair of socks — that’s insane. Every time we’d get together, I’d say there’s this sock I want to check out. It was fanatical.
[Lamb’s perfect sock: the Carlisle made by Gold Toe. Only one problem: It always seemed to be out of stock.]
LAMB: I found the Gold Toe factory, and I called them — they’re down in North Carolina — and I said, “Can I order the Carlisle from you?” I just wanted to order enough so that I never had to ask about socks again. [Goldtoe referred him to a department store] and I bought enough to last me for a while.”
EXAMINER: I have to tell you, I’ve never had a chance to ask anyone about socks.
LAMB: It’s a very deep question. … There’s no sock that does what the Carlisle does. And you can get them three for $21, and if you get them at the right time, you can get a discount that will take it below $18. That’s a pretty reasonable price — $6 for a pair of socks.
