Stance vs. All Citizens - Key Differences
Stance and All Citizens are two heavyweights in the arena of men’s apparel — and more specifically, men’s socks. It’s undeniable that both brands are at the top of their game and with socks that stand out for different reasons.
For the purpose of this comparison, we are going to compare Stance vs All Citizens ankle socks. Comparing the two won’t be easy, as these are both beloved brands that produce high-quality socks. However, as with any two apparel brands, there are some huge differences that you should know about.
Lets dive in!
While All Citizens focuses on sustainability, bettering the global community and creating one pair of socks built for anything and everything, Stance seems to have its priorities elsewhere, which is something we’re going to focus heavily on later.
As far as socks go, both brands offer socks for just about any purpose:
About Stance Socks and the Stance Brand
Stance is a men’s and women’s apparel company based in San Clemente, California (near Los Angeles) that is primarily known for its socks and their loud and unique designs. Stance has built its reputation around the punk-style and sports niches and their main goal is to fuel the freedom of self-expression. While this is absolutely an admirable goal, Stance does not include any information about charity or social missions they support. This makes it difficult to know their point of view on some hot or trending issues — indeed, impossible to know their stance. And considering their high price points (we’ll get to that later), it seems like their mission to fuel the freedom of self-expression is limited to only those who can afford their products.
Considering Stance’s mission and popularity, it’s a little surprising to see the lack of charitable contributions made to the global community or their sustainability efforts.
Despite this, Stance does produce high-quality socks and have a ton of different types of socks made for just about any purpose: running socks, crew socks, no show socks, tab socks, and branded socks (in collaboration with Disney, the NBA, and properties like the Simpsons and Star Wars). Depending on your style, you can navigate through a ton of colors and patterns to find what pairs work for you since a majority of their designs include large graphics and loud colors.
About All Citizens Socks and the All Citizen Brand
All Citizens is a direct-to-consumer performance menswear brand with a mission to democratize comfort by building premium, performance-based products at accessible prices with social impact and sustainability at their core.
All Citizens focuses on creating a smaller set of core pieces and styles that are “everything-able”, meaning they can transition seamlessly between work, workout, play and everything in between (so you don’t have to change your clothes every time you do a new activity). By using performance fabrics and timeless designs, they create a streamlined wardrobe with fewer, better garments that can handle any active lifestyle. That means one pair of socks for any activity and any pursuit, rather than a whole drawer full of socks that only serve one function.
All Citizens launched their For All Social Mission to offer a more holistic approach to charitable giving by donating key resources to communities in need to provide a wider range of comfort - from providing food to homeless shelters, access to clean drinking water, job creation and income stability as well as planting trees in forests across the globe. All Citizens goes above and beyond to help both people and the environment in the pursuit of comfort for all.
Are Stance Socks Worth the Price?
For this comparison between Stance and All Citizens socks, we will start off with the most important purchasing factor: the price.
Stance socks start at $14.99 for their performance ankle socks. While Stance charges a premium for individual pairs of socks, their bundle deals actually aren’t that much better - 3 packs are $39.99 ($13.33/pair). They sometimes have discounts for their less popular colors that bring the price of 3 down to $31.99 ($10.66/pair), but you’re stuck with the leftover color options that no one else wanted.
Some of the best sellers (for instance, the INFIKNITStance xDisney collab) come in at a higher price than many popular skateboardingt-shirts or even high-quality pairs of underwear.
Are Stance socks work the high price?
This is a very relative question, as only you can really decide whether something is worth your hard earned money.
Still, objectively speaking, if you’re spending $15 or more on one pair of socks, you’re bound to get tons of features and quality that you wouldn’t find with a typical pair of socks, right?
Surprisingly, Stance Socks offers a concerningly low amount of features for the price they charge. For their ankle socks, the most features they offer are a heel tab and light cushioning. Almost every ankle sock in the world has these two features.
All Citizens Socks Are Half the Price of Other Premium Socks
All Citizens offers 3 bundles for their socks:
- $9.5 for one pair
- $19 for three pairs ($6.33/pair)
- $36 for six pairs ($6/pair)
- $99 for 18 pairs of socks ($5.50/pair)
All Citizens also offers a sock add on discount, where you can add 1 pair of socks to any order for just $8 if that order has at least 1 other item in it.
Does lower price mean lower quality? Nope - All Citizens socks pack in a lot more features than Stance socks, and All Citizens is nearly half the price - All Citizens offers more bang for your buck.
Do Stance Socks Pair Well With Your Outfits?
Stance’s niche is loud and extremely colorful designs with large graphics on the sock. While they do offer some pairs that are a little more minimalist, these are the same pairs you can buy at any clothing retailer for less than half the price.
So, if you’re shopping at Stance, the odds are you’re looking for that loud and colorful design. If that’s your style — great! If it’s not, well, good luck finding anything that’s going to match your outfit.
For instance, if you’re in the new yorkskate scene and looking for basic designs, maybe even camo, Stance is going to be a tough sell for you. However, if you’re into the colorful sock trends, it could be a great option.
Having a “fun” pair or two of socks is always important as it can add another dimension to your personality and outfit. But you can’t always wear these designs as they’re pretty difficult to match an outfit with.
Even if your outfits themselves are colorful, Stance socks are so different and mixed that you would have to find the exact right pair to even have a chance at matching.
Are Stance Socks Good for Working Out?
Stances’ website shows that they offer socks for different sports - running, base, hiking, basketball, athletic and snow - but if you click on the different sports, you actually see that most the sports actually use the same performance sock, just in different heights. They don’t detail the what fabric the sock the performance sock is made out of either. The product page states that their performance ankle socks have “moisture management technology” which likely means that the sock fabric is sprayed with a chemical treatment that gives it moisture-wicking capability. The issue with chemical treatments is that they wash out after a few washes, so Stance ankle socks will not be moisture-wicking any longer, which means they will start absorbing sweat after the chemical treatment wears off.
Besides the ankle tab and moisture-wicking properties that will wash out, the product page does not show any other features that made this pair of socks great for working out.
What Sets All Citizens Ankle Socks Apart?
Gym socks need to be durable, stretchy, completely wick moisture and need to have features to help you perform better in any activity. So that’s what All Citizens added to their performance ankle socks to make sure they are built for anything you might throw at them.
They are the epitome of a perfect gym sock. Although they aren’t as flashy and vibrant as Stance and just come in two-tone black or white options, they can still be worn during non-exercise periods and you’ll still feel absolute comfort.
All Citizens socks are loaded with features — more than double the listed features of Stance, and for a much lower price. Here are a few of their features below:
Mesh Breathe Zones and Airways for Breathability
One of the most essential features any sock can have is its breathability.
This is especially important if you’re planning on buying workout socks, as the constant movement will trigger sometimes unbearable perspiration or sweat.
Sweat, and moisture in general, can’t evaporate without air reaching the affected areas. That’s why All Citizens built their performance ankle socks with Mesh Breathe Zones located on the areas of the foot that are the most susceptible to perspiration, and Airways, which is an area on top of the foot with raised and lowered fabric to create pathways for air to ventilate out of the shoe and for new air to flow in, allowing for more airflow in your shoe so air can reach sweat and evaporate it quickly.
As soon as you break your first sweat, air will instantly reach it and evaporate it — keeping you comfortable and dry throughout your entire workout and your day.
Anti-Chafe Top and Back
Another absolutely essential feature of any sock is the ability to prevent chafing.
Chafing and sweat are the two enemies of comfort, and they are unfortunately the most common during exercise due to constant movement. Chafing happens when there’s unwanted contact between skin and material, like the back of your shoe.
When your skin constantly rubs against a firm material, it’s bound to create a feeling of uncomfortableness, and this will undoubtedly ruin your workout.
Fortunately, All Citizens ankle socks come with two specially-built anti-chafe tabs located on the top to protect you from the tongue of the shoe, as well as on the back to protect your heel, so there will never be any unwanted skin-on-material discomfort.
Anti-Odor Material
Obviously, the last thing you want is to smell bad.
During and after workouts, however, this can be unavoidable. Specifically, your feet are the most susceptible to bad odors because they’re constantly trapped underneath multiple layers.
If your socks don’t have any anti-odor properties, this can not only make your feet smell something awful, but the odor can also become trapped in your shoes and ruin them for good.
Everyone has their designated workout shoes, and the best way to avoid the smell is socks that will stop the odor from reaching the inside of your shoes.
Cushioned Footbed for Extra Comfort
Another essential factor of workout socks is comfort.
Breathability, anti-chafing, and anti-odor properties all help to ensure you’re having the most comfortable workout experience you can, but none of those mean anything if the sock itself isn’t comfortable to wear.
All Citizens ankle socks have extra cushioning on the bottom to absorb impact so you’ll feel like you’re walking on air throughout the entire duration of your workout.
Thicker Toes for Durability
Most socks get holes too easily in the toes, so All Citizens made the toe of their socks extra thick so that they are much more durable and long-lasting.
Made With Eco-Friendly Performance Fabric
A company’s sustainability should be one of the very first things you look at before you buy from them, and this is where the biggest difference between Stance and All Citizens comes from.
Stance uses a combination of nylon, polyester, and cotton for their socks, none of which are made from recycled material.
Each pair of All Citizens ankle socks is made with yarn from one recycled plastic bottle and yards of recycled fish nets. By using recycled materials, All Citizens socks help divert plastic bottles and old fishing nets from landfills, oceans and incinerators and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
If you are one of those people that looks at sustainability above all else, good on you.
Stylish and Minimalistic
While Stance emphasizes loud colors and designs, All Citizens chooses to focus on making a sock that’s timeless and easy to pair with.
There’s nothing wrong with having a few pairs of colorful socks, but having a majority of minimalistic and classy socks in your wardrobe is key.
All Citizens Ankle Socks: Your New Favorite
Finally, we get to introduce you to your new favorite socks: the All Citizens Performance Ankle Socks.
Each and every pair of All Citizens socks includes the features mentioned above and much more we couldn’t fit in. Most importantly, however, they’re some of the most sustainable socks on the market.
It’s crazy to think you can do your part in cleaning up the earth by simply buying a pair of socks, and All Citizens are responsible for making that a reality.
We hope you join their mission of democratizing comfort for everyone, everywhere.
Sources:
This Is How To Pick Out the Right Pair of Socks for Your Workout | Well + Good
