President George H.W. Bush said a lot with socks. In fact, he enjoyed wearing a colorful pair of socks for different occasions, and a special pair is even picked out for his funeral.
The 41st president and World War II Navy pilot will be laid to rest wearing socks adorned with an image of squadron of jets flying in formation — a tribute, his spokesman says, to the former president’s lifetime of service.
The 41st President will be carried to his final rest wearing socks that pay tribute to his lifetime of service, starting as an 18-year-old naval aviator in war.
Bush was diagnosed in 2007 with a form of Parkinson’s that eventually cost him the ability to walk.
He relied on wheelchairs and scooters to get around.
Being so often seated, his ankles were frequently visible, and Bush wanted to make a bold fashion statement.
A sporty pair of GB socks for George Bush.
“Brandishing colorful socks is simply his way of making the best of his mobility situation and still finding the joy in life,” the late president’s daughter, Doro Bush Koch, wrote in her book, “My Father, The President.”
“I like a colorful sock. I’m sock man,” he told granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager in a 2012 interview with the “Today” show.
A visit from friend and fellow former president, Bill Clinton, inspired him to wear a pair emblazoned with Clinton’s face.
Bill Clinton shows off the socks George Bush is wearing with his face on them.
Back in 2012 at the unveiling of portraits of George W. Bush and wife Laura Bush in the East Room of the White House, George H.W. Bush kept it relatively simple with a pair of red, white and blue socks.
Patriotic socks worn by George Bush.
At the funeral for his wife, Barbara Bush, he wore socks featuring books as a tribute to her work promoting literacy.
Bush wore socks promoting literacy at his wife Barbara’s funeral.
FASHION SOCKS:
Bush was one of several a high-profile figures to adopt a menswear trend of using socks to add a bit of flash to an outfit
Others include Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enjoys colorful socks.
The trend hit a peak in the men’s market four years ago, said Marshal Cohen, a chief industry adviser of the market research firm NPD Group.
It has endured, with color and novelty driving growth in the market, he said.
And as menswear became more casual, socks replaced the tie as a conversation piece.
“Year after year we got more and more casual and the fun novelty sock became an opportunity of expression,” Cohen said. “As we got rid of ties, guys still wanted to be able to put some style to a navy suit or a black suit.”
The socks can add some fun and color to an outfit, while also making a statement.
Bush embraced the practice, and gave it meaning.
In March, the former president tweeted a photo of himself wearing a brightly colored pair of “Down Syndrome Super Hero” socks sent to him by John Cronin, a 22-year-old New York man with Down syndrome who with his father runs an online business selling socks.
George H.W. Bush’s book socks worn at Barbara Bush’s funeral were gift from Long Island entrepreneur with Down syndrome John Cronin.
Cronin’s mother, Carol Cronin, said her son and Bush became “kind of sock buddies.”
Not long after starting John’s Crazy Socks , John Cronin learned of Bush’s love of colorful socks and sent him a box.
After Barbara Bush died in April, it was Cronin who sent Bush the socks featuring books that he wore at her funeral.
Carol Cronin said that when her son learned that it was Bush who signed the Americans with Disabilities Act banning workplace discrimination of people with disabilities and requiring improved access to public places and transportation, he felt their connection was “meant to be.”
“The inclusiveness that is envisioned by that legislation has changed his life and every other person who has a differing ability for the better,” said Cronin, who noted that the majority of employees hired for the business have differing abilities.
She said her son’s idea of starting a sock business turned out to be a successful and fulfilling one.
“I think it lets people express themselves in a subtle way,” she said.
