The Inevitability Of $300 Socks

Enlarge

In this way, slowly but surely, products become ideas. And it dawns on consumers that your product--be it jeans, socks, or a high-end gas range--is a meaningful symbol of their personal aesthetics, their inner selves. Yes, we all know that no one in their right mind would ever pay $300 for socks. But having a right mind is so yesterday.

The premium-denim market proves that elevating your product to an idea creates a sexy sell.

1. The Ideal Rear
   Fit model Paige Adams-Geller has the butt that launched a thousand brands--and now her own.
2. The All-American
   Earnest Sewn's blue and orange threads are meant to evoke "old Gulf Oil racing cars" and the "fading mystique of American ingenuity and craftsmanship."
3. The Star Maker
   Justin Timberlake's brand (named to honor his grandfather) mixes "city slick and Southern sophistication" in the designs.
4. The Mythical Jean
   Each basic Odyn style is named for a character from Nordic mythology.
5. The Green Jean
   Founded by a Dutch anti-poverty NGO, Kuyichi jeans include an online code that lets you see who picked the cotton and sewed your pair.

Read more Made to Stick columns

Chip Heath and Dan Heath are the best-selling authors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. If you've successfully converted a product into an idea or have other examples you'd like to share, let us know.

Feedback: heaths@fastcompany.com