Considered the ultimate in high Canadian fashion, the toque can be worn year round, whether it's cold or warm outside. Taking inspiration from the classic red heel wool work socks used in sock monkeys, Canadian company Pook has elevated the toque to a whole new level of both function and fashion.
What basically looks like two socks sewn together at the cuff, the Pook Toque can be worn in so many different ways, the company released a style guide. The signature style is either with the sock ends hanging out (seen top with Danny Glover) or with the hat reversed, acting more like a classic toque where the sock ends cover your ears.
As you might expect, the idea for the Pook Toque was born over a few beers one night. Founder Tony Pook was over sharing, so one of his friends threw a sock at him, telling him to "put a sock in it". Instead, Tony put the sock on his head and the rest is history.
The Pook Toque comes in the standard gray, white, black, and red color combination. For the women, Pook swapped out the red and black for pink. For those that can't quite pull off the somewhat crazy style of the Pook Toque, the company has created a more classic beanie look in the Pook Toque II, with or without a pom pom on top.
All Pook products are $25 (yes they even have a sock monkey) and can be ordered from the company website.
Check out founder Tony Pook demonstrating some of the different styles in the video below.