Understanding Our Obsession with Soft

My 15 year old texted me her Christmas wish list. It is long, which I appreciate because I am drawing a blank on gift buying this year, especially for my teenagers.

It looks like this:

A computer (which she is not getting)
Soft Socks
Jewelry
Soft comfy pants
A Jewelry holder
Fuzzy sweatshirts
Comfy Sweatshirts
Cozy blankets
Black Boots

I went to the mall today. Cozy, soft, comfy and fuzzy is IN! I did not walk into one store that did not have clothes made out of blanket material, or one clothing store for that matter that wasn’t selling soft, fuzzy blankets. There are even wearable blankets.

What is with the obsession with cozy?

I have a theory.

Our world has become so stressful, so intense, so micromanaged, so interconnected, so narcissistic, so hectic and so unmasked, we are aching for comfort and protection. We long to crawl back into a womb where we will be safe from all the external forces. When we realize there are no vacant wombs, we try to build a cocoon, and if you are going to be in a cocoon, it may as well be soft and cozy. I think comfy is a new kind of armor.

This is Serena in between soccer games at a long tournament Thanksgiving weekend. We ran into Target. First she stopped in the sports section to use a roller on her muscles. Then she walked around, touched everything soft and sighed longingly. The kid clearly needs some downtime.

The other surprising trend is the sloth stuff. Sloth sheets, sloth keychains, sloths you can heat up in the microwave for added love. The message here is pretty clear. Be sloth-like and “SLOW DOWN!” So, if you or your loved ones are in need of a cocoon, here are some soft, fuzzy, cuddly suggestions. Click on the image for purchase options. After you hit buy, take out a crayon and make a sign for your cocoon … NO TECH ALLOWED.

Cozy Socks