Stephanie Dempsey shows her recognition plaque as a Guinness World Record Holder for largest sock collection. Photo by Maggie Dempsey
Stephanie Dempsey, an Avon resident, has recently been recognized by Guinness World Records for having the largest sock collection in the world.
According to the Guinness World Records website, the organization documents and celebrates superlative achievements that are the best in the world.
To achieve this record, Stephanie had to photograph each pair of socks in her collection, create a detailed spreadsheet noting each pair with a description and corresponding photo, and submit a video showing judges counting each pair of socks. No handmade, mismatched, or duplicate pairs of socks were allowed to be counted.
Stephanie began her sock collection 37 years ago when she bought a pair of crazy socks as a birthday present for a friend. She liked them so much that she decided to buy a pair for herself, and from there, her collection grew to today’s total of over 1,000 pairs of socks.
Her collection includes a variety of themes, such as holiday socks, animal socks, TV shows, cartoon characters, famous people, businesses and even socks with socks on them. Stephanie’s socks come from all around the country and the world.
Stephanie enjoys collecting and wearing crazy socks because they make people smile and serve as great conversation pieces. She also loves challenging herself to wear socks based on themes of the day or quirky national holidays.
Among her extensive collection, her favorite pairs are those that have been gifted to her, as they represent special meanings or spark favorite memories.
Although her sock collection continues to grow, Stephanie says she is now a bit more selective about which socks she adds to her collection, since storing over 1,000 pairs of socks can definitely be challenging!
