The men's basics label that started with $4,500 and a grudge against bad socks - and gives a pair away for every pair it sells.
In 2012, three friends in Los Angeles were annoyed by the same small thing. Men's socks came in two flavors: cheap and forgettable, or premium and precious - a single pair of dress socks priced like a paperback. Film producer Cash Warren, designer Alan Stuart, and operator David Ehrenberg each put in $1,500, a combined $4,500, and set out to fix the most overlooked corner of the dresser.
That modest bet became Pair of Thieves, a Culver City brand that grew into a business with retail sales approaching $100 million. Along the way it did something most startups only talk about: it stopped being a one-product company. Socks led to underwear, underwear led to tees and undershirts, and then came loungewear. Today underwear - not the founding product - is the brand's largest category.
"There were a handful of guys playing in the premium sock space where you have one pair of socks for $20, and they felt very expensive."
— David Ehrenberg, co-founderThe gap they saw was simple and stubborn: no one was making basics that were affordable, well-fitting, and worth talking about. Pair of Thieves aimed straight at that middle - and it turned out to be a very large middle.
A rough map of how the business is built. Underwear overtook socks to become the biggest slice of sales - a striking turn for a company that started with feet.
Bar lengths are illustrative of relative scale, not exact figures. Category share and donation totals are drawn from public reporting.
Pair of Thieves designs and sells everyday men's essentials - socks, underwear, undershirts, t-shirts and loungewear - with an emphasis on fit, fabric and a bit of humor most basics brands leave out. The pitch is not novelty for its own sake. It is that the things you wear every day, and think about least, are worth getting right.
The company builds its products around three named fabric systems so shoppers know what they are buying without a spec sheet: SuperFit (quick-dry, moisture-wicking, 4-way stretch), SuperSoft (all-day comfort), and SuperCool (breathable, mesh-ventilated cooling). Plain names, plain promises - a deliberate contrast to the jargon common in performance apparel.
For years, buying basics meant choosing between forgettable multipacks and pricey premium pairs. Pair of Thieves collapses that choice: quality construction and real fabric technology at prices that don't require a second thought. The result is a brand people restock on purpose rather than out of resignation.
Longtime friends who bet small and stayed hands-on. Cash Warren brought a producer's instinct for storytelling; Alan Stuart shaped the brand's look and irreverence; David Ehrenberg ran the operation and the numbers.
Fun fact: co-founder Cash Warren is a film producer and is married to actress and Honest Company founder Jessica Alba.
The founding line - crew, ankle, low-cut and no-show, built for comfort and distinctive design. Also the engine of the give-back program.
Boxer briefs, trunks, briefs, boxers and long boxer briefs across SuperFit, SuperSoft and SuperCool - now the brand's biggest category.
Classic-fit, slim-fit and long-sleeve tees plus undershirts in soft, durable knits.
Comfort-focused loungewear that has sold out repeatedly since launch.
"Socks are the most requested item by the unhoused community - and the least donated."
— The insight behind Give a PairThe give-back model is built into the product, not bolted on. For applicable sales, Pair of Thieves donates socks to people experiencing homelessness - close to 4 million pairs to date. The choice of socks is deliberate: they top the request list at shelters and sit near the bottom of the donation pile.
The brand's Good Fits line extends the idea to causes beyond homelessness, including mental health awareness and crisis support for LGBTQ+ youth. On its 10-year anniversary, the Power of 10 campaign donated 100,000 pairs of socks split across ten nonprofits.
Products are designed and marketed in-house in Culver City and manufactured overseas, then sold two ways: through mass and premium retail partners, and direct-to-consumer on a Shopify Plus storefront. Multipacks, bundles, replenishment and a rewards program lift repeat purchases - a model well-suited to items people buy again and again.
Men's basics is crowded - Bombas, Stance, MeUndies, Tommy John and Saxx on the branded side, plus Hanes, Fruit of the Loom and mass private labels on the value side. Pair of Thieves occupies the space between them: more design and fabric technology than the commodity multipack, more accessible pricing than the premium DTC names.
Quality and real fabric tech without premium-price friction - the boring-or-broke trap, solved.
Went to Target early rather than DTC-only, reaching customers where they already shop.
Playful naming and packaging make a commodity category feel like a choice, not a chore.
A donation model tied to the product itself, not a seasonal campaign.
Cash Warren, Alan Stuart and David Ehrenberg each invest $1,500 to start a sock company in Los Angeles.
The first Pair of Thieves socks debut, built around better comfort and bolder design.
The brand rolls out at Target, taking it to stores across the country.
Men's underwear is added and soon becomes the largest category.
The line extends into t-shirts and undershirts.
A loungewear line launches and sells out repeatedly.
Retail sales near $100M with strong growth and a Nordstrom launch.
The Power of 10 anniversary campaign donates 100,000 pairs to ten nonprofits.
Men's basics - socks, underwear, undershirts, t-shirts and loungewear - with a focus on fit, performance fabrics and playful design. It has also expanded into women's basics.
It was founded in 2012 in Los Angeles by Cash Warren, Alan Stuart and David Ehrenberg, who each invested $1,500.
At pairofthieves.com and through retail partners including Target, Kohl's, Meijer, Nordstrom and Amazon.
For applicable sales the brand donates socks to people experiencing homelessness - close to 4 million pairs to date - because socks are the most requested and least donated shelter item.
Three performance-fabric lines: SuperFit for quick-dry 4-way stretch, SuperSoft for all-day comfort, and SuperCool for breathable, mesh-ventilated cooling.
Further reading: WWD, Los Angeles Business Journal, Fast Company, NetSuite and PR Newswire coverage of Pair of Thieves.