Growing up my Grandma Florence used to have a saying about fashion that she repeated almost daily: “There’s nothing new under the sun kids, just old ideas that someone finally braved enough to try again.” Grandma Flo would be spinning in her grave right now if she could see how right she was. Because the hottest new accessory; the secret to taking your simplest outfits and elevating them into something that looks intentionally styled, cool, and anything but basic? Is none other than…the tube sock.
Yes, those thick, ribbed, almost exclusively athletic socks with bands of contrasting colour at the top that you haven’t worn since your Mum last let you stay up past your bedtime…in like 2000. I know. You’re probably thinking, socks?!?!?!
As a fashion statement? The things we’ve worked so hard to keep hidden under our shoes our whole lives?
Or god forbid, the article of clothing most likely to be found abandoned and forlorn under your bed at clothing-optional summer clean-ups?
Those socks? !
Yep. Those socks.
Here’s what happened to me: Two weeks ago I’m at accessories preview for one of the highest-end designer fashion houses you can name. You know the ones; where everything they show us is beige or dusty pink and their publicists whisper rude comments about every celebrity under the same breath they cautiously praise said brands purse collection. I’m chatting idly with their Global Creative Director, a well-known style icon in and of herself when I notice, out of the corner of my eye, the most shocking thing hiding beneath her laser-cut baby pink trouser shorts and sleek leather loafers: a pair of thick white tube socks with red stripes at the top.
The kind Target sells in a plastic packaging bundle of six. I must have stared at her because she looked up at me and pointed to her socks; mortified…but I swear to you this is true…smirked. “Makes it balanced though,right?” she said, letting her gaze drop back to her immaculate footwear. “Baggy trousers and luxury shoes is just trying too hard. But those socks?” She chuckled. “That’s just real.” And just like that, I started seeing them everywhere.
My coworker’s (who has a knack for always being on-trend) wearing pristine white tube socks with sheaths of denim and loafers. The snootiest rep from Barneys (yes I still refer to Barneys NY as Barneys, damn kids and their websites) rocking green tube socks cuffed with Chanel ballet flats and cropped jeans. Even my most fashionable Instagram follows; who till now have favoured skate socks, ankle socks, and no-show socks exclusively; were rocking thick ribbed socks pulled up to mid-calf with everything from cropped trousers to mini dresses. “What’s happening right now with tube socks is what I call a disruption piece,” says Mina Chen, a trend forecaster and consultant when I call her up to get some expert insight into the rash of socks I keep seeing. “Fashion is most interesting when things feel off-kilter; when there’s an element that clashes with the rest of the look.
Intentionally wearing an article of clothing that’s traditionally considered ‘ugly’ or relegated to informal wear immediately offsets whatever you’re wearing it with. But there’s something else that’s happening right now that makes socks the perfect visual disruption.” She pauses. “What do you think people feel when they look at someone wearing tube socks with a designer purse?” she continues. “Busted. Like they know that person shouldn’t be allowed to wear those socks with that bag, but they are and look kinda amazing doing it.” When you think about how these socks are being worn that thesis rings true.
Designers are styling them scrunched down high on the leg to be seen rather than tucked underneath. They’re intentionally styled with unexpected shoes (loafers! Ballet Flats!
Heels!) in order to create a contrast. They’re worn as if you want everyone to notice and not care that you’re breaking fashion’s unofficial ‘rule’ of keeping socks quiet. “There’s an edge to it that feels very now,” says menswear stylist Marcus Reed. “Like you’re wearing gym socks with a $700 shoe as some sort of middle finger to anyone who thinks fashion should be serious.” While tube socks suddenly being ‘a thing’ feels very of-the-moment they actually have a rich history in the world of “ugly” fashion turnarounds. Tevas, fanny packs, Crocs, dad trainers; the list of unfairly mocked items that have become fashion staples in just the last few years runs long.
But there’s something especially satisfying about seeing tube socks take up the runway. Partially because socks have always been fashion’s.stepchild. How many times have you bought an expensive pair of shoes, only to find that the socks you have to wear with them are cheap, thin, and blister-inducing?
I know I’ve almost always opted not to wear socks at all unless forced too, rather than be subjected to that pain. “There’s no disparity between the socks and the shoes,” continues Reed. “Anyone could pull off that combo because literally everyone owns a pair of tube socks. But not everyone could rock Kermit green tube socks with a $200 Chanel purse and get away with it.” When I dug into the history of tube socks specifically, I discovered that their backstory is almost humorously plain. Originating in the 1970s as activewear became more popular mainstream, their utilitarian design was actually a gamechanger for stocking manufacturing: Without a shaped heel, they could be produced faster, with less waste, and worn on either foot (versus calf-length crew socks, which are slightly thicker at the bottom to account for the heel of your foot).
By the 1980s socks with bands were everywhere, skiing jackets, along with their worn.Yetby.the.1980s equivalent, acid washed jeans. Then they fell out of favour come the 90s, when no-show socks became the go-to option for anyone who didn’t want sloughed off dye staining their skin (or trousers). Suddenly, it was considered frowned upon to have visible socks that weren’t your typical white or black crew sock, unless you were wearing jeans so distressed at the ankle they basically amounted to shorts.
So why the dramatic comeback? Like most fashion comebacks it began on the street. Via Tumblr.
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High-schoolers and college students wearing tube socks as part of their skateboard-inspired wardrobe became street style trendsetters in 2018, breathing new life into a stagnant sock game. High fashion followed (obviously) with premium denim and athleisure brands like Gucci and Prada sending runner inspired socks down their runways a year later. But the true tipping point for tube socks came during quarantine, when women everywhere embraced the idea of having “holiday Ready” bodies versus “real-life bodies.” Suddenly showing your socks didn’t feel like exposing a frauty weakness but instead was as Tuesday. “The tube sock right now is a perfect encapsulation of comfort meet high fashion,” says Chen. “Pinko sweatpants might have got us through lockdown, but tube socks are what’s taking us back out into the world.” But the part I love most about tube socks, at least the way fashion girls and influencers are styling them now, is how intentionally wrong they look with certain shoe pairings.
My favourite (and most street style-approved) way to wear them currently is with loafers. Ballet Flats, pictured above. Heaven forbid, even with heeled sandals: The logic here is simple: juxtaposition.
Take two items that would never have been seen together in the same outfit (a preppy classic shoe and a white sock with a contrasting coloured stripe) and suddenly you have a wearable recipe for cool. It doesn’t stop there. Once you start spotting intentionally flawed pieces everywhere you’ll start to notice them on guys too.
Across genders, stylish people are teaming their favourite athletic socks with just about everything; desert boots, trainers, ballet flats… Of course there are luxury brands who have caught onto this sudden street-stylist-approved frenzy and are selling their own versions of said rubber-backed socks at exponentially higher prices. When a friendly bikini wax costs less than Christian Louboutin’s take on this quintessential workout wardrobe staple…you know they’ve made it. But fear not, trainer enthusiasts, you’ll always be cooler than the designers trying to hop on your “trend.” Spend your money where the pros spend theirs; on actual athletic brands.
Nike, Adidas, Lululemon, heck even trusty ol’Hanes or Fruit of the Loam. Those brands will always have more cred in this lane than expensive designer alternatives. You want your outfit to look “wrong?” Paying exorbitant prices for socks that were clearly born to match high end trainers sort of defeats the purpose. “I told my client to just go down to Dick’s Sporting Goods and buy regular athletic socks,” says stylist Jordan Kim. “She couldn’t believe that was the ‘cool’ option until I pulled up pictures of street style girls I knew would know.
The real ones have way more texture than the designer versions.” How do you wear tube socks without looking like you actually work out? For starters, lean into the awkwardness. Wear them with shoes that wouldn’t typically be seen with gym socks.
Second, make sure they’re pulled up high on your legs and scrunched somewhat. If your tube sock looks like you accidentally left the gym and forgot to change trousers…you’ve missed the point. A successfully styled tube sock looks intentional, like you couldn’t give less about whether they’re ‘right.’ Think that dad who has dressed like he’s headed golfing since the mid-90s and suddenly everyone thinks he’s on the forefront of menswear.
That’s the mood we’re going for. Then break every rule you know about sock-and-shoe etiquette. Try it with loafers first, the gateway tube sock style.
Then challenge yourself: Again, men have been sliding into these sock combos too. They’re just as likely to pair athletic socks with loafers, desert boots, or even chelsea boots.
As men’s stylist Eric Wong says, there’s something decidedly retro-about a man in high tube socks: “My favourite guy looks lately are actually vintage 70s baseball pics I’ve found online,” he continues. “There’s something very Steve Lacey meets High Fidelity about a man in long tube socks.” I even tried it for myself before committing to writing this.
I paired my vintage Ferragamo loafers with a fresh pair of white Nike tube socks pulled up to just below my knee and opted to leave them visible beneath tailored, cropped trousers.
When asked about my look later that night by a fellow fashion editor, her first response was: “Oh my gosh I love your socks.” The second response came from my boyfriend who, after seeing my Instagram stories, asked me viaText: “Were you wearing sweatpants with those shoes on purpose?” See what I mean? Insider vs outsider vocab.
It’s amazing how many times the clothing choices we make can speak volumes about whether someone ‘gets’ fashion or doesn’t. Socks (particularly clearly oversized tube socks) are the epitome of a ‘talker’ in fashion speak; they force people to look twice and draw immediate opinion. And while the trend may read as ultra-high-fashion to someone who spends their life immersed in it, to everyone else you run the risk of looking like you’ve got two left feet.
Or you know, dressing like you actually know what you’re doing. “What’s great about socks right now is how blurred the lines are in fashion of what’s masculine vs feminine, high-end vs low, ugly vs chic,” posits Dr. Elena Santos, fashion historian and professor. “We’re living in a pretty binary world politically and culturally right now so it makes sense that clothing would follow that mentality. Front-running trendsetters are always blurring those lines.
The sock is just the perfect canvas.” So there you have it, folks. The quickest way to elevate your simplest ensemble into something cool this season may be one of the most basic items in your wardrobe; your ol’ faithful athletic sock. Grandma Flo was right.
There is nothing new under the sun, just waiting for someone brave enough to give it another spin.
