Having wavered between minimalism and maximalism in the years since I’ve had free reign over my own outfit choices - my predilection for stuff usually having won out - I carved out a niche that embraced the both, I coined it faux minimalism. Briefly defined as favouring wearing layers like those of a choux pastry over those of a sponge cake (read here for a less abstract analogy). Despite my yoyoing between stripped back and piled on, the one constant has always been my affinity for adding socks to an outfit.
For most, getting dressed involves some form of top and bottoms, or for even more linear thinking, a dress; shoes, a jacket/coat and accessories. A basic formula to live and dress by. However, the umbrella of ‘accessories’ is pretty broad: bags, belts, hats, jewellery. Yet there is one accessory that is oft overlooked; the socks.
I know that to most, socks are not an accessory, they are a necessity, much like underwear. However, following my recent reconsideration of the attention deserved of my undergarments, it has caused me to rethink the appreciation given to my socks. As Marie Kondo posits “your feet bear your weight and help you live your life, and it is your socks that cradle those feet”. Despite the cushioned barrier that they provide between us and the world, socks are often disregarded completely, balled up and ravaged with those pesky little holes that plague the fabric at the toe and ankle.
As often as they’re stuffed in a drawer, socks are also regarded as a quintessential last minute gift, a gift of the panicked and received by the disappointed. However, socks should no longer incite indifference and feigned reactions of gratitude. Rather, one should evermore look upon socks with glee. After all, they are an opportunity to make a sartorial statement that is as subtle or as bold as the wearer desires and involves little effort. There are few other areas of such small square meterage that can create quite as much impact, or divide opinion as much as a pair of socks. For example, socks and sandals; trademark of the uber chic, or hallmark of dads on holiday?
I have often used my socks as a point of difference for even the most basic of looks. However, being predominantly home bound, has meant that my shoes have been retired for the time being, while I slide along floors enacting my very own ‘Home Alone’ montage, as an unexpected synergy between Kevin and I, continues to develop: I am in fact home alone and I apparently like white tube socks now.
Whilst I may have just admitted that socks have long factored consciously into my overall look, they have always done so to add something to my outfit, whether that be a pop of colour or for some quirk. I’m unapologetic about my penchant for socks with any and all footwear and I favour particularly fluffy socks for bed.
Yet, despite this collection, I own very few pairs of your plain, average, nondescript, basic, buy from anywhere, white tube sock. My first memory of discovering that white socks were undesirable was when my 15 year old self went on work experience and I was expressly told to ditch the white socks in favour of professional black. From then on, white socks were reserved for P.E classes only.
However, recently my tastes have become more favourable towards the classic white tube socks. As we take comfort in our homes and seek comfort from our clothing, we should be especially mindful of our sock choices. Kondo advises one to “choose [socks] that will make the time you spend [at home] more enjoyable”. As we all kit ourselves out for this lockdown in varying means, one common thread unites the material fancies of the masses - socks.
Many have chosen to remain in a uniform of head-to-toe loungewear, from their baseball caps right down to their thick tube socks. And beyond the sweatpants, tube socks have been unexpectedly paired with feminine dresses and dramatically contrasted with structural stilettos. Tube socks have quickly become emblematic of the time when the world stayed at home, a mini trend grown out of the pandemic.
Though this year I decided to focus future purchases on timelessness, forgoing trends in an attempt to be more ethically and environmentally conscious. The fact that socks straddle practicality and popularity makes dipping a literal toe into the trend, a decision that doesn’t compromise on my commitment to mindful shopping. And so I found myself on an online hunt for a pair of white socks. Full disclosure, I ended up deciding upon a three pack, in which only one pair was white (the other pairs being orange and pink). I guess old habits die hard...
There were some styling issues initially, with the tube socks being too thick to fit under skinnier variations of jeans and not knowing how to temper the blatant athleticism that the socks communicated with my other items. However, I realised that cuffing trousers at the ankle and favouring clothing that was innately casual, melded my usual brand of personal style quite nicely with my new socks of choice. Turning my trouser cuffs up meant that the socks needn’t be overbearing, so in the case of my pink and orange versions, they could offer a pleasant pop of colour. Whereas, when paired with a loose fit mini dress, the white socks kept the look from veering too girly. And that is just the beginning of my sartorial rendezvous with tube socks.
As socks become my predominant footwear of choice with WFH my new reality and mandated by a strict ‘no shoes in the house’ policy, I plan to further indulge my sock habit. Kondo said that choosing to rewear old socks is like “declaring today doesn’t really matter”. Socks may be the minutiae of an outfit, but they have an impact far outreaching the ankles they encircle. By taking time and putting care into the seemingly innocuous decisions of life, it slowly translates into the bigger considerations. It would seem that much can be accomplished, when you put your best (tube socked) foot forward.
(Images via: popsugar.com, teenvogue.com, @mathildadjerf, @hoskelsa, @shhtephs & stylecaster.com
Quotes via: Buzzfeed.com)
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