In my family we have a saying about trends and fashion that my grandma Florence lived by: “There’s nothing new under the sun, just old trends waiting for the right asshole to try them again.” Grandma Flo, who owned well into the 90s and wouldn’t hesitate to pair with relentless aplomb, would be grinning ear-to-ear right now if she were alive to witness this moment. Because there’s a huge trend happening on fashion weeks in New York and Paris and every street corner in between, and it involves—drumroll, please—an item of clothing you likely haven’t styled intentionally since middle school track practice: the tube sock. Fuck my life.
I know what you’re thinking. Socks? Deliberately styling socks as part of your outfits?
The thing we usually try to conceal with shoes, or god forbid, that item most likely to become “that single sock” left sad and forgotten under your bed come March when you’re cleaning like you promised last year? As pictured above?
Yes, those socks.
HOW Ok, so. Allow me to explain how I knew something had shifted when it came to tubular sockitude. Three weeks ago I was backstage at the preview for one extremely fancy luxury brand’s resort collection.
The kind where everything is cream-colored, and their PR team hisses at you as if they’re sharing top-secret missile codes rather than telling you about their handbags. I was breezing through obligatory chit-chat with the brand’s Global Creative Director, queen of French-girl minimalism, when I looked down and spotted what every feminist paddle hopefully dreams of seeing beneath a woman’s carefully tailored ivory pants and leather loafers… Thick, white tube socks with red stripes on the top. Classic Champion-style Nike socks that you can pick up at Target in a six-pack.
Guys. She smirked when she caught me looking at her socks. “I mean, they balance out the whole outfit, no?” she said knowingly, motioning toward her otherwise-so-elegantly-edited ensemble of trousers and leather loafers. “It would be too much if everything was luxe. The socks play off that.” She winked.
Honestly. Ever since that day I’ve seen them on literally every street-style icon I follow: The chicest editor at Vogue out jogging in her barely-there tube socks with loafers and a midi skirt. Barton justifying his entire existence by donning Target tubies with his Chanel ballet flats and cropped jeans.
Hinting that there’s a skeleton in *his* closet by showing off his socks with supreme nonchalance. The most-followed fashion-Instagram-girl suddenly wearing outrageously high ribbed socks that hit right above her knees with EVERYTHING, from mini dresses to tailored shorts. “It’s actually the perfect example of what I call a disruption piece,” says Mina Chen, trend forecaster and frequent collaborator with Chopard, when I reach out to her to figure out what the actual fuck is going on. “Fashion is so fun when things don’t *quite* match up—the unexpected details that make you do a double-take. Right now we’re seeing a lot of really pared-back, almost conservative silhouettes with clothing.
But add the tube sock and suddenly it looks like you *meant* for your outfit to be that pared back. It’s just edgy enough.” 👀👀👀 All of which is to say that yes, styling your socks as part of your outfits really is that simple. They’re not being pushed down into your shoes, they’re being literally showcased.
Scrunched up high. Pairing them with unexpected shoes. It’s intentional.
People wearing tube socks as part of their outfits know exactly what they’re doing. It also makes sense if you think about how “ugly” accessories have been making a comeback lately (See: Tevas. Fanny packs.
Crocs. Dad sneakers, etc.). There’s a certain romance to reclaiming something that used to be universally ridiculed as “normal” or—at worst—super-utilitarian.
Chicesters picking armies of sock monkeys to intimidate their followers with knows how to manipulate these kinds of trends. There’s nothing like seeing someone wearing something “wrong” on purpose to make you question all of your ideas about what you think look good and what doesn’t. But first, let’s do a quick history dive on the tube sock itself, because tbh I didn’t know either.
Legend has it that tube socks date all the way back to the 19th century; however, they didn’t really gain popularity until the 1970s as exercise became more mainstream. Without a shaped heel and toe, tube socks could be produced faster, with less waste, and worn on either foot (genius!). It wasn’t until Adidas (can confirm; my grandma still has the original pair in her drawer) and Nike started creating recognizable, colored stripes at the top of their socks in the late-1970s and early-80s that tubular socks became … well, fashionable.
They peaked in popularity throughout the 1980s, before falling out of style as tube socks began losing ground to low-cut “no-shows” in the early-1990s. Since then, visible socks have been pretty #donewithit, unless you’re going for full-on-basic (“NO ONE SATIRIZED BASICNESS MORE THAN BASIC ITSELF!” – Trend Cop Jorge Gonzo) with your whole outfit. Or hiding under pants.
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So how did these li’l socks take over street style runways out of sheer spite? Honestly, it couldn’t have happened at a better time. Street style had already begun the trend around 2018, as the skate/streetwear world fully collided with high-fashion.
High fashion picked up on it soon after, with sock-heavy collections at Gucci and Prada Spring/Summer 2019 runway shows—ballpark price for one pair of designer socks: $170+ (yes, that is an actual Prada tube sock.) However, nothing forced normal people everywhere to rethink how we wore socks than a worldwide pandemic. Lockdown catapulted us into a world where sweatpants became dresses, authenticity (as conveyed through dilapidated sneakers) became armor, and—most importantly—the line between “home” outfits and “real” outfits got blurry AF. “A lot of trends we see hitting now are comfort-driven, and the tube sock is no exception,” explains Chen. “We’ve all sort of become accustomed to our outfits feeling as good as they look. Post-lockdown, everyone’s a bit more comfortable—including with their fashion choices.” Speaking of comfort… “The juxtaposition of pairing a completely mundane sock with an otherwise put-together outfit is what makes it,” says stylist and super-badass Jordan Kim. “Think of it this way: you wouldn’t wear a ballet flat with chicken-cut socks with rolled-up jeans unless you were going for some serious irony.
But swap out those fishnets for an athletic sock, and all of a sudden you’re playing with a similar contrast without trying too hard. It’s high-low but in the subtlest way possible.” Think: boyfriend jeans with a delicate blouse. Basic tee with tailoring.
Grainy dystopian Nicolas Winding Refn film with endless witty banter. The tube sock is naturally high-low, effortlessly playing up a similar contrast. Fashion loves poking the elitist bear that is luxury branding, and there’s no better way to do that than by normalizing pieces that *gasp* don’t break the bank.
Sure, everyone from Balenciaga to Isabel Marant are selling luxe takes on what are essentially Pull-Up sweatband socks these days. But as any vintage dealer will tell you, they don’t make ’em like they used to. Spend $170 on a pair of Gucci athletic socks when you can get a three-pack of Nike Sport socks that Laura Bush would’ve approved of for… $12. “I always tell clients who are scared to embrace trends like this: go to the sporting goods store and buy the real deal,” says Kim. “It feels more authentic than trying to wear something ultra luxe with something as normcore as an athletic sock.” She sent me photo proof of one of her clients out killing it in premium socks from Target.
Guess who has the cooler shoes… Are you ready to take the leap? Here’s how to start styling your socks with intention, rookie style. Rule Number 1: Loafers.
The easiest entry point into intentional sock styling is… a pair of loafers. Traditional penny or brogue, chunky lug-sole—all of it works. Just make sure your socks are pulled up (something tucked down around your ankle looks sloppy rather than intentional) and you’ve got options.
Per Kim’s client, a simple white tube sock with colored stripes at the top is always a winning choice; however, totally solid colored socks work here too. Rule Number 2: Mary Janes, or Ballet Flats. For those of you who don’t do loafers (looking at you, peeps who live in Venice and very naturally wear Dr.
Martens 24/7) try styling your tube socks with Mary Janes or ballet flats. It dresses down a traditionally “girly” shoe in the same way that pairing a basic tee with mom jeans does. Match with a midi skirt or cropped wide-leg pants to keep the focus on your socks.
Rule Number 3: Heeled sandals. Okay, so this is very “fashion with a capital F” stuff, but if you’re going to make a statement, might as well go all the way. Tube socks *with* heeled sandals is trendily breaking all the rules we’ve come to know and love. “You want to keep the rest of the outfit fairly simple if you go this route,” warns stylist Jade Park. “Think slip dress or a great pair of jeans with a tee.
You don’t want to compete with your socks.” Oh, and guys can totally wear tube socks as a statement too! Stylish dudes have been known to pair sneakers/athletic socks with loafers, desert boots, you name it. Just please—for the love of Chuck Taylors—keep your socks pulled up.
We’re not jeans wearing socks here. “It reminds me of vintage basketball in the 70s,” says men’s stylist Eric Wong. “Like, older guys in high tube socks.
There’s something kinda nostalgic about it that feels new again, especially when you pair it with tailored pieces.” Hey, even I had to try it out for myself. I braved one particularly upscale press dinner wearing my vintage Ferragamo loafers and some pristine white Nike tube socks pulled up to mid- calf, peeking out from under my cut-off jeans.
Throw on a simple black sweater and minimalist gold jewelry to let the sock-meets-loafer combo do all the talking. “What are those socks?” asked one passerby, who turned out to be another fashion editor and immediately got the look. “I love them! So cool-ugly.” It wasn’t until my dad reached over to pinch my overflowing sock obviously hanging out of my shoe that I realized how powerful “wrong” could be as a fashion statement. “They look intentional,” he said, eyes narrowed. “Were those on purpose?” Insert side-eye emoji here. But that’s sort of the point when you’re stealing fashion kids’ thunder by making something as normcore as tube socks your new favorite accessory.
To the savvy, it’s a detail that speaks volumes. To those outside the fashion bubble, it’ll just look like you haven’t showered since the Jordans dropped. YOU WIN ALL THE SOCKS. “This trend, like so many others happening right now, is really breaking down the binary way we think about clothes,” suggests Dr.
Elena Santos, fashion historian and author of “Off The Shoulders, On Top Of The Waist: The Gendered Lives Of Fashion Trends.” “What’s ‘fashionable’ vs ‘unfashionable,’ what’s masculine vs feminine, what’s considered luxury versus common place. We’re in an era of fashion that’s all about disrupting these categories.” Said categories, gentle reader, being dressed: up and dressed: down. “If you’re worried about sticking out like a sore thumb,” adds Kim, “don’t be! Fashion moves so fast these days that wearing pants with socks is *the* bold move.” If this doesn’t work, go hide in your parents’ closet like the rest of us plebs.
Either way, you’re gonna look 🔥👖.
