Socks and sandals

A man wearing socks in sandals.
Sandals worn with white ankle socks.

Wearing socks and sandals together is a controversial fashion combination and social phenomenon that is discussed in various countries and cultures. In some places it is considered a fashion faux pas.[1]

History

The earliest known surviving pair of socks, created by naalbinding. The split toes were designed for use with sandals. Dating from 300–500, they were excavated from Oxyrhynchus on the Nile in Egypt.

The earliest evidence of wearing socks and sandals is documented at the archaeological site between Dishforth and Leeming in North Yorkshire, England. The discovery suggests that old Romans wore socks with sandals at least 2,000 years ago.[2][3]

Reception

British tabloid newspaper Daily Mail has mocked football player David Beckham and singer Justin Bieber for wearing socks with sandals.[4]

Saurabh Bhatia, the author of the book Indian Corporate Etiquette, advises readers: "If, for some reason, you are not wearing socks with sandals, ensure your toes are clean and your toe-nails are closely clipped".[5] Joshua Belter, the author of The Book of Rules: The Right Way to Do Everything, points out that wearing socks with sandals reduces the amount of cooling feet experience.[6] However, energy design handbooks include light socks and sandals as part of a high-thermal flux tropical attire.[7][8]

Regional phenomenon

According to Brian Shea of The Evening Sun, wearing socks and sandals is popular among the older generation and Germans.[9]

The Britons are, according to The China Post, "famed for fashion blunders like wearing socks with sandals".[10]

Wearing socks and sandals is considered rather unaesthetic in the Czech Republic; however, some people prefer socks and sandals, and a part of the population prefers both the options (sandals with and without socks).[11]

Socks and sandals is a regular Pacific Northwest phenomenon.[12][13][14] Seattle based insurance company PEMCO used the "Sandals & Socks Guy" character as part of a 2007 advertising campaign that portrayed this as a typically Pacific Northwest fashion.[15][16] The Daily Dot highlighted "sandals and socks" as a term entered into a web search engine more often by Washingtonians than residents of any other state.[17]

Subculture phenomenon

Xbox Live avatar with socks and sandals

Wearing socks and sandals is associated by some with geek culture.[18][19] Socks and sandals were noted as a "high crime of fashion" when introduced as Xbox Live avatar accessory downloadable content in 2009.[20]

2010s fashion trend

In 2010, the newspaper Daily Telegraph reported that wearing socks and sandals was a hit for spring/summer of that year.[21] Starting in 2010, and again in 2014, several sources reported that socks and sandals had become a fashion trend in the United States and the United Kingdom, appearing in several runway shows, including those of Miu Miu (2010) and fashion designers Vivienne Tam and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (2014), and picked up by celebrities.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28]

Socks and sandals can be practical for weather transitioning unpredictably between warm and cold, and adding socks can also reduce the discomfort of breaking in new sandals.

People

Kyle Gass performing with Tenacious D while wearing socks and sandals

People noted for wearing socks and sandals include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Socks and sandals voted biggest fashion faux pas of all time". Debenhams Press Center. Debenhams. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Alleyne, Richard (25 August 2010). "Romans wore socks with sandals, new British dig suggests". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Acton, Adams & Packer 2006, p. 241.
  4. ↑ London, Bianca (30 July 2013). "Sorry, David Beckham and Justin Bieber! Sandals worn with socks voted biggest fashion faux pas EVER by the public". Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Bhatia 2008, p. 42.
  6. ↑ Belter 2012, p. 132.
  7. ↑ Parsons 2010, p. 138.
  8. ↑ Butera 1999, p. 44.
  9. ↑ Shea, Brian (7 July 2008). "Regular Guy: Power to the Relaxation Revolution". The Evening Sun. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Britons are worst-dressed European tourists: study". The China Post (originally AFP). 7 June 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "Spor o ponožky v sandálech mě pobavil, píše Američan v reakci na Škromacha". Lidové noviny (in Czech). lidovky.cz. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Haupt 2009, p. 30 "Surely wearing binoculars is a novel fashion statement, one that has yet to be discovered by Paris, New York, or even Seattle, where we regularly dine out in polar fleece and wear sweat socks with our sandals."
  13. ↑ Steve Scher (August 13, 2010), "Pacific Northwest Fashion", Weekday (Radio show), KUOW
  14. ↑ Chickowski 2012, p. 68 "[S]pecialty beers are as de rigueur here [in the Northwest] as fleece jackets and sandals with socks."
  15. ↑ Christina Corrales-Toy (August 29, 2014), "Newcastle native inspires PEMCO's newest Northwest Profile", Newcastle News, Newcastle, Washington
  16. ↑ Jennifer Gehrt (March 1, 2010), "We’re a Lot Like You" PEMCO’s Campaign, Seattle: Communique PR
  17. ↑ Josh Katzowitz (August 26, 2015), "America's most shameful Google searches, state by state", The Daily Dot
  18. ↑ Langley 2012, p. 30.
  19. ↑ Reay 2005, p. 46 "As a scientist, one of the 'perks' of the job is going to international conferences. These are usually dominated by people with a penchant for wearing socks with sandals..."
  20. ↑ Alexander Sliwinski (May 13, 2009), "New Avatar shoes available, fear the socks and sandals option", Engadget
  21. ↑ Alexander, Hilary (10 April 2010). "Socks with sandals are on trend for spring/summer 2010". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  22. ↑ Melissa Magsaysay (April 5, 2014), "Wearing socks with sandals is suddenly fashionable: The much-derided combination of socks with sandals is trending with celebrities, fashion industry insiders and street style stars", Los Angeles Times
  23. ↑ Deni Kirkova (November 2, 2014), "Birkenstocks and socks are IN for autumn, says fashion editor, but would you dare step out in Rita Ora's favourite look?", Daily Mail
  24. ↑ Michelle Persad (May 13, 2015), "This Is How You Make Socks And Sandals Look Cool. Yes, It's Possible.", Huffington Post
  25. ↑ Andrea Cheng (March 31, 2014), "From Taboo to Trend: Sock-and-Sandal Pairings Are Really Happening", InStyle
  26. ↑ Olivia Kim (October 14, 2014), "What's Up, Olivia: Socks & Sandals", The Thread (Fashion blog), Seattle: Nordstrom
  27. ↑ RAAKHEE MIRCHANDANI and ANAHITA MOUSSAVIAN (May 14, 2010), "Should you rock socks and sandals?", New York Post
  28. ↑ Sadie Stein (May 17, 2010), "Socks And Sandals: A Meditation", Jezebel
  29. ↑ Jennifer Bails, "Bing it On", Carnegie Mellon Today, Carnegie-Mellon University
  30. ↑ Miguel Helft (August 30, 2009), "A Hired Gun for Microsoft, in Pursuit of Google", The New York Times
  31. ↑ Casey Newton (July 7, 2016), "Exclusive: Why Microsoft is betting its future on AI, inside Satya Nadella's plan to outsmart Google", The Verge
  32. ↑ Andy Orin (July 27, 2015), "I'm Linus Sebastian of LinusTechTips, and This Is How I Work", Lifehacker, Lifehacker

Book sources

  • Acton, Johnny; Adams, Tania; Packer, Matt (2006), The Origin of Everyday Things, New York: Sterling, ISBN 978-1-4027-4302-3
  • Belter, Joshua (2012), The Book of Rules: The Right Way to Do Everything, HOW Books, ISBN 9781440310317
  • Bhatia, Saurabh (2008), Indian Corporate Etiquette, p. 29, ISBN 9788190696401
  • Butera, Federico M. (1999), "Principles of thermal comfort", in M. Sala, C. Gallo, A. A. M. Sayigh, Architecture – Comfort and Energy, Elsevier, pp. 39–66, ISBN 0080560601
  • Chickowski, E. (2012), Moon Washington, Moon Handbooks, Avalon Travel Publishing, ISBN 978-1-61238-261-6, retrieved 2015-10-05
  • Haupt, L.L. (2009), Crow Planet: Essential Wisdom from the Urban Wilderness, Little, Brown, ISBN 978-0-316-05339-6, retrieved 2015-10-05
  • Langley, Alex (2012), The Geek Handbook, Krause Publications, p. 30, ISBN 144023292X
  • Parsons, K. (2010), "Thermal comfort in buildings", in Hall, Matthew R, Materials for energy efficiency and thermal comfort in buildings, Elsevier, pp. 127–147, ISBN 1845699270
  • Reay, Dave (2005), Climate Change Begins at Home: Life on the Two-Way Street of Global Warming, Macmillan, p. 46, ISBN 0230579701

Further reading

  • "DO THIS DON'T: Wear Sandals With Socks!". xoJane. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  • Stu Woo and Ray A. Smith (September 15, 2015), "I'll Be Darned, Wearing Socks With Sandals Is Fashionable—From football players to runway models, some don't toe traditional line", The Wall Street Journal
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