It’s About Socks – Part 3 – Fads

A fad from the past is steadily emerging in the fashion industry.  Tube socks, from the late 70s and through the 80s, are returning with a vengeance.  Some may remember these being called “Kool-Aid” socks.  These bring back so many memories for me, and not all good, unfortunately.  When I was in elementary and middle school, my parents would buy these socks for me to wear at school.  During the warmer days, I hated having these socks on my legs while the “cool” kids had their new ankle socks.  I would roll the tops of my socks down so that the color rings would not show.  Today, however, I proudly wear these socks.  Think back to the popular shows of the 80s, say “The Wonder Years”, “Punky Brewster”, or “Silver Spoons” and remember how many times you saw these socks on people.  They wore them for the world to see.  Even the adult movie industry made good use of them!

To go along with the retro tube sock, UNB has featured the Pulse Retro Jock that sports the matching color bands.  How cool is it that now, your socks and your underwear can match again.  When guys were wearing the original color briefs with white piping, they were matching them to their socks with singular colors such as wearing their white tubes with blue bands and their blue briefs.  Now, you aren’t held back by the sold colors!  Mix them up with green and yellow and purchase the green/yellow Pulse Jock and show them off!

A year or two ago, I found a pack of fantastic boot socks from Journeys^®.  They are still my most favorite socks to wear, especially since it has been an exceptionally cold winter.  These tube socks are long enough that they cover my kneecaps when I pull them up.  I have them in blue/red, green/yellow, and brown/orange.  When I wear them, I feel like I am back in the 80s with a better appreciation for them.  How could I have covered those rings when I was a teen.  Maybe I could have been the one to bring them back into style!

A fad we’ve seen emerging in primarily dress socks is silk.  These can be found in almost any color of the rainbow.  Sites have been created specifically for lovers of this type of sock.  Silk is very sheer and is quite see-through.  Silk socks are about the closest thing a guy can have to women’s pantyhose.  I have worn silk socks and I have to admit they feel different, if not weird, for the first few times they’re worn, but you do get accustomed to their lightness and ability to breathe.  The smooth feel of these socks are amazing.  One thing you may consider purchasing before getting into silk socks is sock garters.  Yes, men wear garters, too!  I found mine online somewhere, but you can find them at Sock Dreams.  Personally, I find them very attractive.  Not only can underwear spice up your life, but also socks.  Who knew something we tend to look over could be sexy!

Many men like to match the color of their dress socks with their underwear.  In the ever growing fashion market in underwear and socks, this isn’t hard to accomplish.  Companies are starting to create designs of all sorts to match the demand of their customers.  You can find then in horizontal and vertical stripes, paisley, plaid, and various geometrical patterns.  Being a man of habit, I tend to match as much as I can.  I knew a guy a few years ago that I knew what color underwear he had on by looking at his shirt.  The same idea goes along with socks.  If you are brave to try new things, go out and buy different colors of socks.  You will find a different person inside that has been dying to come out all along.

Wearing sports socks for everyday wear is a fad that appears every now and then.  When I say sports socks, I mean socks you would normally see worn on the soccer (futbol) field (as seen at the top), baseball socks with the vertical color stripes on the sides, or socks with the solid colors at the top (about 5-6 inches) while the bottoms are white (as shown here).  I have wanted to buy some of the more American football socks.  I am sure they could be found in sports stores such as Dick’s Sporting Goods^® or online at Eastbay^®.  I have a few pairs of baseball socks in blue and red..

Finding out what socks people have on, to me, is like finding out what kind of underwear someone is wearing.  They both let you know the person a bit more.  For instance, I bought a pair of Spiderman underwear last week.  I love them because they make me feel like a big kid.  On the same token, if you lifted the leg of my pants, there might be a pair of Auburn University socks, reflecting my favorite team in college football.

Along with the popularity of underwear in the men’s fashion world, we can see an ever increasing popularity of socks.  I guess in one way or another, they are linked together as they are both necessary articles of clothing to many.  On the other hand, we see just as many people who do not wear socks as we do of men that go commando.  Either way, socks continue to be an interesting material of clothing that brings joy and spice to people’s lives.