Slouch socks, slouchy socks, loose socks or fall down socks are a type of

sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...

featuring a heavy non-

elastic Elastic is a word often used to describe or identify certain types of elastomer, Elastic (notion), elastic used in garments or stretch fabric, stretchable fabrics. Elastic may also refer to: Alternative name * Rubber band, ring-shaped band of rub ...

upper that may be pushed down into heavy folds around the

ankle The ankle, the talocrural region or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joint. The ...

s or pulled up to the

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

. In Japan, the loose sock style has been popular with high-school girls. In the US, slouch socks have trended in and out of fashion since the 1980s.

Description

Slouch socks are a type of

featuring a heavy non-

upper that may be pushed down into heavy folds around the

s or pulled up to the

. Slouch socks tend to have a foot that is made of very thin fabric to encourage the

layering Layering can refer to: * Layering (horticulture), a means of vegetative propagation * Layering (finance), a strategy in high frequency trading * Layering (linguistics), a principle by which grammaticalisation can be detected * Surface layering ...

of the socks. Slouch socks come in two primary varieties. " Flat-knit" slouch socks have no elastic and have a "two-by-two" knitting pattern. The "flat-knit" term comes from the fact that the ribbing of the socks has a squared-off appearance. " Rib-knit" slouch socks are so-named because of their rounded ribbing.

History

Japan

are a style of baggy

worn by

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

high school girls, as part of culture. This style of socks has also become popular among American teens and college students who are fans of Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

. These socks come in a variety of styles, defined by the knitting pattern of the upper portion of the sock. The two most popular styles are the traditional 2×2 rib knit (pictured) and tube-style loose socks, which are thigh-high length tube socks worn pushed down around the ankles. A skin-safe body adhesive popularly known as "sock glue" can be used to affix the uppermost part of the sock to the calf so that the entire sock will not bunch downward and spoil the look. Loose socks were adopted as a fashion which flattered plump calves and also expressed rebellious deviation from Japan's strict dress code for

school uniforms A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries and are generally widespread in Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Brit ...

. They have been used as an inspiration for photography by

Akira Gomi is a Japanese photographer whose work focuses on beauty across racial lines. His work is in the style of Laurie Toby Edison. Education Gomi graduated Nihon University, Dept. of Photography in 1976. He studied with Laurence Sackman and Michel Be ...

. They are also used in

Japanese street fashion Japanese street fashion refers to a number of styles of contemporary modern clothing in Japan. Created from a mix of both local and foreign fashion brands, Japanese Street Fashion, street fashions tend to have their own distinctive style, with s ...

s such as and .

United States

In the US, slouch socks have trended in and out of fashion since the 1980s. From around 1984 to 1997, slouch socks were a popular fashion item for kids, youngsters and adults of all sexes. The two most popular brands were

Wigwam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...

and E.G. Smith. Many women and girls wore black, lime green, blue, or other colored

leggings Leggings are several types of leg attire that have varied through the years. Modern usage from the 1960s onwards has come to refer to elastic close-fitting High-rise (fashion), high-rise garments worn over the legs typically by women, such as leg ...

with white slouch socks, athletic

sneakers Sneakers (American English, US) or trainers (British English, UK), also known by a #Names, wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual ...

and oversized

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

s or

sweatshirt A sweatshirt is a long-sleeved pullover shirt or jacket fashioned out of thick, usually cotton, cloth material. Sweatshirts are almost exclusively casual attire and hence not as formal as some sweaters. Sweatshirts may or may not have a hood. A s ...

s as casual wear or exercise wear. Other colors like pastel yellow, blue or pink and black, red, purple and neon green were also seen. Many girls, teens, college girls, and women wore the slouch socks usually over leggings, cotton pants, or

sweatpants Sweatpants are a casual variety of soft trousers intended for comfort or athletic purposes, although they are now worn in many different situations. In the United Kingdom, they are called joggers. In Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa ...

, usually with

Keds Keds is an American brand known for its canvas shoes with rubber soles. Founded in 1916 by U.S. Rubber, its original shoe design was the first mass-marketed canvas-top sneaker. The brand was sold to Stride Rite in 1979, which was acquired by ...

and oversized tee shirts, sweatshirts and sweaters sometimes with a turtleneck under the sweatshirt (popularly), or sweaters. Or they wore the slouch socks with

babydoll A babydoll is a short, sleeveless, loose-fitting nightgown or negligee, intended as nightwear for women. It sometimes has formed cups called a bralette for cleavage with an attached, loose-fitting skirt falling in length usually between the ...

skater dress The rah-rah (or ra-ra) skirt is a short flounced, layered skirt that originated in cheerleading and became a popular fashion trend among teenage girls in the early 1980s. It marked, as the ''Oxford Dictionary'' noted, the first successful att ...

es or

dress shorts Bermuda shorts, also known as walk shorts or dress shorts, are a particular type of short trousers, worn as semi-casual attire by both men and women. The hem, which can be cuffed or un-cuffed, is around above the knee. They are so-named because ...

with white Wigwam slouch socks worn over black opaque

tights Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concep ...

with Keds. Also, the socks were worn with jeans or pants rolled or cuffed to show the socks or worn over skinny legged jeans.

Boat shoe Boat shoes (also known as deck shoes or top-siders) are typically canvas or leather with non-marking rubber soles designed for use on a boat. A siping pattern is cut into the soles to provide grip on a wet deck; the leather construction, along w ...

s, ankle flat boots and cross training sport sneakers were also worn with slouch socks. Many women, college age, teens, and tweens wore slouch socks as part of aerobic exercise wear or over sports leggings in colder weather for running, cross country and other sports.

Cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

s wore slouch socks along with Keds as part of their uniform from the early to mid 1980s until the late '90s when slouch socks began to be replaced by

crew A crew is a body or a group of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchy, hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the ta ...

or ankle socks. Students who had a school uniform also wore the slouch socks with their skirts, shorts and pants and boat shoes or loafers. Usually in white or school color. Boys, teens, college age and men wore slouch socks with boat shoes, white

Sperry Sperry may refer to: Places In the United States: * Sperry, Iowa, community in Des Moines County * Sperry, Missouri *Sperry, Oklahoma, town in Tulsa County * Sperry Chalet, historic backcountry chalet, Glacier National Park, Montana * Sperry Glaci ...

canvas sneakers and cross training and other athletic sneakers with jeans or pants rolled or cuffed to show the socks and with casual or dress shorts, sweatpants or over sports leggings in colder weather for running, cross country, and other sports.

References

{{reflist Socks 1980s fashion