While doing my daily routine, browsing the internet today, I was shocked to find out the amount of controversy that exists around wearing white socks. Apparently this harmless piece of clothing has become a symbol or an icon for many different things in mainstream culture.
I know most girls think that a guy wearing white socks (especially with sandals) is a sign of social of fashion disconnect. What I was surprised to see though was an article on AskMen’s online magazine that was heavily commented on and debated by both sexes and both sides of the argument. Some female readers went as far as calling these styles or articles as very complex sales tactics that are meant to direct guys towards buying more expensive and more profitable colored socks in the quest for having a more appealing look and higher chances of attracting women.
This got me thinking and searching for more weird situations where white socks are blown out of proportion and I found quite a few.
LAPD Female officers observing a protest with two out of the three wearing black socks.
Apparently, wearing black socks is a regulated part of police enforcement dress code. The reason for doing so may not be entirely stylistic to match their black shoes and dark brown, blue or black pants; rather the reason may be more functional:
“(As a total aside, we learned in Evidence that apparently for a number of years drug dealers in some states could spot undercover cops by the color of their SOCKS. The cops would wear white socks with black shoes, so the drug dealers would take note and sell them talcum powder, instead of heroin. Instead of realizing what was going on and asking cops to change their socks, the state legislatures passed consumer protection statutes, making it illegal for someone to promise to sell you heroin and then sell you something else. People can be so, so dumb sometimes).”
Thus police are only allowed to wear white tube socks when they are dressed in boots to protect their legs, otherwise it’s black socks all the way.
Another funny thing I ran into is a UK based forum of parents literally fighting over the exact age that their daughters should stop wearing white socks. Some believed as early as 10 years old was right, others thought that wearing white socks as late as 18 years of age, others stuck with their school’s dress code which typically switched to black tights around the age of 15 or 16.
The reason for this controversy it seems is that in the UK girls white socks are seen as one of two things:
1- White socks are seen as an implicit sign of sexuality and in fear of their girls being targets for sexual predators or even catching the attention of older boys.
2- In some schools it seems that a common form of punishment in the UK includes humiliating the student by having them wear younger grade uniforms (such as wearing a middle school uniform in high-school) including the ‘iconic’ white socks.
These concepts seem to be totally localized as an Australian mother commented that in Australia the sexualized or penalized attributed of wearing white socks for older teen girls didn’t exist and that her daughters had worn them freely all through high-school. However this mother said that when they moved to the UK and her youngest daughter -14 at the time- wore white socks to school on her very first day; that her daughter came home to tell her that she was the target of ridicule and mockery from the older boys at her school which confirms white socks’ ability to grab the wrong kind of attention in some countries.
My search didn’t end here… as I continued to browse the internet I ran into a crash course in tennis etiquette. Tennis has traditionally been a sport for the upper classes by focusing on one on one competition (as a gentlemenly duel) and having no physical contact which removes it from the more ‘savage’ sports.
Even the willams sisters dare not ware the blatant black socks... however there is a bit of orange in there that shows their fight.
From this traditional background comes a traditional tennis dress-code that has been modernized throughout the years based on the many heroic icons that have played the games and their lines of sponsored performance wear by the likes of Reebock, Nike and Fila. The argument here was when it was permissible to NOT wear white socks, and if at any point in time was it ok to wear black socks. People’s comments on this subject varied from the traditional (advocating only wearing white socks), to the whacky (wearing white socks in the summer and outdoor games, while wearing black or colored socks for indoor and winter games), to the psychological. Apparently wearing black socks in tennis, especially if not coupled with a pair of plain black shoes, was a definite sign of feeling “hard core”. And thus, you were only allowed to NOT wear white socks in tennis unless you were absolutely sure of your game and were ok with turning on the ‘I will bet my house on this game’ beacon of hard to the core black socks.
I come from a culture that says “Eat what pleases you, and wear what pleases others”. I don’t really believe in that though because you can never make everyone happy. Obviously if white socks will get you killed in your part of the world, then by all means don’t wear them. However, to me, white socks are a sign of good times just like clean white sneakers and a crisp white dress shirt. When financial times are bad, or when countries are poor, you’ll see more people wearing darker colored clothes, socks and undergarments. The reason they wear darker colors (even though they may be more expensive than whites) is that darks are better at hiding the dirt, dust, grime, and sweat of a tough ‘blue collar’ life. Darks take less detergent and less attention to keep them looking wearable. Darks are also lower maintenance.
Part of why I like a pristine set of white socks is because they tell the implicit story of being accomplished, just as a pair of pristine white sneakers or a pristine crisp white shirt does. I think in some sense this is similar to how in many parts of the world cab drivers use white cars instead of yellows. However, I would definitely not hesitate to roll up in a pearl white Bentley cabriolet with the top down, wearing a white pant suit, and cruising the beauty of the Monaco ocean front.
