One of our favorite parts of the warm weather is new shorties, like these sweet Sweet Marcel anklets from last summer!!!

We here at Sock Dreams are suckers for a little shorty sock and luckily Tabbisocks has already starting sending us the most adorable socks ever.
Stay tuned for new styles coming just in time for Spring and Summer.

It turns out that though ‘Super Loose’ is a direct translation of the Japanese word for this style of sock, a more accurate translation is ‘Scrunchy.’ And it definitely seems more accurate! One of the things we love about this style is that you can just scrunch them down.

Is there a difference between ‘scrunching’ and ‘slouching’? Not really, though how we often tend to use the words is that ‘scrunch’ is actively pushing your socks down and ‘slouch’ is when a sock more naturally crumples a little lower.  The effect is the same either way, soft folds above your ankles (or tops of your boots!).

The EG Smith Ribbed Bootsocks on the left need to be scrunched down, but the Bess Cashmere Slouch Rib Knee Socks on the right slouch on their own in the most delightful way!

In our Scrunchy Socks collection you’ll find two distinct schools of the scrunchy sock, ‘schoolgirl socks’ and ‘slouch socks.’ What’s the difference? Find out after the jump!

The schoolgirl sock look comes to us from Japan and, though it’s missing a lot of citations, Wikipedia’s entry on Loose Socks has the basic info.  Around the 1990s it became popular for Japanese girls to pair long and loose socks with their uniform skirts, using sock glue to keep them up.  Like a lot of fads, styles started to get extreme, with longer and longer socks, even up to two meters long (which is almost 80 inches!).  We’ve got that two meters beat with our 100 Inch Super Ruched socks.

The look seeped into media and the silhouette of big, slouchy socks with a skirt is iconic even today. Our Harajuku Style Pinterest board has this great picture of schoolgirl socks that was found at Tokyo Fashion, which has even more pictures of loose socks in action!

Image by Tokyo Fashion

Hmm, those socks look familiar! They could be the Harajuku Scrunchy Socks, or one of the longer versions, the Schoolgirl Long Socks or the Schoolgirl Extra Long socks!

But you don’t have to go as far as Japan to get good long socks and they don’t have to be white!  Our Dream Stockings line has two great long and scrunchy sock options for you, the 40 inch Long Cuffable Scrunchables:

From left to right: Charcoal, Lilac, White

And the 50 inch Super Ms!

From left to right: Dark Red, Grey, Dusty Plum

Sock Dreams has offered loose socks since almost the beginning and we’ve pretty much always carried slouch socks.  Just like the schoolgirl loose sock look, they showed up in the 1990s, plain ol’ bootsocks rising into the fashion sphere.  EG Smith was THE name for bootsocks, with a 99% cotton sock and almost no elastic, super slouchy and with the perfect scrunch, “Love Eric” printed on the foot.  If you remember the kind of socks Brenda wore on 90210, then you know exactly what kind of style I’m talking about.

Sadly, the machines that produced the socks wore down in about 2009, having made socks since the Civil War. But about a year later EG Smith introduced the Ribbed Bootsock, with a similar look, but more scrunch than slouch (they’re only 94% cotton).  We love them even more than the original!

From left to right: Natural, Denim, White

Our Dream Stockings and Dreamer Socks lines have similar styles, so there are even more colours and slouch sock styles to choose from!  Our Cotton Slouch Socks are a customer and Dreamer favourite, with the most colours of any line we produce.

From left to right: Bubblegum, Dusty Plum, Light Blue

The Acrylic Slouch Socks come in shocking bright colours, they’re so vibrant, like crayons!

From left to right: Hunter Green, Yellow, Purple

And there are more delicious, scrunchy socks just waiting for you to browse in our Scrunchy Socks collection!  Are scrunchy socks your thing and if so, do you go schoolgirl or slouch?

Tabbisocks, our supplier in Japan, so far has not suffered any direct loss from the recent disasters. We’re keeping fingers and toes crossed for their continued safety and we will do our best to keep our Tabbisocks styles in stock as we can. Supporting Japanese companies like our wonderful sock friends at Tabbisocks is a small way to help support their economy (and ours) during this troubling times. It seems silly, and small, but again, it’s the small comforts and helping hands that can help uplift hearts as we work to heal.

In that mind, here are a couple of our favourite comfort socks by Tabbisocks, including two new styles that we are so thrilled to be able to offer.

We’ve featured the Super Loose Socks before on the Sock Journal, they’re one of the Dreamer favourites, hands (and feet) down, cozy and slouchy and classic. We now offer almost every colour Tabbisocks has, including an incredibly vivid Kelly that we got just in time for St. Patrick’s day.

They were, until recently, one of the closest styles we could recommend to folks looking for something like the long-lost Pippy Longstockling, which were much thicker and longer, perfect for getting the schoolgirl look. We searched long and hard for a good replacement for the Pippy style and much to our delight Tabbisocks recently introduced their Schoolgirl Long Socks, in 30 and the Extra-Long 40 inch lengths. Unlike the Super Loose, they’re a cotton blend and have a wonderful heft and slouch to them.

Speaking of classic looks, Tabbisocks’ Cotton Tabi OTK is a traditional style in a modern length. And we even offer them in our custom-made Vertical Stripes!

One new Tabbisocks style I am personally super excited about are the Furry Warmers and the Spotted Furry Warmers. The cozy faux fur gives just the right amount of warmth and adding them to an outfit, as warmers or a retro-style muff, makes for one undeniable look.

There are so many ways we can help, directly with the Red Cross and the Portland-based Mercy Corps to more indirect ways like Socks for Japan and supporting companies that are local to our hearts. Every little bit helps, remember that small comforts can bring a surprising ray of hope no matter how dark the day.

I was pretty overwhelmed by all the costumes so I wasn’t able to get too many snaps (and the light in the vendor’s area was not camera friendly ), but I did get a picture of some sock browsing by a lovely Manastu whose choker detail I kind a love.

But what about the table!  And the socks!

Besides our DreaM Stockings and Dreamer Socks, Rock Socks was duly represented (yay nerds!), along with the wonderful Japanese brand, Tabbisocks and the ever trusty sock glue, which saved quite a few socks over the weekend!

We even brought our custom-made 100 Inch Super Ruched Socks, but nobody was daring enough to take the plunge.

I don’t know where they got their energy, but when I dropped in on Sunday our Dreamers were still rocking socks like crazy.

This was such a fun event, we’re already looking forward to next year.  If you saw us at Kumoricon, give us a shoutout!  And don’t forget to post on our Facebook if any of our socks helped complete your costume.

Uniform socks, above all, need to be a solid colour and we tend to find folks want them knee high or over the knee.  If you’re looking for solid coloured sock options, even if your school days are long past, this is a good list for you.  This is totally not every solid colour sock we carry, just the styles that have an option in white, which we’ve found to be the most popular uniform sock colour.

Socks for kids and teens can be hard to choose, you go through so many foot sizes when you’re growing up!  I’m going to focus here on options that fit women’s US shoe size 6 (men’s shoe size 4) and up, as we get the most requests for help in these sizes.  Be sure to check the Sizing Information for any styles you’re interested in, we try our best to include all the measurements we can, from top and calf stretch to height from heel to cuff.

Flat knit is a classic choice and is often a slightly lighter weight option.  They’re not as warm as ribs and cables, but they’re a great day-to-day sock.

From left to right:
• O Basics •
• EG ECO Comfort Top Knee High •
• MP Lace Knee High •
(their very subtle texture shouldn’t be a problem within most dress codes)

From left to right:
• Solid Acrylic OTK (these work well as a cuffed knee high) •
• Extraordinary Thigh Highs •
• EG Smith Solid Over the Knee Stockings •

These are the most basic sock style we see people buying for uniforms.  If you want something that works with your dress code, but is more fun, check out what we’ve got below the cut.

Ribbed socks not only have a better chance of staying up on some legs, but they can be nice cozy layer when it gets cooler.  One thing we’ve found people like about them is that they work equally well with every-day clothes, when they can be scrunched and slouched, instead of neatly pulled up.

From left to right:
• Cotton Slouch Socks •
• DreaM Slouches •
• Ribbed M Stockings •

Trouser socks, in thin nylon, are a great lightweight option.  They’re tube-style, with no formed heel, so littler and bigger feet can wear them easily.

From left to right:
• Opaque Solid Nylon Trouser Socks •
• Solid Opaque Thigh Highs •

Textured socks don’t work for some dress codes, and Loose socks are even less likely to be an option if you don’t go to school in a Japanese manga, but I’d be amiss if I didn’t point out these super fun options.

From left to right:
• MP Quilted Over the Knee •
• O Lovelies •
• O Chevrons •

From left to right:
• Harajuku Super Loose Socks •
• Long Cuffable Scrunchable Socks •
• Super Ms •

So, even if you’ve got a dress code to stick to, there are lots of fun sock options to add a little something to your uniform.  And if you have trouble keeping them up, there’s always sock glue!  If you’ve bought socks to go with your school clothes, let us know!

Because I work in the warehouse at SDHQ, I’ve got to wear closed-toe shoes.  This keeps me from one of my favourite warm-weather ‘sock’ styles, stirrup leg warmers. Which! I know the idea of a leg warmer in August heat is intimidating, but hear me out—

Don’t tell anybody, but at heart I’m a barefoot gal.  My toes like freedom to wiggle and scuff at dirt.  But shoes are a must for running errands or going grocery shopping and I am so not going to put on shoes without socks.  Stirrup leg warmers like the Color Pop Stripes are the perfect compromise.  I can slip on sneakers without having that sweaty foot-to-shoe feeling, or hop in some flip-flops ‘cause my toes are still free.

The Color Pop Stripes are by the Japanese brand Tabbisocks, who make some of the silliest and most fun sock styles.  They’ve got two other cottony stirrup options that I’ve got my eye on, I just don’t know what colour to get!

The Marled Stirrup Leg Warmer comes in this colour we’re calling “Mint” for now, even though Niqkita pointed out it’s more like the underside of a mint leaf.  But it also comes in a soft blue and in a black that definitely appeals to my gothy side while still being all marled and summery:

And then there is the Cuffs & Stripes Shortie Leg Warmer.  I know they are totally kind of Flashdance, but that only makes them appeal to me more. It’s not a true stirrup, because the heel is covered (like the Crochet Lover Toeless Socks), but the soft terry scrunchableness of the cuff wins me over:

What socks have become your staple over this summer?  Is there one you’ve been eyeing lately and want to try before we fade into fall?