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For those curious, the first query that comes up on Google’s ‘also asked’ section when you search the phrase ‘socks with sandals’ is: “Is it okay to wear socks with sandals?”A perennial question posed by the timid sartorialists who perhaps want to embrace the balmy footwear but are afraid of their feet getting cold. Or worse, looking like Adam Sandler.
I won’t rehash the prolonged answer our favourite search engine spat out, but instead, direct your attention to Hailey Bieber who is singly-handily responding with a resounding YES!
This summer season, Bieber has silently been making a case for a socks and sandal renaissance; a comeback we neither anticipated nor asked for, but perhaps one we need.
Indeed, with the over-saturation of “quiet luxury” could this silhouette be the anthesis to the highly-curated ensembles we’ve seen the celebrity style set sport—because nothing says stealth wealth less than this taboo styling trend. For those like the Scandi style set and Bieber, it’s become a hallmark in their wardrobes.
Recently, Bieber was spotted in Los Angeles pairing fisherman sandals from Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s The Row with ankle-grazing white socks, raw-hem cut-off shorts, a white crop top, Magda Butrym trench coat and Bottega Veneta’s Jodie bag.
As disciples of Bieber’s street style would know, this isn’t the first time the 26-year-old dipped her toes into these divisive waters. Earlier in the year, Bieber paired the controversial combination with another equally polarising style: jean shorts.
For someone typically revered for her sporty-meets-sexy street style, seeing Bieber eschew a conventionally enviable silhouette for something riskier is a breath of fresh air needed to bide us through the balmy season.
Given Bieber is the poster child of the “clean girl aesthetic” we have no doubts that her adherents will be following in her footsteps and trying this trend for themselves sooner rather than later.
But for those with a keen eye, you may have noticed that fashion designers themselves are tentatively encouraging this revival by experimenting with styling socks with heels for a soirée approved variation of the trend.
Australian label Common Hours paired an assortment of socks, see: knee-high, lace, fishnet, with heels, while Chanel opted for a thick woollen sock with an open-toe platform combination at their 2024 Cruise collection in Los Angeles.
Jacquemus showcased a coquette take on the socks and heels combination in the Palace of Versailles for their Fall 2023 collection.
So, with the beau monde firmly behind the socks-with-heels trend, who’s to say it won’t be making its way into the soles of sandals? To answer your question, yes, pairing socks with sandals is more than okay… for now.
