When it comes to clothing, many things are one-size-fits-all. This works okay for some accessories, like hats and scarves. But socks? Come on. Why should a man with a size 8 foot wear the same socks as a man with size 12 feet?
It doesn't add up.
Plus, even if it did make sense, it's very hard to find socks made for men who wear shoes smaller than size 8. I wear a size 7, and most socks are too big.
Sure, you can wash them and hope they shrink down to size, and this works okay sometimes, but it's not ideal.
This blog is all about helping men under 5'8″ dress well. I'm not saying shorter guys all have smaller feet (I think there's a joke here somewhere…), but there's certainly a correlation.
Note: Looking for no show socks? Read this guide.
So if you've ever been frustrated with socks that bunch up around your heels and toes, this post is for you.
I set out to find the best socks for small feet. I looked high and low, searching the vast corners of the Web for any company claiming to make smaller sized socks.
Why did I do this? Why did I spend hours obsessing over socks? Because, dammit, we svelte gents deserve socks that fit properly, and we shouldn't settle for anything less.
Here were my requirements:
- Dress socks
- Available in more than just black*
- Mid- or over-the-calf (OTC)
- Cotton, wool or silk
- Affordable (less than $20 per pair)**
- Fits below size 8 (U.S./mens)***
*Black socks are less versatile than most men think. You should really only wear them with black pants (or very dark blue or grey pants). For that reason, most men only need a couple pairs of black socks. I have about three or four pairs, and I rarely wear them.
**I should note that there are a couple of higher end clothiers that carry smaller sized socks, including Brooks Brothers and Mr. Porter. If you don't mind spending $30-40 on a pair of socks, these are great options, but that's a little rich for my blood, and most Modest Man readers are interested in affordable style. For that reason, my search was limited to socks under $20.
***The last criteria means I didn't review any sock makers that only offered one-size-fits-all socks. This rules out many boutique sock makers, most department stores, and pretty much all the big menswear brands that we know and love (J. Crew, Banana Republic, Express, etc.).
Here's What I Found
Many companies claim to make socks for small feet. But more often than not, these are empty promises. I was dissapointed to find that Amazon and Zappos didn't really have any small socks.
Worse still, when I found a company that actually did make smaller sized socks, the pickings were slim. For example:
Sockbroker.com has a few different styles of small-sized socks, but they're very low quality, and the designs aren't great. Also, despite claiming that shipping is free within the U.S., there is a minimum $5.60 shipping charge that I couldn't seem to get around.
Nordstrom also has several types of men's socks for small feet, but they're very plain and kind of ugly. If you want basic black, blue or taupe socks, these might be a good option. But I wanted more options. Unfortunately, their more stylish socks aren't available in different sizes.
Some companies, however, carry a selection of socks in smaller sizes that actually look okay. I ended up ordering from the following companies: Happy Socks, Viccel and Socksfox.com. Let's see how they turned out…
First, we have some light grey over-the-calf 100% cotton socks made by Viccel, a Turkish company that sells socks through its website. Viccel actually offers custom size socks. They're selection is somewhat limited in term of designs and colors, but they have all of your basic colors available in 100% cotton, heavy cotton, winter weight cotton and merino wool.
You can pick your exact size and even choose over-the-calf or mid-calf. Plus, they're reasonably priced. The ones I bought are size 6-7 (US), and they are very comfortable. They are the only OTC socks I've tried that don't go above my knee, and they stay up just fine throughout the day.
The next pair is made by Corgi and sold by Socksfox.com, an online sock store that actually carries several types of socks in smaller sizes. It isn't the prettiest website, but they carry several brands that make socks in smaller sizes, including Falke and Corgi. Since I already have a pair of Falke socks from Sock Hop NY, I ordered a pair of CORGI socks for $17.75.
These cotton/nylon blend ribbed socks are very comfy, but they don't stay up as well as the Viccel OTC socks. That said, I really like the way they look.
The last pair are from Happy Socks, a company who sells socks in a bunch of major clothing stores, as well as through their website. Unfortunately, not all of their designs are available in smaller sizes, so the selection is somewhat limited.
I bought these pink rose socks (I swear they were in the men's section) in sock size 9-11. They are 80% combed cotton and 20% synthetic. They are definitely thicker and more casual than the Viccel and Corgi socks. But they fit great and stay up just fine for mid-calf socks.
Happy Socks' offerings are constantly changing as they sell out of current designs and add new ones. It's a good place to get funky, casual socks in smaller sizes, but you'll have to sift through some pretty tacky designs to find the good stuff.
Higher End Alternatives
Even though this post focuses on reasonably-priced socks, it's worth mentioning some higher quality options. After all, you get what you pay for, and more expensive socks will likely last longer than cheap socks. They require more care (for example, nice socks usually can't be machine dried), but it might be worth it.
For you rich and classy gents, you can always buy high quality socks in smaller sizes from Brooks Brothers, Mr. Porter, A Suitable Wardrobe and Ben Silver. Or you can check out the company that I mentioned above, Sock Hop NY. The owner, Vincent, actually sent me a couple of pairs of Falke and Bresciani, and I've been loving them. They're both available in smaller sizes.
Conclusion
So there you have it. Men with small feet don't have to settle for one-size-doesn't-fit socks anymore. We can find affordable, high quality socks that actually fit. It just takes a little searching. But in my opinion, it's totally worth the effort.
Do your socks fit? Leave a comment below!
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Socks have been a bugaboo since I grew out of boy’s socks in high school. That’s right, I only broke past the 5′ mark in 10th grade.
I currently wear size 7.5 (US sizing) in shoes and began buying women’s all purpose socks back in college after borrowing a pair of socks from my girlfriend.
Since I began sartorially upgrading, I have found that there are quite a few socks being produced with appropriate quality, materials, colors and patterns in women’s socks that work well for me.
Thank you, this post has opened my tool chest a bit more, because I have focused my attention looking for quality women’s socks and over the years I have all but ignored men’s socks.
Great article, it already helped me find no-show fitness socks that fit. In addition to all this valuable information, sometime ago I found out that Boss men’s socks run small and are also a great, fashionable alternative for us.
Thanks for the tip. I’ll check out Boss next time I need socks.
-B
Brilliant post! I think socks are always neglected even here in the UK- they are just one of those parts of a wardrobe we never niggle over but your right, a lot of men are expected to make do when that really shouldn’t be the case. Fantastic advice, I will be sure to pass this on! – Richard
You may also check out FoxRiver socks. They have pretty good selection specially for Everyday socks (pinstripe, jersey, diamond, trouser) and they are made in USA:
http://www.foxsox.com/Catalog/search.aspx?type=subcategory&code=PMEN
Our shipping is free, our shopping cart has a problem with the district of Columbia is that where you had your socks shipped to? we have been trying to fix that its a post office issue
Thank you
http://www.sockbroker.com
Yes, I was trying to ship to DC. Bummer!
I ordered socks from viccel oct. 27th. Now its Nov. 13th and i havent received an email saying its mailed, just a paypal payment on the 28th of Oct. Im very upset when someone has my money and I dont have the product. Doesnt work the other way around.
Sorry to hear that! Have you heard from them yet?
have you received the socks ? please send an e-mail please be sure that we will do our best to solve your issue.
This is great information except that there are more than a few of us with even smaller feet. I am size 5-5.5 US or 38 EU, and I have yet to find any sort of selection anywhere. The best in Los Angeles so far is Nordstrom kids department but the style isn’t really what I want. For black and navy I just buy boys socks at Target and toss them after a few months. It would be nice to find great socks. Any ideas?
Have you tried Sock Dreams? While they cater mostly to women they have some options.
I ordered a pair of over-the-calf dress socks from Viccel. They arrived two weeks later and were obviously high quality. BUT (you knew that was coming, didn’t you) although labeled correctly, they were Humongous! The sock was 28 inches total length (my inseam is 29), 22 inches from heel to end (reaching my thigh), and the foot portion was literally a foot–12 inches from toe to heel.
If these are their “shorter” dress socks, I’ve got to see their larger ones, which would probably reach my armpits.
Perhaps most annoyingly, I found no options for returning the product. But since they only cost me $14, it was a moderately-priced lesson learned.
I would certainly not recommend this company.
I just had the exact same experience – humongous socks! I wish I saw this comment before I ordered. Now, I’m waiting to get an address for a return. Cross my fingers they honor their return policy.
Good luck, Isa. When I finally did get a reply, they suggested I send this socks back but provided no further information. I was not about to pay for shipping to Turkey.
They got me once.
very information. I have no idea why a socks designer is not thinking for smaller feet. Its ridiculous. I hate if I see the heel of the socks is above my heel.
I stumbled upon this blog/blog post while searching for smaller sock options. Anyhow, I really like Smartwool socks. I wear a size 7.5-8.5 shoe depending on brand/style/etc. and the Smartwool Medium fits me perfectly without any excess fabric around my heels, which happens often with fits 8-12 one size fits all socks. Smartwool’s medium still spans a range but at least it’s limited to fits 6-8.5. I have most of their casual/dress styles so now I’m looking for another company to expand my collection.
I have found this blog post very useful for me because I have very small feet almost 6.9. I am fond of wearing branded colorful socks but these are not available in local market in small size. So I have to buy simple cheap socks of my size. But now I don’t need to buy these uncomfortable socks because I get my choices’ socks through your website. The best thing is that you provide discount. Love your website! superb!
I’d also recommend checking out H&M. They routinely carry men’s socks in the 7.5 – 9 (sock size) which fit my feet perfectly and are typically prices less than $4 a pair! The designs are great as well.
I ordered Viccel over the calf socks and the back just above the heel my shoes wore a hole in just 3 wearings. Very disappointed.
I ordered a bunch of Viccel OTC regular cotton (thin) socks. After 6 months of wearing the black one wore holes in the heels. Ive know thrown away four pairs. I emailed Viccel but never heard back from them. Let’s see if they answer this post. Seems to be a reoccurring problem with these socks. Love the fit, collar and look – just disappointed in the quality.
My 7 year old wears a size 5½ shoe (that’s big kids sizes) and XL socks for kids are way too small already… There is a serious market for this ‘in between’ situation. This article is very helpful in that I have been looking online at men’s S socks, but now I’m seeing per customer experience, that most of them really fit a size 7½. So the struggle continues… I would be in the market for mostly wool socks. Who’d of thought, socks!
Can we just say “normal sized” socks? I’d bet if you did some stats on average men’s feet you’d find 8 is closer to the mean. Considering we have 7.5 billion people on the planet and half are men and half of those are size 8 or less that’s a bit less than 2 BILLION sets of feet that require “smaller” men’s socks.
Anyway, thanks for this.
I totally agree – and asked this question on on Answer me This: https://soundcloud.com/answermethis/amt305 – fast forward to 9min 44sec.
If I had the energy, I’d go to China and set up a factory making socks for each shoe size.
I am so glad to have found this site. I thought I was the only person with small feet. It’s so tough, esp since I’m really a 7-8 depending on the shoes, mostly 7.5 but my feet are wide and thick so it’s tough. Socks too are tough.
On the positive side, the quality of the cotton, and the elasticity of the Viccel socks I’ve ordered has been impressive. On the other hand, I find the mid calf a bit too short: when I cross my legs I can see the virtually the whole sock, including the very wide top band. Also, the images of the grey colors are misleading: the charcoal is virtually black, the grey is a very dark grey. Have also found some color variations between pairs of the grey socks. I contacted Viccel after I received the charcoal pair and sent them a picture of the sock. They sent me a replacement that was the same dark color.
As for durability, the summer weight socks developed holes at the upper heels in a few weeks. The winter weight socks are holding up well. In any case 100% cotton socks tend not to be as durable.