Socks Fashion

There was a talk today about socks fashion in Japan. It's hard to notice trends while you're right inside it, but having been pointed out today, there are fashion trends in socks here especially among girls.

So the trendy socks right now are black knee socks which we call high socks, that aren't thick like school socks but are kind of sheer just like a cut version of pantyhose. A lot of them are in black but also in beige with many patterns and prints. The representative designs include diagonal stripes, fishnet (completely "net" and fishnet patterns printed on black stockings) and check, some with silver or gold lame.

I am one of those who wear these socks daily and I like to collect different patterns. The ones I'm wearing today are fishnet with silver lame.
The good thing about these high socks stockings is that they're knee length and don't come all the way to your hip. I wear pants mostly so there is no need for pantyhose to be in full length and I simply hate it when I accidently scratch and make holes in them with my fingers... which I do quite often.
The best part about these is that they have patterns and prints that make them fashionable. Even though I wear pants and so naturally most of the socks would be covered and unseen, the little visible part being fashionable is pretty important. Um, I don't claim myself to be so fashionable, but the really stylish fashionistas in this city pay attention to the littlest parts from head to toe.

I first started wearing these when I started wearing boots. My legs aren't so skinny to leave room for the normal thick school knee socks and like I just said I don't like wearing full-length pantyhose so these half ones came in really really handy because they're half and thin. I don't really wear them with sneakers because they're too thin for sneakers.
Anyway, my colleague who wears one pattern or another of these socks everyday also agreed with my reasonings.

By the way trendy socks in the past were first of all, the so-called "loose socks" which came out about a decade ago when I was still a middle school student. These are believed to have derived from boot socks for hiking boots and became extremely loose over the years together with the super-short skirt boom.

Then among the high school students came the navy blue knee socks which continues today. Loose socks have gone very close to extinct, though some say that they're reviving in a way among the "gals" today.

In my memory of the past ten years, ever since the loose socks spread the normal short, half-shin length socks died out almost completely save schools that are very strict about clothing and middle-aged women. The socks that continue to dominate the sneakers fashion are the super short sneaker socks that are shorter than your ankles. I know these socks are pretty common in other places of the world today.

Then there are the five-finger-socks which didn't exactly become big enough as a fad but still widely known and popular during the winter because they're surprisingly warm.
Other socks being seen around are only-toes-socks for summer pumps (you want to wear as if wearing them barefeet), leg warmers and perhaps another couple of types.

So much for sock talk. I might put up some pictures in the future... but I don't know if I want to show my feet :p

Today's update on Japan Mode: webmanga CharmyNurseM Chapter 10