Welcome back to the Gentleman’s Gazette.
In today’s video we discuss how to prevent socks from sliding down your calves.
In a recent video, we discuss the number one pet peeve of men which is shirts coming
untucked.
And today, we discuss the second most mentioned pet peeve which is how to prevent socks from
sliding down.
So first of all, why do you want to keep your socks from sliding down?
Personally, I always hate it when my socks came down my calves because they would bunch
on my shoes and it will be uncomfortable walking in them.
That happened particularly when I walked a lot and so it was just bothersome to always
pull the socks back up.
The second point is no one really want to see your hairy calves.
And even if you shave your legs for some reason that is still not appropriate.
There is no professional setting where it is okay to wear your dress pants and have
your skin showing underneath of it.
The most important thing to consider is the length of your socks.
If you just have socks that are slightly above the ankle or if you have some that are mid-calf,
they will inevitably slide down.
Especially for the mid-calf, they will sit at the widest part of your calf and so the
only way that they have is to go down because of gravity.
To even stand the chance for your socks to stay up all day, you need over the calf length
socks that truly sit over the calf, because that is a smaller part again.
And once they sit up there with the right tightness, they won’t come down.
Now, not every pair of socks that’s long will automatically stay up.
But if it is not over the calf, you won’t even have a chance that it stays up.
The second point is the elastics.
Once you have an over the calf sock, you want an elastic that is quite long and quite strong.
For example compare those two elastics.
You can see this one is much shorter, it is just calf length.
And this one is over the calf length with a much bigger elastic strap.
A few years back I was so frustrated with the over the calf socks that would slide down
that I decided it was time to design something that truly stays up all day everyday.
Therefore we experimented with different materials, different elastics and different sizes and
we finally came up with the solution that works and stays up.
The great part about it is we were able to wrap the whole cut material around the elastic
so your skin only ever touch is the cotton but you still get the benefit of the elastic
which keeps the socks up.
Therefore we only sell over the calf socks and you can find all of them in our shop here.
Even if you have socks that are over the calf and they have the right amount of elastic,
they can still slide down if you choose them in the wrong size, particularly if the size
is too small.
What happens is while you walk, the sock wants to contract and so it pulls down your heel,
and once your heel is down everything will come down further on.
Most sock companies have only a one size fits it all sock which is terrible and not the
right thing because there are feet that are very small and feet that are very big and
trying to have the same sock won’t work.
Even if you look a little further sometimes you find small.
medium, large.
But at Fort Belvedere we offer 4 different sizes, so we cover all kinds of men’s feet
comfortably and the socks will stay up.
So how do you stop socks from sliding down?
Basically, you want one, over the calf socks.
Two, that have the right amount of elastic and three, they are in your right size.
Now some men, especially the ones who are into vintage or who have a large selection
shorter socks resort to sock garters or shirt stays.
Basically, it is a little clip that clips onto your sock with a strap that is held in
place either above your knee or your sock is sometimes connected to the tails of your
shirt.
While it is a very effective way, it is one more thing to consider when you get dressed.
It is also direct to your skin so you can feel it all day and I personally find it extremely
uncomfortable.
There are different versions out there and the best one I have seen so far comes from
Sharp & Dapper because it has three straps and so it spreads out the pressure a little
more and the pull.
And if you have a lot of short socks and you don’t want to upgrade to quality over the
calf socks that is probably your best bet.
If you ask me, I prefer to invest in shirts that are cut the right way and don’t come
untuck.
And I want to invest in socks that are quality, they are comfortable.
they stay up without any additional gimmicks.
But at the end of the day, it is each to his own.
If you enjoy this video, make sure to check out our guide on how to pair dress socks with
shoes and pants so you always look dapper.
And you can also sign up for this channel here.
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And, you always get videos like this right to your inbox.
Also if you haven’t already done so, definitely make sure to check out the video on how to
prevent a dress shirt from coming untucked.