Socks: The Basics

Most of us wear socks on a daily basis. They provide us with warmth, comfort, support and protection. Though we don't think about them often, socks play a major role in the health and comfort of our feet.

Socks are designed to cover our entire foot and are worn both with footwear and sometimes without (mostly indoors for relaxing or sleeping purposes).

Socks are made with a variety of fibers including cotton, wool, nylon or a variety of other newly developed synthetic materials. They come in every color, a variety of patterns and styles and sometimes have embellishments such as pom poms, bells or ribbons. For sporting teams, colored socks are often a key part of teammate's uniforms and can help identify one team from another.

Socks help to protect our feet from both perspiration and injury. The average foot has 250,000 sweat glands and produces about a half a pint of perspiration a day. Socks help to absorb all of this perspiration , and newer varieties made of synthetic fabrics such as olefin actually help to wick the sweat away.

Socks also help to protect our feet from both cooler and warmer temperatures. In colder climates, they help to keep feet warm and dry. If socks are not worn in very cold climates, the perspiration produced by one's foot could actually build up and freeze leading to frostbite. In hotter climates where the foot tends to produce increased perspiration, socks help to absorb the excess so you can avoid things like athlete's foot and other foot fungi.

Sock lengths vary greatly and range from "no show" socks that cannot be seen to knee length socks that protect the leg all the way up to the wearer's knee line. Other sock lengths include crew, mid-calf, anklet or quarter length. There are even "toe socks" which wrap each toe individually.

In addition to the wide variety of fibers and colors, socks also come in a variety of thicknesses. Thinner socks are often worn with formalwear or business attire and thicker socks are often worn in colder weather or for athletic purposes. White socks are typically associated with athletic socks or casual wear socks whereas darker colors are often worn with more formal attire.