Gen Z first came for your skinny jeans, and now the trendsetters are putting the kibosh on ankle socks.
The small garment has become one of the biggest visual markers between Zoomers and Millennials — aside from Gucci belts and crow’s feet — the latter of whom prefer their socks to just barely peek out from the tops of their shoes or, worse, the no-show variety.
Crew socks have proliferated in street style and on the red carpet among Gen Z celebs; Sabrina Carpenter once paired white tube socks with strappy black pumps and has flaunted the style staple on stage, while Billie Eilish sported the socks on the carpet at both the Golden Globes and the Oscars.
To brazenly wear ankle socks, then, is an act of “bravery,” or at least that’s what Vogue said about Jennifer Lawerence when she stepped out in a pair this month.
But the revival of the ’90s sock look worn by the likes of Princess Diana — who has inspired a plethora of modern fashion trends — has sparked online vitriol from “millennial sock,” né ankle sock, apologists.
While some elders have bowed to the style shaming of the youngsters — reluctantly retiring their ankle socks in favor of crews to “keep up” with Gen Z — others refuse to relinquish the pillar of millennial fashion while clinging to their other so-called passé outfit choices, such as skin-tight denim and egregious side parts.
On social media, millennials — and even some Zoomers — are “retiring” their no-show socks much to their chagrin. Others are pledging their allegiance to ankle socks, saying they’ll wear them “forever.” In other words, you’ll have to pry ankle socks from their cold, dead toes.
Despite the dreaded pitfalls of ankle socks — like fishing it out of your shoe when it inevitably slips off your heel — even some Zoomers prefer the divisive garment to hit just below the ankle bone.
“I’m Gen Z and I’m going to say it: some shoes look better with ankle socks,” content creator Caroline Colvin said in a recent TikTok. “I’m sorry but it’s true.”
Millennials, on the other hand, blame their upbringing.
After enduring cruel bullying as a kid if they dared to wear socks above their ankles, the low profile socks have become “so ingrained” in them, comparing Gen Z garments to the regrettable tube socks worn by their Boomer parents in their heyday.
“I just need Gen Z to understand that, in the early 2000s, showing lower shin was actually incredibly chic and elegant and the height of fashion,” creator, comedian and podcaster Matt Bellasai said in a recent video.
“Anybody who wore crew socks was a dirty nerd who deserved pity and ridicule and shame.”
Oh, how the tables have turned. Or, should we say, the shoe — in this case, sock — is on the other foot.
