I Found the Minimum Viable Sock
Maybe it’s an Asian Mom thing, but I believe shoes — with the exception of sandals, heels, and dress shoes — should always be worn with socks. They help with rubbing and blister prevention, yes, but they also feel more hygienic. I would never go sockless with sneakers, which is just gross. (Alas, I must confess that I don’t wear socks with my Nike Air Rifts, a transgression I pay for dearly.) When I want the no-show look (millennial that I am), I pair teeny-tiny liners with, for example, Vans slip-ons and my strappy Marni neoprene sneakers and feel smug about my foot-health choices.
Until recently, I didn’t know that even tinier, do-they-even-qualify-as-socks socks existed. Browsing the Hue site, I found toe toppers and open-toe mule liners and socks specifically designed for loafers. I called in a few styles to see if they would, in fact, work with pumps and slides and other special-occasion shoes (and actually stay on).
Socks for toes
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The cotton toe toppers, which are regular socks that have been cut off mid-foot, were the most intriguing to me, but I couldn’t immediately find a use for them. They extended too far up to be hidden and also seemed a little counterproductive. When you’re wearing mules or backless shoes, your toes need to be a little sweaty to grip the footbed when you’re walking. Then I tried them in my Vans and I realized that they and other slip-on sneakers were the perfect use case for these socks. In fact, they worked better than my liners, which are a little too thin and occasionally slip off my heels.
Sheer socks for toes with grippy pads
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The Perfectly Bare toe covers are even freakier. They’re sheer on top and have a padded sole with silicone grips. I tried them in my pointy mules but they still showed, and as I said above, the only way to wear mules is without socks. (For open-toe slides, Hue makes a version that are like fingerless gloves, but for your feet. They look bonkers. I sadly did not get a chance to try these.)
Socks for all occasions
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I also tried the Perfectly Bare version of my go-to cotton liners, and they were exactly what I needed for a night out. I wore them to dinner with my patent opera shoes, which are so incredibly gorgeous but unfortunately quite stiff (as is the case with all patent leather). I usually wear them sockless (or with tights when it’s cold), but since I hadn’t worn them in a couple of months, I wasn’t in the mood to risk blisters.
The liners are thin like tights and also slippery in that pleasing way, preventing any kind of friction within the shoe. They stayed on my feet all night, and the seam and the silicone heel grip didn’t dig or rub at all. I felt free. At home, I tried them with my ballet flats — which I normally wear without socks — and they worked beautifully with those, too. They add no bulk, keeping dainty shoes dainty and my bunioned feet happy. And when it’s time to go sockless, I’ll have built up enough goodwill with my feet that hopefully they will not mind.
More tiny socks I want to try
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