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Looking for the short answer? Yes, you should wear socks with Sperrys. For enhanced comfort, your personal health (more on this below) and to extend the life of your shoes, it is recommended to wear socks with Sperrys. At Boardroom Socks, we spent nearly a year developing the perfect no show socks for Sperrys.
In this article, we’ll not only cover the reasons why you should wear socks with Sperrys, but also cover the dos and don'ts of wearing Sperrys with socks.
Given that Sperrys are most frequently worn in the hottest months of the year, you’ll likely be tempted to wear them without socks to ensure you stay cool. The problem with the sockless approach is that humans have roughly 125,000 sweat glands in each foot. According to UC San Diego, the soles of your feet contain more sweat glands per square centimeter than any other part of your body.
Not wearing socks will turn your Sperrys into a warm, dark and moist petri dish for all sorts of nasty bacteria. Calgary-based podiatrist Dalhousie Station Foot Clinic cites this as a cause for infections such as athlete’s foot, while also recommending socks as a tool to mitigate these health risks.
For all of the reasons mentioned above, going sockless in your Sperrys is going to lead to an accumulation of sweat. Not only will this lead to odor issues, but sweat will also damage your Sperrys and lead to discoloration as shown below.
One of the first areas where you’ll notice this is the insole. As moisture builds up the insoles will loosen and begin to peel back, eventually bunching up under your foot. Not only is this extremely uncomfortable, but it is also difficult to fix without completely removing or replacing the insole. A commonly-recommended remedy to keep your feet dry in boat shoes is to apply foot powder. While this solution will work, you’ll notice over time that the powder will accumulate and build up into a rather nasty crusty substance within your Sperrys.
A strong reason to wear socks with Sperrys is simply because it is more comfortable. The added layer of material between your skin and the leather of the shoes will protect you from any rubbing, hotspots or blisters. Boat shoes can be notoriously uncomfortable during the break in process, and wearing a pair of socks helps to mitigate this discomfort.
In addition to providing a layer of protection, a quality pair of socks will also help to manage excess moisture to keep your feet dry and comfortable. As you’ll learn below, wearing Sperrys without socks poses some potential podiatric health risks. (Photo credit: Foot First Podiatry.)
If the reason that you don’t want to wear socks with Sperrys is because you prefer the casual look of going sockless, you can still achieve this same look without sacrificing comfort. Enter, no-show socks.
At Boardroom Socks, we spent nearly a year developing no show socks for Sperrys. Here in North Carolina, boat shoes are a style staple in the spring and summer while we are dealing with blazing hot weather and high humidity. With this in mind, we wanted to design a sock that would be both “invisible” when wearing Sperrys but also comfortable.
For all of the reasons mentioned above, this type of sock has to keep you cool and dry. To accomplish this, we chose to use a fine, breathable merino wool. As my father (our resident “Yarnologist” and 40+ year expert on all things yarn) likes to say, “merino wool is Mother Nature’s heating and cooling system.” In addition to being extremely soft, this fiber pulls moisture away from your skin and breathes to keep you comfortable.
When it comes to no show socks for Sperrys, it is imperative that the socks stay up. Many no-show socks are infamous for slipping off your heel and balling up under your foot. Not only is this aggravating and uncomfortable, but it defeats the purpose of the socks. To prevent this issue, we added a no-slip silicone grip that ensures the socks stay up throughout the day.
As shown above, the sockless look with boat shoes is quite fashionable during the spring and summer, particularly when paired with khaki pants. (Photo credit: Boating Geeks.)
First of all, let me preface this by saying that I did not clandestinely take the below photo of a stranger’s feet. All credit for that feat goes to this gentleman on Twitter.
From a style perspective, this look needs significant improvement. To begin with, white athletic socks should strictly be worn in athletic scenarios. Athletic socks and other cheap tube socks are intended - both functionally and stylistically - to be worn with athletic shoes and other very casual shoes.
Khakis with Sperrys is perfectly acceptable and is considered a staple in the South; however, the right type of sock is key in tying this look together. If you are interested in more style tips for khakis, see our article on what color socks to wear with khaki pants.
If you choose to wear visible socks with Sperrys, opt for dress socks. Dress socks are a more appropriate type of sock to wear with Sperrys because they are naturally more refined and polished. While Sperrys are still a casual shoe, they are “elevated casual” and beyond the purview of a pair of athletic socks.
Dress socks are also thinner, which will enable your foot to more comfortably fit inside the shoe. Much for the same reason you wouldn’t cram a bulky athletic sock into dress shoes, these same socks aren’t going to be comfortable in your Sperrys.
I hope this article has been helpful and informative. I certainly believe socks and Sperrys are a natural combination, particularly when the right style of sock is worn.
Just the Facts |
| Wearing socks with Sperrys will keep you more comfortable. Socks will provide a layer of protection to help mitigate blisters and hotspots. |
| Your feet have more sweat glands than any other part of your body. The resulting moisture can adversely impact your health and the durability of your Sperrys. |
| Socks keep your feet healthy. A quality pair of socks will enable your feet to breathe and stay dry, keeping harmful bacteria at bay. |
| Socks will protect your Sperrys. Unmitigated moisture will generate odor-causing bacteria and also degrade the leather of your shoes. |
So, do you wear socks with Sperrys? We would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. We can be reached via email at service@boardroomsocks.com or toll-free at 855-379-SOCK. If you are interested in shopping our no show socks for Sperrys, click the button below.
Shop No-Show Socks for Sperrys
Boardroom Socks is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Sperry, or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates.
