While in Copenhagen for fashion week, I noticed that everyone, and I really do mean everyone, was committing what has long been considered a fashion crime. Everywhere I looked every showgoer and stylish Scandi gal was wearing socks with sandals. And it wasn't limited to a specific kind of sock or specific kind of sandal. Girls were wearing slingback pumps with yellow ruffle socks and flip flops with chunky gray socks and tall toeless knee socks with open-toed flats. There was no rhyme or reason to the look, which is part of what made it so fun to observe.
The weather forecast for the week was confusing, as most Danish summers are. The sun came out periodically but there were also bouts of small rain showers. I quickly realized the socks and sandals may have actually been less of a planned look and more of a reaction to a summer that required more practical footwear decisions.
I realized this while packing, which is why I almost exclusively wore a pair of vintage glittery plastic pair of Chanel rain boots I scored on The Real Real months prior. But after seeing my friends repurpose their wedge sandals and give them a new life with a pair of cozy thick cashmere socks, I felt that I hadn't thought outside of the box nearly enough.
I spend the weeks leading up to summer buying all kinds of sexy little freaky shoes that expose my toes and strap around my feet in a way that maximizes the amount of skin that shows. And then, once October rolls around, I push them to the back of my closet with more than a tinge of sadness.
These summer shoes were built for frolicking and flirting and kicking my feet back on the beach. I slip into them when I want to sip a spritz outside with a friend or head to a spontaneous party on a rooftop of someone I don't know. More than any kind of shoes I own, my summer shoes embody the untroubled freeing feeling of the season. It's hard to let that go.
But now, thanks to Copenhagen fashion week street style, I'm realizing that there's no reason to pack away that feeling and those shoes once summer comes to an end. If anything, they feel even more playful when paired with socks. I'm honestly surprised it was ever considered a fashion faux pas because the layering is so fun. It's the right amount of fashion unseriousness.
And so now, whenever I buy a pair of summer sandals, I'll buy a pair of socks to go with them that'll expand their lifetime in my wardrobe. If anyone tries to tell me I'm breaking some outdated fashion rule, I'll just point out it's what all the Scandi girls do.
Below, all the best socks to buy and a handful of great summer sandals you'll want to wear both with and without them.
Step 1: The Socks
Step 2: The Sandals
