Introduction to made in Italy socks
Made in Italy stockings are sought after all over the world and are a real pride of our culture. A certified product of Italian origin condenses the excellence and experience of a country that has always made quality and attention to detail its distinctive features.
The hosiery brands that are lucky enough to be able to display the Made In Italy brand are highly appreciated and in demand, both in our country and abroad.
There are certainly not a few attempts at imitations, counterfeiting and a false use of Italian origin. Often the risk of the consumer is to confuse a brand that claims to be made in Italy but it is not.
That's why in this article we wanted to tell you the history, evolution and new trends of made in Italy socks.
With these little tricks you will be able to recognize socks that are truly of Italian origin and you will avoid getting ripped off.
The evolution of made in Italy socks
To tell the evolution of made in Italy stockings we cannot avoid starting from the long history of stockings, a garment that was already worn in the Egyptian civilization ( fragments of stockings have been found in the tombs of the pharaohs), in China where in antiquity it was considered very inappropriate to show bare feet in public, by the shepherds and peasants of the ancient Greeks (the famous shoes under the sandals) and by the ancient Romans who used to wrap their legs with bands of cloth or wool.
To give an official date to the birth of stockings (understood in the modern sense), however, we must refer to the Middle Ages when silk began to be worked precisely to make this type of garment.
Only men wore stockings, while women were allowed only after centuries (around 1300) when they were allowed to show their legs.
It was around 1400 that Venetian ladies spread the fashion for hand-embroidered long stockings. Expensive manual production was soon supplanted by machines.
In 1589 , the Englishman William Lee invented the first loom to mass-produce stockings. The Americans copied the idea being, at the time, a real English colony.
In the 1600s, about six hundred looms suitable for making stockings were recorded in England. Subsequently, the mechanical looms increased production even further, expanding the market.
It must be said that stockings as a garment were born for male needs but have found fertile ground in the imaginative female world.
In the 1920s, with the invention of rayon (or "artificial silk"), the market segments expanded, becoming more accessible to a wider segment of the population and spreading rapidly.
The hosiery revolution came in the late 1930s. It was the French chemistry scholar Eleuthère Irènèe DuPont de Nemours, who immigrated to the US state of Delaware, who created the "Nylon", invented by Wallace H. Carothers. A "synthetic fiber" that was defined as "strong as steel and delicate as a spider's web".
In 1940 with the start of the Second World War, the production of nylon stockings suffered an abrupt interruption also due to the fineness of the yarn (or gauge in English) which is measured by calculating the number of needles present in an inch. Another "Unit of measurement" used to describe the "thickness" of the sock is made up of the "denier": the lower the number of denier, the more transparent the garment.
Although less resistant, thinner stockings were the most requested and those woven with a high number of denier, being less transparent even though more durable, were not preferred. After the conflict, stockings reappeared on the market.
The American soldiers who landed in Italy in 1944 for the liberation it is said that to ingratiate themselves with the female population, they distributed their nylon stockings by the hand!
With the Sixties came a further revolution in the world of hosiery, once again signed by DuPont. The American giant launched its "elastam Lycra" on the market.
The invention of tights by Allen Grant, who conceived them in 1959 using nylon as a material, was a great success establishing itself as a new fashion tool, the result of the encounter between technology and new yarns.
The beginning of the third millennium opens under the banner of the revenge of the "true stockings". From a simple clothing accessory which the stocking originally was, over time it has become a significant complement to the dress itself, almost an appendix to it.
An integral and indispensable part of a way of dressing and experiencing fashion, with great evolution of colour, style and costume.
Curiosity
Here are some curiosities about the history of stockings:
- The term "sock" derives from the Latin calceus or calcius (shoe) which comes from calx (heel).
- The oldest socks are Egyptian and date back to the period between 250 and 420 BC. A sample of this first type of socks is kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2012, and comes directly from the necropolis of ancient Oxyrhynchus, on the Nile.
- The custom of giving socks at Christmas dates back to the Middle Ages, when giving socks was a generous and important gesture, an exchange of favors between nobles.
- The BBC has included socks among the 100 objects that tell the history of the world, to underline the importance of this item of clothing in the evolution of humanity.
- 1938 was the turning point in the history of socks: nylon was invented to replace the previous fabrics. The first pair of nylon socks arrived in New York stores on May 15, 1940 and achieved record sales: 72,000 pairs in just one day.
- In the 20th century, with the diffusion of long trousers for men, the size of socks began to decrease: below the knee, the difference between socks and stockings became clear.
Peculiar characteristics of made in Italy socks
The expression Made in Italy has been used since the 1980s to indicate the international specialization of the Italian production system in the so-called traditional manufacturing sectors.
Made in Italy is a denomination that serves to indicate the origin of a specific good according to the provisions of the Community directives regarding the non-preferential origin of a specific good (in this case we are talking about products from Italy).
The leading sectors that impose themselves on the world scene are recognized in the four A's: clothing, food, furniture, automation.
The hosiery sector therefore forms part of this universe even if not all companies can boast the made in Italy brand.
Our hosiery was born in Racale in 1982, we were little more than a shop. It was the golden age of Italian hosiery factories, and Racale was its capital. After difficult years (with the 2008 crisis, 90% of the hosiery factories in the town closed) we chose to give new life to the noble Italian yarns, from which Nobile was born.
Unlike other hosiery factories, the socks are not produced in an industrial way, but go through a quality control at each stage of production which combines the work of the machine with the manual work of the craftsman. Finally, each sock is inspected, ironed and washed by hand.
Advantages of choosing made in Italy socks
What are the advantages and benefits of choosing made in Italy socks?
The undisputed advantages concern the attention to detail , the imagination of the solutions adopted and the ability to last over time . All of these characteristics are indicated precisely with the expression Made in Italy ("produced in Italy") thus signaling the Italian origin of an industrial or artisan product destined for the national and international market.
The purchase of a product made in Italy contributes to the movement of our economy, from the production of raw materials to processing, from logistics to sale.
This is why the market linked to Made in Italy is among the most profitable in our country, with a constantly growing turnover. It is increasingly considered synonymous with quality, not only in the traditional destination markets of our exports, but also in emerging countries, where the middle classes are rapidly growing and with them the potential users of high quality products from Italy.
How to choose real made in Italy men's socks
Let's get back to the main theme of this article. To choose good made in Italy socks, it is not enough to limit yourself to identifying a pair of dark, long, solid-colored men's socks to acquire a true gentleman's look. If so, everyone could be.
And it's not even enough to match the socks to the color of the trousers or shoes. To be truly trendy and chic, you need more. What? First of all, know the fundamental rules regarding the choice of men's socks and know what should really be avoided.
You can wear the most elegant dress in the world but if you lose sight of matching with quality stockings , of the right length and color , you won't look as good as you expected.
Good made in Italy socks are able to enrich the lower part of your outfit and must be in full harmony with your look, especially in matching trousers and shoes .
Whether it's for an important event, for work or simply to create elegant outfits to use every day, if you follow these tricks, tips and rules you'll see that you'll be free to express yourself on every occasion.
Here is a list of recommendations:
1. Choose elegant long socks and absolutely avoid socks that are too short
We often underestimate the importance of the length of the socks and this is a serious mistake, especially if we want to match them in the best possible way with the shoe we have chosen to wear.
In fact, to make the most of our outfit and make sure that it is perfectly consistent with the style we want to have, we must know that the shoe we will wear can only be ideal if we combine it with the right sock.
If we have to take part in a special occasion, for a ceremony or a business meeting, the stocking must be strictly long . It shouldn't go higher than the knee, so it's best to choose a sock that covers the calf.
To be clear, of the same length as the photo below.
Shorter length stockings, the so-called medium stocking , are recommended for everyday use. As for the short sock, a use for casual and sporty outfits is recommended.
2. The color white is prohibited
With regards to colour, however, we are entering a complex field. We have already seen in the article dedicated to luxury men's socks that combining socks with our office outfit is a real Made in Italy art and as such needs to be learned, known and then applied.
Here too there is a fundamental rule to follow: for dark shoes, elegant socks combined with trousers or even darker ; for light-colored trousers, socks matching the color of the shoes .
Another thing to know is which color to absolutely avoid: white. The use of white stockings is allowed only during sports but they must be strictly terry cloth (possibly short).
3. Choose the best fabric or yarn
To choose the most suitable sock model to wear, we would like to recommend two yarns in particular in terms of quality, comfort and resistance.
In general, cotton socks are the ones that adapt best to every season because they allow the foot to experience comfort and freshness, while ensuring elegance at the same time.
However, you must know that there are different types of cotton socks. The best are Filoscozia® stockings and Makò stockings.
Filoscozia® is recognized by all as the best yarn in the world, designed to give maximum comfort . Unfortunately, however, there are few companies in the world that are able to offer collections with this type of fabric which, due to its natural and healthy structure, is particularly suitable for the most delicate skins . Noble is one of them.
The peculiarity of this precious type also concerns the fact that it does not shrink in washing and releases less lint than any sock. It retains these properties even after numerous washes, it does not leave redness, redness and itching.
Another peculiarity is that it makes socks bright and soft like no other yarn, as well as disfavouring perspiration and unpleasant odours.
Makò socks, on the other hand, are an Egyptian cotton yarn with a particularly elastic fiber between 30 and 34 mm long, which adheres to the leg without leaving unsightly marks.
Makò cotton is non-mercerized Filoscozia (mercerization is the process that transforms a normal cotton yarn into Scotland thread).
As we have repeatedly said a cotton can also be mercerized and then transformed into Scotland thread , but basically if the raw cotton used is short-fiber or of poor quality, the result will not be the best.
In essence, an extra-long staple cotton, not mercerized, is better than a cheap cotton mercerized and transformed into Filoscozia.
Men's socks: new trends
Fashion is constantly evolving as new trends are born and proposed. Below we offer you a list of the most used and best combinations in our opinion:
Classic trend
The first combination of socks we tell you about is the classic one, usually the darkest. Usually you opt for neutral colors in line with the shades of the shoes. The solid color lends itself well to rigorous environments and is perfect for those who do not like to draw attention to themselves.
Compared to colors, blue is widely used as it is the royal color par excellence, suitable for important events but also for meetings.
Black, on the other hand , is suitable for ceremonies and if combined with a shoe of the same color during formal occasions, it lengthens the figure and physicality.
For a formal style
The second combination that we propose concerns an occasion where maximum elegance is required even in business environments.
With classic shoes (heights or not) the advice is to wear elegant dark, plain, thin and smooth socks. In this way you will have a formal look in line with your dark suit and you will be slimmer and taller.
For a casual look
Third pairing, this time ideal for leisure time. Here you have more choices. For example, if you love raised sneakers, you can choose long or medium cotton socks.
Even for heightened boots, the socks must be long and in this case the patterns are almost useless because no one will see them.
Ceremony match
The fourth and last combination we are talking about concerns men's socks for ceremonies. We talked about it in a dedicated article .
As with shoes, elegant ceremonial socks should also make sobriety the point of reference to take into consideration.
In a ceremony one thing is certain: colored stockings, patterns of a thousand colors and, as a rule, anything that is too eccentric are banned.
However, the type of ceremony can influence the choice and for less formal ones it is possible to go slightly out of the classic lines by using socks with colored geometries even in different shades.
The advice is always the same: don't overdo it!
With a pair of black patent leather elevator shoes, for example, it is good to combine a pair of black, thin and smooth silk socks. Silk stockings have always been a sign of elegance and exclusivity, while elevator shoes for ceremonies are a luxury item that will make you appear taller even on the most special occasions.
Conclusions
Made in Italy stockings, as we have seen, are the most sought after in the world and combine the excellence and experience of a country that has always made quality and attention to detail its distinctive features.
The hosiery brands that are lucky enough to be able to display the Made In Italy brand are highly appreciated and in demand, both in our country and abroad.
If you are looking for made in Italy socks that allow you to be elegant and stylish in all circumstances, we invite you to take a look at the Nobile store .
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
Why buy Made in Italy socks?
Made in Italy stockings are the most sought after in the world and combine the excellence and experience of a country that has always made quality and attention to detail its distinctive features.
Why is Made in Italy synonymous with quality?
The undisputed advantages concern the attention to detail , the imagination of the solutions adopted and the ability to last over time . All of these characteristics are indicated precisely with the expression Made in Italy ("produced in Italy") thus signaling the Italian origin of an industrial or artisan product destined for the national and international market.
What are the four sectors of Made in Italy?
The leading sectors that impose themselves on the world scene are recognized in the four A's: clothing, food, furniture, automation.
What are the best socks?
Filoscozia® is recognized by all as the best yarn in the world, designed to give maximum comfort. Unfortunately, however, there are few companies in the world that are able to offer collections with this type of fabric which, due to its natural and healthy structure, is particularly suitable for the most delicate skins.
