These shapeless socks could be dyed, dried, inspected, and packaged much more simply and efficiently than heeled socks, all of which was reflected in their low cost. In addition, the tubular shape, combined with the development of new stretch yarns, allowed the sock to be made in a single size, meaning it could be produced in larger, more economical batches. Nelson Knitting developed a machine expressly for that purpose, which could do the job in five or six seconds.Įliminating the shaped heel and toe made the manufacturing process faster-about 30 percent faster than traditional shaped socks-and easier to mechanize. It has no heel, and, instead of a reciprocated (reinforced) toe, the end is closed with a simple seam. Founded in 1880 by John Nelson, the inventor of a seamless sock knitting machine, the company widely advertised its “Celebrated Rockford Seamless Hosiery.” The tube sock, though seamed, was no less monumental a technological marvel.Ī true tube sock is shaped like a tube rather than, say, a human foot-a configuration so novel that the sock took its name from it.
#Tube socks with stripes professional#
The tube sock was invented by the Nelson Knitting Company of Rockford, Illinois, just over 50 years ago, in 1967-the same year that America’s first professional soccer leagues were established. The increased demand for tall socks suitable for these pastimes stretched the ingenuity of the nation’s hosiery industry. Photos of early basketball stars-like Chuck Taylor, who lent his name to the canvas Converse All Star high-top-show them in knee-high stockings, often with stripes placed midway (or all the way) down the leg. You can turn over a cuff or not-it doesn’t matter so long as they don’t end halfway down your calf.” High-risers are usually eighteen inches, but the rule to follow is, get them up to your kneecaps.
As Esquire put in in 1955, shorts “look like the devil unless you wear high-rise socks with them. With so many bare, hairy legs suddenly on display, knee-high socks-called “high-risers”-became essential accessories. They had a crucial commonality, however: unlike baseball and football, they both required players to wear shorts. Basketball was a new and uniquely American diversion, played in YMCAs and school gymnasiums, while soccer was a centuries-old tradition imported by European immigrants. The tube sock’s trajectory is knitted into the growth of organized sports in America, particularly basketball and soccer, both of which were popularized around the turn of the century. These once-ubiquitous, one-size-fits-all socks are a product of Americans’ simultaneous love of sports, technological innovation, and nostalgic fashion statements.
If you’re an American down to your toes, those toes have probably been clad in tube socks at one time or another.
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