Nearly half of Americans think it's not okay to wear socks with sandals

Paul HiebertData Journalist
October 12, 2016, 3:08 PM GMT+0

New data from YouGov suggests that footwear fashion faux pas still persist across the country

Perhaps no two words connected by a conjunction evoke more horror in the minds of the fashion-conscious than socks and sandals.

A new survey from YouGov, however, confirms that disdain for the sock-sandal combo extends beyond just a few industry insiders. When asked to indicate which fashion "rules" they consciously follow, 47% of US adults report that they don't wear socks with sandals. Examining the data by gender shows that 60% of women say they don't mix the two, while 35% of males indicate the same.

Additional data found that 47% of women report they typically avoid wearing stockings or socks with open toe shoes, and 39% steer clear of donning black socks with white shoes.

Ultimately, 46% of men and 22% of women say they don't consciously follow any fashion "rules." Different approaches to fashion also depend on education level and income bracket, as people with both more education and more money are less likely to indicate that they don't adhere to any fashion norms, while those with less education and less money are more likely to say they don't obey any fashion "rules."

Full survey results available here.