One of the best things to come out of my short time spent in Northern California is it finally broke me down to buy ankle booties. That in turn sent me on a quest for the best no show socks to wear them with, which also turned out to be great for wearing with sneakers. Win, win! Back when I discovered these petite-friendly Rag & Bone Margot booties (which have treated me so well, I’ve bought them in two colors), I asked readers for their favorite no show socks and decided to try quite a few of them out. This post outlines the socks for ankle booties I personally found best, and still wear on constant rotation.
Important bits:
- I wear a women’s US size 4.5 – 5 shoe, so the no show ankle socks highlighted here are great for small feet, but most also come in multiple sizes. I’ve indicated the size I wear for each.
- To better hide in low-front booties and sneakers, these socks all have a lower dip in front than sport type ankle socks.
- I was looking for actual, substantial socks, not sock liners. If you’re looking for thin nylon-esque sock liners, there’s a post for those too.
- I wash all my no show socks in mesh garment wash bags with the regular laundry, and then air dry on a drying rack.
Stance “Invisible Socks”
Size: s/m
These are my favorites and I really should buy some more. Coming in a variety of graphic prints and color combinations, they are fun to wear and made from the thickest fabric out of any other socks I tried. They feel warm on the feet and are just thick enough to snugly fill my ankle boots so they fit secure without any slipping and sliding. The toe box and heel both fit securely, and there is a silicone strip at the heel to prevent slippage. These rarely, if ever, slip off my heel, which makes them a comfortable sock.
Price $12/pair
Keds “Sneaker Socks”
Size: one size
These are slightly less reached for than my Stance socks, but a good option nonetheless. Also coming in lots of colors and prints, these are fun little socks that get the job done. A little thinner fabric than Stance, and also have a silicone strip at the heel to prevent slippage. These tend to sit a little lower on my heel, so these slip every now and then, but not often enough to make me not want to ever wear them. These are also the more economical of the bunch.
Update: forgot to mention I washed and shrank these socks in the dryer on high heat before wearing for the first time to get a better fit, thanks to suggestions from commenters in the original post. (thank you to Keilexandra for reminding me!)
Price $12/2 pair
Falke “Sneaker Socks”
Size: 1 or small
These are another nice sock, similar in thickness to Keds and sturdily made. These fit nicely, if not a little bit snug, so these are a great option for anyone with smaller feet than my own. Once again, these have a silicone strip at the heel to prevent slippage, and rarely cause me any problems. The pricier of the options, I wouldn’t purchase these again unless I was able to get a good deal on them, but they are part of my constant rotation.
Price: $20/pair
Also comes in a lower “Step Sock”
Smartwool “Hide & Seek Socks”
Size: s
These are a great cold weather option as they come in a toasty wool blend, and feel the thinest of the bunch. My ankle booties feel a little looser when wearing these versus the Stance/Keds/Falke, but it’s not a deal breaker. I find myself reaching for these on especially cold days or when I know I’ll be sitting in chilly air conditioning and don’t want to worry about my feet. I also find these to run a little longer than the other brands, so they may not work as well for anyone with a smaller shoe size than my own.
Price: ~$15/pair
I also want to try this lower cut style
Weird, I had the exact opposite experience with Stance Invisible vs. Keds Sneaker socks. And I have slightly larger feet than you! Size US 5-5.5. But with super narrow heels that slip out of everything, so maybe that’s the differing factor. I found the Keds sneaker socks to be the shortest in length (after running all pairs through the dryer on hot to shrink them up) and grip the best in the heel. The Stance socks are definitely made from higher-quality cotton, but I couldn’t keep the heel on for more than 15 minutes in booties.
Hi Keilexandra! Interesting, and thanks for sharing your experience! And thank you for reminding me that I also shrank the Keds in the dryer before wearing. Can’t believe I forgot about that! I’ll update the post now to reflect that. =)
OMG! I need these in my life. Thanks for sharing!
Liv
http://www.livforstyle.net
Thanks for this! I have small feet…5.5 to 6 and have found the whole bootie with no-sock look to be a nightmare to pull off. I’m going to try the Stance and the Smart Wool.
I wear Size 5 shoes and have several pairs of the Smartwool Secret Sleuth, the lower cut style that Kelly wants to try. I bought the Size Small and they’ve never slipped off when wearing booties. I love these so I probably don’t need to try the others. But I probably will, anyway. :-)
Thanks for doing all the research for us, Kelly!
I recently discover the no show socks at Loft. They are thicker like real socks, as opposed to liners, and have a strip of silicone in the heal that keeps them from slipping. I’m a size 6 so the silicone is key to keeping them on my feet.
https://www.loft.com/search/searchResults.jsp?goToPage=2&question=No+show+socks&N=0