Archive for September, 2012

Regimental, Repp, & Rugby Striped Socks

Well it turns out that I can’t get enough of regimental/repp/rugby striped socks. My work is a tie-less jacket-less world of casual wear and these colorful socks along watchbands have been my savior. I like to wear of a pair (or two) of fun socks a week. I generally wear them on casual Friday instead of denim trousers or on the weekend (they work well with simple canvas sneakers). The speed at which I have accumulated these socks has really picked up over the last 1-2 months validating the need the for this post.

I have added 5 pairs to my collection; 1 from J. Crew, 2 from Rugby and 2 more from Brooks Brothers. There was no conscious effort to stock up, it just happened. I had been longing for a pair from a Smart Turnout for months, if not longer, but couldn’t justify the $30 price tag (or 3 for $70). So, I will say that pricing along with opportunity were my main cohorts in these new purchases. I found the J.Crew pair on a weekend outlet trip for $8, the Rugby socks were on sale for $10 apiece, and the Brooks Brothers were $14.50 a pair. All in all 5 for $50 is not a bad deal.

They all fit a little differently in terms of thickness and length. The J.Crew pair are the closest to dress socks, the Brooks Brothers are a thicker cotton, and the Rugby pairs are the thickest. The Brooks Brothers are not quite over the calf (OTC), the J.Crew and Rugby pair are, with the Rugby socks being the tallest. The Rugby pairs stayed put the longest while the others needed to be pulled up a little more often. This may be a personal preference or an ordinarily high expectation, but I like my socks to stay up, all the way up. I have discussed this with a few others and it seems there is a general consensus that there are few if any socks will stay completely up. The perfect sock is something that I will continue to search for.

The colors are what draw me to this style of sock. They are inspired by well-known regimental, repp, & rugby striped patterns. Being that I am not a great writer and therefore will cannot do them justice with a description, I have featured them below, in order of my preference.

RL Rugby Green, Burgundy, and Navy  Striped SocksRalph Lauren Rugby
BB Burgundy, Gold, and Navy Repp Striped SocksBrooks Brothers

J.CrewGreen, Blue, and White Rugby Striped SocksJ.Crew

Brooks Brothers Green, Blue, and Burgundy SocksBrooks Brothers

Rugby Red and Yellow Repp Striped SocksRalph Lauren Rugby