Bobby socks are a style of women's socks. They are white and worn ankle-length or collected at the ankle, instead of being rolled up fully extended on the leg. The term is derived from the socks being worn "bobbed", meaning around the ankle.[1]

A woman in a marching band uniform, including bobby socks walking down a street
A drum majorette wearing bobby socks in Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 8, 1939

The popularity of bobby socks among young American women in the 1940s led to this demographic being popularly referred to as "bobby soxers".[2]

They were initially popular in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, later making a comeback in the 1980s.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Etymology of phrase 'bobby sox'". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  2. ^ Jane & Michael Stern's Encyclopedia of Pop Culture: An A to Z Guide of Who's who and What's What, from Aerobics and Bubble Gum to Valley of the Dolls and Moon Unit Zappa, Jane and Michael Stern. HarperPerennial, 1992, p. 61
  3. ^ Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-bottoms: 1940s–1950s, Sara Pendergast, Tom Pendergast. UXL/Thomson Gale, 2002