Jil Sander's 400$ Silk Socks ? 4 Italian made men's luxury sock brands

Socks made of over 90% mulberry silk are what are truly called silk socks. Recently, I was lucky enough to come across four pairs of Jil Sander mid-calf socks on sale, made of 90% silk, 7% polyester, and 3% elastane. This article takes this opportunity to introduce a few good sock brands and the history of "clocks," the mid-calf socks with characteristics of European aristocracy from the 17th-18th centuries.

The Jil Sander brand has been bought and sold by various capital groups since the 2000s, to the point where even Jil Sander the founder herself doesn't like the brand anymore. It still adheres to the minimalist design of the 90s, but the fabrics have all become low-end, almost entirely polyester chemical fibers, while the prices have gotten increasingly expensive. Therefore, I won't specifically look at these overly capitalized, profit-grabbing brands, only occasionally checking when I encounter rock-bottom prices offline to see if I can find anything with natural fabrics (most are still chemical fibers, actually).

Take these socks, for example. These are from two years ago; Jil Sander no longer produces sock accessories now. According to the fabric label, they are 90% silk, 7% polyamide (nylon), and 3% elastin.

Here's something I'm not clear about: the Chinese fabric label for 100% silk is "真丝" (zhēn sī), which includes mulberry silk, tussah silk, and castor silk, but the traditional Chinese translation is surprisingly "绢" (juàn). It's important to know that mulberry silk comes from intact silkworm cocoons and is a long fiber directly extracted through the reeling process; whereas spun silk comes from waste silk from cocoons, where leftover materials are degummed and combed, then made into yarn using the spinning process as short fibers. Therefore, spun silk in English is Spun Silk, and generally spun silk is cheaper than mulberry silk.

If this fabric is truly spun silk made from recycled waste materials, and the price is set at 2960 RMB, coupled with the vague translation, that's truly unethical.

Based on our experience buying socks, regular hemp and mulberry silk socks will add some chemical fibers like nylon to 80%-90% natural fabric to increase durability, and elastane to increase elasticity. But these are ordinary mulberry silk socks. Later, I will introduce a few Italian brands that specialize in making socks; they use entirely natural fabrics, and their prices are much cheaper than socks like Jil Sander. No wonder nobody buys them, and the Jil Sander brand itself stopped producing them.

These pairs of mulberry silk socks were bought at a 0.05% discount, so the price was quite good. On Taobao, regular mulberry silk socks that are mid-calf length and 90% ratio sell for over 100 RMB. It's still better than Taobao in comparison.

Another point to complain about: the embroidered logo is enough, but they actually sewed the chemical fiber brand label inside the sock too, which is also the first time I've seen this. We had to take off the wash labels one by one.

Removing this chemical fiber label was also a pain. It's not like the picture below where you just cut the silk fiber directly.

Instead, you have to open the middle of the label and there's a white thread to remove. Fortunately, Eddy was careful, otherwise, we would have cut the wrong thread.

Because mulberry silk socks are too easy to get holes, plus the three pairs I got this time are all size M, I only kept one pair in size S. I think if I wear them, I'll get holes within a month. In the summer, I often jump and run when taking photos, which wears out socks quickly. He isn't as active as I am and is more meticulous and careful, so they should last longer for him. For summer socks, I recommend buying materials like hemp, linen, and mulberry silk; they are more breathable, wick away sweat better, and feel cooler.

Next, I'll provide some information about European "clocks" and representative sock brands from England, France, Germany, and Italy. The best Italian silk socks are specifically for men's wear. The category of silk socks is too aristocratic and old money; emerging American brands haven't even considered this. Khaite, Gabriela Hearst, and The Row don't have this category. Even if there are American ones, they are generally created by wealthy investor old men.

01

In the 17th-18th centuries, "clocks" mid-calf socks were primarily worn by men and were popular in England, France, and Germany. At that time, it was popular for men's fashion to wear knee-length breeches. Men began wearing "clocks" (socks extending upwards from the ankle to the calf) under their breeches. In the movie still from Amadeus below, both the German Emperor and Mozart are dressed this way.

Colin Firth as the young Valmont, set in the 18th century, also wearing breeches and mid-calf socks.

Strictly speaking, "clocks" refers to exquisite decorations, specifically the vertical decorative patterns on the outer side or both sides of the sock, extending upwards from the ankle to the calf. These patterns were often embroidered initially and came in a variety of designs, including geometric patterns, plant motifs, floral patterns, and scrollwork. The vertical patterns had the visual effect of elongating the leg line, emphasizing the attention men paid to their leg shape at the time (because breeches exposed the calf area).

While "clocks" were popular in men's socks in the 17th-18th centuries, women's socks during the same period were longer, generally reaching the knee or above the knee. In the painting below, the lady on the left is wearing socks that go above the knee, which are considered stockings, while the very lax gentleman on the right is wearing breeches, with one sock having slipped halfway down.

Later, with the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and the appearance of long trousers, this mid-calf length of socks became less popular, giving way to the ordinary socks we commonly see today, which end around the ankle.

In Alexandre Dumas fils' La Dame aux Camélias from the 19th century, the characters are all wearing long trousers, like Armand played by Colin Firth.

02

Next, I will briefly introduce a few current European sock brands. Overall, like cashmere, the best and top-tier ones are in Italy, either Italian local brands or Made in Italy.

Gammarelli

100% silk socks, get the same socks as the Pope.

Gammarelli is a tailor shop specifically serving the Pope, making various religious garments, established in 1798.

William Abraham

A specialized men's sock brand from New York, entirely produced in Italy. They have different lengths and different fabrics, even including yak down, mink fur, and vicuña, although these fabrics are blended with cashmere or cotton.

Fabrics with 10%-30% Vicuña and Mink are, after all, very delicate. However, at this level, the most expensive William Abraham socks are only $425, while Jil Sander's ordinary, cheaper silk fabric socks are priced close to 3k RMB based on capitalization.

William Abraham's 100% silk socks are only $96.

See the luster of the 100% silk in the photo? This is what ideal silk socks look like (the purple one above is just too sexy, I'll plant this seed for Eddy). Silk stockings were originally worn by aristocratic men in the 17th and 18th centuries, and later gradually by women.

I remember when I was little, a male classmate wore women's black silk stockings, and many classmates laughed at him. He then told me, "Silk stockings are indeed cooler and more comfortable to wear in the summer."

These top-tier 100% silk socks from Italy are also for men's wear. Many pictures on the William Abraham official website are styled with leather shoes.

William Abraham also has blends of mulberry silk with wool and cashmere. Compared to pure mulberry silk, the wool and cashmere blends feel fluffier and are warmer, while still retaining the luster of silk.

William Abraham also has a style made of 100% hemp. From top to bottom, have you noticed? All of William Abraham's socks do not contain any nylon, polyester, or elastic fibers; they are all natural fabrics like cashmere, wool, silk, and hemp. With excellent craftsmanship and technology, it is possible to achieve pure natural materials.

Hemp is very cool and breathable because its fibers are hollow (linen is similar to hemp but not as fine and smooth; it can be blended with mulberry silk for improvement); mulberry silk is hollow but not as obviously as hemp, but because the fibers are extremely fine and smooth, it is also suitable for summer. Regardless of men's or women's wear, look for these two fabrics in the summer.

In contrast, cashmere, camel hair, and vicuña fibers have pores that trap heat and provide warmth.

Bresciani

An Italian local specialized men's sock brand, with prices similar to William Abraham.

They also have 100% mulberry silk socks and blends with cashmere. From the pictures, you can see that the blends with cashmere feel fluffier and are thicker.

Overall, Bresciani's range of fabrics and lengths is not as extensive as William Abraham's, nor is it divided as finely, though there are still quite a few styles under each category.

Zilli

A top-tier French suit brand, which I have written about before in Suit Guide: 17 Top Old Money Brands. Zilli's silk socks are all Made in Italy.

For sock categories like 100% silk, besides brands that specialize in high-end socks, only occasional top-tier suit brands have this accessory category.

These four above are the 4 recommended brands for buying socks, positioned at the high end.

The following three brands are more mass-market, offering both men's and women's socks. The fabrics are not as good as the four above, mostly ordinary cotton socks or blends with chemical fibers. I mention them here for comparison.

French Maison Broussaud, all Made in France. Prices are expensive but the fabric is average, with no pure mulberry silk.

German FALKE. German fashion needs no mention; it's mainly positioned for the general public. Fabrics are mostly chemical fibers and pure cotton. Prices are better than Maison Broussaud above.

British Pantherella is much better than the two above, given the cultural heritage and historical foundation of the wool and cashmere textile industry there. When I wrote about Cashmere Socks, British cashmere brands also tended to make more of them.

Pantherella is positioned slightly lower than the four Italian-made brands, being more mass-market.

There is a specific category for Scottish-style mid-calf socks called Scott Nichol.

Epilogue

I've started updating my knowledge about mulberry silk and hemp fabrics based on my own shopping experiences this year. I'm just getting started, especially with mulberry silk, which is too complex, comes in many varieties, and the market is very deep. Plus, with modern technology and clever processes, many silk textures can be substituted with chemical fibers like lyocell and polyester, making it difficult to distinguish purely by feel and fabric. Therefore, we pay more attention to legitimate brands, whose wash labels won't be marked incorrectly.

This time shopping, although the Jil Sander mulberry silk socks were overpriced and the design wasn't very user-friendly, I still managed to find a steal because of the rock-bottom price. The fabric luster is quite good. Through these mulberry silk socks, I combined the history of European "clocks" with the movies I've watched, which was quite interesting. The 4 high-end Made in Italy men's sock brands and the 3 mass-market sock brands from England, France, and Germany introduced above have also enriched my understanding.

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