Sock It To Me

I'm a big fan of the split toed socks known as tabi socks. They've been worn by men and women in Japan since the 16th century with traditional thonged footwear and they are an essential part of traditional clothing, like kimono, as well. The most common color is white, but colorful patterns versions are popular as well. Ours have hiragana characters on them (one component of the Japanese writing system), and are from my favorite tabi sock store called SOU-SOU.



Construction workers, gardeners, and other laborers often wear a type of tabi called jikatabi, which have rubber soles and are worn as outer footwear. The softness of the jikatabi's soles give wearers tactile contact with the ground and thus lets them use their feet more agilely than they could in rigid-soled shoes. Of course if you are a Westerner and a celebrity, wearing them might also result in you getting fugged.