What are the best socks for walking?

If you ask me “what are the best socks for walking” then just like the answer I would give you regarding the same question about walking shoes I will say: that depends. Picking the best socks for your next walk following my method on lifestyle walking is an absolute must-have to make sure you can keep on walking everyday. I am not a walking coach and I do not advocate walking groups, I promote a 360° healthy lifestyle founded on my 7 pillar method of TAKE YOU TIME including daily walking for mental and physical wellbeing. If you follow me on social media you will also have noticed that I love to walk in style. I don’t want to look like an old grandma at 45. I still remember that when I was a kid my grandma really looked like a grandma. Nowadays things have changed. Same with walking that has been associated with a dull, boring, old people’s sport. No, walking for me is the best way to stay in shape and walking is the new (sexy) running. Wearing outfits that match my zest for life when walking are a priority. So why not match your shoes and socks with your daily outfits you wear when you go for a walk according my method on daily walking cause it does not require an exercise outfit. You can wear sports clothes like I do on longer walks in the evening or on weekends but generally I walk around town in my daily office/work outfit. And yes, shoes are important to support your feet and prevent pain and injury but choosing the best socks for walking is also crucial for form and style! So let’s talk about walking socks 🧦!

Since I was a young girl my mom taught me the importance of investing in high quality socks. I remember that on my communion when I was 12 she bought me an outfit to wear in church and put great stress on the fact that my socks should match the dress and shoes. So she took me to her favourite sock-store that happened to be located in our town in Waregem: KOUSENBOETIEK FILOU. I don’t think there is anyone who knows more about socks and panties then the lady who founded this store 30 years ago. I don’t even think there are any other stores like hers that only sell socks. For every occasion she has what you need. That’s one of the things I like about shopping in a real physical store: that personal touch, that human energy, that vibe that keeps our cities alive. I remember my mom also bought the then better version of the so-called “invisible” socks, the ones you wear in your sneakers but are low-cut so you can’t see you’re wearing them. Ever since I have been wearing those FALKE socks which were then so much better then the ugly old ladies nylon version. They didn’t slip off and did not give you blisters and they lasted really long as the knitwear was exquisite. Quality is cheaper in the end. But let’s continue my story about walking socks.

What socks do I wear on my daily walks?

When picking socks for my daily walks I ALWAYS start with function and quality: socks should be comfortable, high quality knitwear, prevent odour, prevent blisters and foot callus. Quality is the first thing I look for when picking out socks to match my walking shoes which I also choose carefully in the same way: first quality, then design. I have a whole drawer full of socks to match any outfit but also every type of walking I do. For longer weekend walks I often go for sports socks like from FALKE but generally, as walking for me is a lifestyle and not something I only do over the weekend, my socks need to be comfortable but also stylish to wear at the office, on meetings and when I go around town to run errands. That’s when I love style and colour to match my outfit of the day. I have been a fan of SOLIDEA, an Italian brand. I have been wearing their amazing Silver Wave Leggings for years as they are the absolute best way to fight fluid retention, cellulite and my varicose veins. LOVE THEM! I wrote an article on them recently, you can check it out HERE.

Over the last 2 years they also started making amazing socks for daily use and for walking. Reason for me to start using them to check them out as I am always keen on finding out on new things that can help you readers, followers and my clients on their daily walks. After all, if you follow my method religiously you are going to walk for 1 hour a day for 365 days a year. So better make sure you invest in good walking shoes and socks. Recently I have been testing their range of socks and that is my topic of today: to tell you which ones I used for a variety of occasions. This is my conclusion.

The best socks for walking are made of high quality fibers using knitwear knowledge.

When going for socks going for high quality knitwear and high quality fibers is key. I don’t like smelly feet and I don’t like sweaty 🥵 overheated feet. So the best way to fight that is to wear natural fibers like merino wool and the more recent fabric called bamboo viscose, a new fiber made from bamboo. An alternative is to wear an expert mix of synthetic fibers woven into a high quality knit pattern, usually polyamide and a stretchy fiber like elastane for comfort.

The best socks for walking change with your outfit of the day.

When going around town or to meetings I usually wear SOLIDEA’s longer style Bamboo Opera socks or the shorter Bamboo Fly Socks. They come in a range of colours and they are soft, soft, soft! Such a bliss to put them on, I can’t keep myself from touching them throughout the day. The feel amazing. They also are woven in a way that they offer graduated compression to promote blood flow. The gradual compression, which you really ‘feel’ when wearing them, induces a micro-massaging effect that helps combat fluid retention and tired feet. The fabric they are made off is Bamboo which is not only sustainable but also keeps feet dry and controls temperature so to avoid overheated feet when walking. Less odour or better: no odour at all even on a very active day. No rubbing at all, so no painful blisters or sore spots. I wear them all day for work but they also support me well on my daily walks. They also offer lower cut socks so those are definitely on my list next time as I am quite short so elongating my leg is in some outfits important to look nice.

When wearing dresses or skirts I prefer the shorter version but when wearing colourful pants I like to play with the colours and patterns the range has to offer to match and play with my outfit of the day while wearing something that also perfectly supports my daily walks.

The best socks for walking on active walks.

When I go for longer, very brisk power walks in the evening or over the weekend I pick a suitable sock for that occasion. That’s where I opt for SOLIDEA active socks. These are not made of merino or bamboo but made similar to the amazing SOLIDEA Silver Wave Leggings. They have: graduated compression (goodbye fluid retention and tired feet), are bacteriostatic (fighting odour!) and they are woven in the special wavy pattern to give a micromassage to your feet when walking to promote bloodflow and reduce tired feet. I must say that in the beginning when I first used them they felt a bit strange as you can can ‘feel’ the pattern but when walking around in them they felt like someone was constantly massaging my feet… no more boyfriend needed, LOL 😂 I started with a pair in a beautiful kind of blu, they call it ‘blu tonic’ and the name was absolutely appropriate as they felt like a sparkly tonic on my feet. So on my wishlist for my next purchase is getting them in other colours like the ‘fucsia fluo‘ and ‘verde fluo’. I LOVE a bit of colour to spice and light up my day. I hope that in the future SOLIDEA will also make those in a low-cut version to wear on an office day so they are invisible inside my shoes. Hint 😉

To give you the chance to try out this brand I asked SOLIDEA for a discount code for all my followers! With code TAKEYOUTIME you can get a temporary discount of:

– 20% on your first order (minimum 59€) if you create an account on the site

– 10% on all your subsequent orders in your account

(Tip: is the code expired? Contact me via the contact page here on takeyoutime.com and check if there might be another promotion going on!)

The best way to wash, fold and store your best socks for walking.

Maybe something silly to end here. But caring for high quality socks is absolute key to make sure they last a long time. They cost a bit more, but you will benefit from the effect on your feet in the long term but you will also see that in the end, if you take good care of them, they last a lifetime and so will be cheaper then lower quality brands that ‘seem’ to be a better buy… So I wash them in a gentle, organic, no rinse washing liquid like the brand SOAK which I currently have in the smell Pineapple Grove. I discovered the brand in the shop in my town. You need very little of the product and it is all organic and environmentally friendly. You just soak but you don’t need to rinse so you save a bunch on energy and water. Just gently squeeze out the excess water and/or roll in a bath towel and then hang or lay flat to dry. I use the product for washing my lingerie, delicate panties and my socks. When storing socks do not do this: balling your socks or tying them into knots, which I used to do in the past. But after my divorce and decluttering my life and house I devoured the books by Marie Kondo and that taught me how to do it properly to preserve my socks in the longer term and also it looks way better and super relaxing to fold them. This is how Marie Kondo folds socks: I couldn’t explain it better so watch her YouTube HERE

To conclude.

As for picking the best socks for walking choose function over style first but if you go for the right brands you can also find the perfect combination of both. That way you can follow my method on walking in style for 365 days a year!

My name is Lies Helsloot and I call myself the first TAKE YOU TIME™ Expert. I am the author of 2 health books (“Walk Yourself Slim & Happy. How taking More Steps can Change Your Life” (English translation coming soon Spring 2022!) and “The Complete Guide to healthy Hair“), I blog here at takeyoutime.com and coach individual clients, groups and companies around the world to a happy, healthy life and more work-life balance with my 7-step concept of TAKE YOU TIME™. For more motivation and free training and challenges, be sure to sign up for the newsletter on this site and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Or get in touch to know about my online- and coaching programs.