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How high is
your shoe?

We do not ask what shoe you own. We ask for one number, and we answer with the socks that sit under it — or with nothing, if we do not make one that does.

mm

Stand the shoe on a flat surface. Measure from the surface up to the lowest point of the opening at the back. How to measure

Your heel
Silicone

Typical shoe openings

Ballet flat
38–52 mm
Low loafer
50–65 mm
Derby or oxford
52–68 mm
Low trainer
55–75 mm
Boat shoe
60–80 mm

These are typical ranges, not measurements of your shoes. Measure yours.

9socks with a workable margin under 55 mm

Between 5 and 16 mm below your opening, closest first. The highest cuff that still sits below the opening is the one with the most fabric holding it on.

  1. 9 mm clearanceNo silicone
  2. 13 mm clearance
  3. 13 mm clearance
  4. 13 mm clearanceWide fit
  5. 13 mm clearanceNo silicone
  6. 13 mm clearanceNo silicone
  7. 13 mm clearanceWide fitNo silicone
  8. 15 mm clearance
  9. 15 mm clearanceNo silicone

Very close

Under 5 mm of clearance. These sit below your opening on paper, but that margin disappears as soon as the shoe flexes. Expect them to show at least some of the time.

  1. 3 mm clearanceMay showNo silicone
  2. 3 mm clearanceMay showNo silicone
  3. 3 mm clearanceMay showNo silicone
  4. 3 mm clearanceMay showWide fitNo silicone
  5. 3 mm clearanceMay showNo silicone
  6. 3 mm clearanceMay showNo silicone

Lower than this shoe needs

These sit more than 16 mm below your opening. They will be hidden, but there is a lot of bare skin inside the shoe, which some people find rubs.

What we do not promise

No sock stays up in every shoe on every foot. Cuff height, heel shape, how the shoe fits and how you walk all matter. We give you the measurements so you can compare them to your own shoes.

If you have not measured yet.

Everything above depends on one number being right. It takes less than a minute to get it.

The full method

  1. 01

    Stand the shoe on a flat surface

    A table or a floor. Not a rug, not a shoe box. The measurement starts at whatever the sole rests on.

  2. 02

    Find the lowest point of the opening at the back

    Follow the collar of the shoe round to the back. Where it dips lowest is the point that decides whether a sock shows.

  3. 03

    Measure straight down to the surface

    Hold the rule upright against the outside of the heel. Read the millimetres. That single number is what we need.

Where this stops working.

  • Our lowest cuff is 22 mm and our highest is 58 mm. Below 22 mm of opening there is nothing we can offer, and we say so rather than showing you the nearest thing.
  • The number describes where the cuff sits. It does not describe whether the sock will stay there. That depends on your heel, the inside of the shoe and how you walk.
  • Shoes flex. An opening measured on a shoe standing still is a few millimetres higher than the same opening at the top of a stride, which is why we flag anything under 5 mm of clearance.
  • If you are between two answers, send us the measurements before you buy. It is cheaper for both of us than a sealed pack you cannot return.