MBA Style magazine's
Dressing for Sock-cess

Few recruiters are psock-otic about hosiery, as long as you wear a pair; but some have been known to take particular notice of some "rad" designs when candidates cross their legs.

Opaque hosiery, rather than nude, is recommended for women. As a matter of fact, the sheer business has been the hosiery industry's mainstay, and most growth has been in those products that offer greater control and microfiber nylons. The sheer business is losing market share as women shift to knee-highs, trouser socks, and casuals.

Although women's casual hosiery has no place in an interview, Hanes Hosiery, a licensee of Donna Karan Hosiery for the past 6 years, has seen legwear evolve from sheers to casuals as corporate dress codes have become more lenient. Sandy Chilewich, co-president of Hue! legwear, expects a 5% sales gain on her products in 1994. Hue! was a $35 million division of Leslie Fay.

Just as women can choose from a wider range of colors for their suits, men can choose from a wider range of hosiery styles for their interviews. Most MBA's will stick to basic black, or Gold Toe black socks. Men's socks comprise 47% of the $2.4 billion hosiery industry in the U.S., and sales growth has been in the single digits.

Socks are a classic commodity business in which imported standard socks are selling for low prices, and the U.S. manufacturers are scrambling to add value to their hosiery lines, and thus command premium prices. Many manufacturers are accomplishing this by offering organic cotton socks, cotton with lycra mixtures, cotton/lycra with wool blends, and new fabric treatments that improve breathability and durability. While your classic orlon socks retail for about $8 a pair, the new-technology socks will sell for about $10.50 a pair.

As with women's hosiery, one growing men's segment is the Friday-wear sock, for those men who don't want to wear their dress-down sweat socks, nor their dress-up black socks with their Dockers to work. It's the market for the dressier casual sock, or bridge sock that is growing.