The sock is the most ignored item in your wardrobe. It sits inside your shoe, takes the blame for every lost pair, and gets bought in bulk without a second thought. And yet it has nearly 3,000 years of history, a starring role in ancient comedy, and at least one riot to its name.

Here's the short version.

Felt and wrapped feet: the first socks

The earliest written mention of something like a sock comes from the Greek poet Hesiod, around the 8th century BC. He describes piloi: foot coverings made from matted animal hair, closer to felt than to anything knitted.

The Romans first wrapped their feet in strips of leather or cloth, and by around the 2nd century AD were sewing fabric into fitted foot coverings called udones. Not elegant, but a big step up from cold toes inside a sandal.

The 1,600-year-old socks that look brand new

The oldest socks you can still see today were dug up in Egypt at the end of the 19th century and date from around 250 to 420 AD. They're now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Two details make them remarkable. They were made with nålbinding, a single-needle technique that came before knitting and is closer to sewing. And they have a split toe, separating the big toe from the rest, so they could be worn with sandals. Socks with sandals, it turns out, is not a modern crime. It's a 1,600-year-old tradition.

Why "sock" is a funny word

The English word comes from the Old English socc, a light slipper, which comes from the Latin soccus: a light, low-heeled shoe worn by comic actors on the Roman stage. Tragic actors wore heavy boots; comedians wore socks.

So when we say our socks are funny, we're just returning the word to its roots.

A machine, a queen and a move to France

In 1589, an English clergyman named William Lee invented the stocking frame, the first knitting machine. It made stockings far faster than knitting by hand.

The popular story says Queen Elizabeth I refused him a patent, worried the machine would put hand knitters out of work. Historians now doubt that story; it only appears centuries later. What's certain is that Lee moved to France, where King Henry IV granted him a patent and he set up stocking-making in Rouen. Hand-knitting and machine-knitting carried on side by side until the 1800s, when machines took over for good.

Nylon, and the day the queues turned ugly

The next revolution was nylon, introduced in the late 1930s. Nylon stockings went on sale in the United States on 15 May 1940, and around four million pairs sold out in four days.

During the Second World War, nylon was needed for parachutes, and stockings vanished from the shops. When they came back after the war, the queues were enormous. In one, around 40,000 people lined up for 13,000 pairs, and a newspaper reported that "a good old fashioned hair-pulling, face-scratching fight broke out in the line." Hosiery has rarely been so dramatic.

Nylon also started the habit of blending fibres. Almost every sock you own today, including ours, mixes cotton with nylon and a little stretch.

A few more strange sock facts

• One town makes a huge share of the world's socks. Datang, in China, is nicknamed Sock City and has been reported to make around a third of them.
• Mosquitoes love smelly socks. Researchers found worn socks were among the most effective mosquito lures, tied with Limburger cheese.
• Lost socks have their own day. Lost Sock Memorial Day falls on 9 May, a day to mourn the ones the washing machine took.
• India has its own sock traditions. Ludhiana is known across the country for hosiery and woollens, and a pair of woolly socks under sandals on a cold morning is a look many of us grew up with, in proud 1,600-year-old company.

And then socks got a sense of humour

For most of their history, socks were meant to be invisible: plain, dark and quietly functional. Somewhere along the way, people realised that a sock is the one piece of clothing you can be completely ridiculous with and still get away with at work. That's where brands like Blue Q come in, and why a sock can now say exactly what you're thinking.

Shop all socks → · Crew socks · Women's socks

Sources: Victoria and Albert Museum, Smithsonian Magazine, Sock (Wikipedia), William Lee (Wikipedia).

More sock guides: Crew vs ankle vs sneaker socks · Are Socks a Good Gift? · The Sock Drawer Audit · When to Throw Socks Out · How to Gift Wrap Socks

Frequently asked questions

What are the oldest socks in the world?

The oldest surviving socks are a pair from Egypt dating to around 250–420 AD, made with a single-needle technique called nålbinding and held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Why do ancient Egyptian socks have a split toe?

So they could be worn with sandals. The split separates the big toe from the others, leaving room for the sandal strap.

Where does the word sock come from?

From the Old English socc, a light slipper, which comes from the Latin soccus, a light shoe worn by comic actors in ancient Rome.

Who invented the knitting machine?

William Lee, an English clergyman, invented the stocking frame in 1589.

When were nylon socks and stockings invented?

Nylon was introduced in the late 1930s, and nylon stockings went on sale in the United States on 15 May 1940.