Tapered work trousers and winter footwear - help my cold ankles!

[OttersPocket]

I have a number of pairs of navy and black tapered trousers for work which, in milder months, look lovely with pointy flats and heels whilst flashing a bit of ankle.

However, I live in Scotland and a naked ankle ceases to be fun or practical as October draws ever closer! What can I wear with tapered trousers in the cold? It's all very well to think of lovely brogues etc. but they leave my poor ankles freezing! Would some kind of a be-socked ankle and brogues combo work? How about a boot of some kind?

Help me wise S&B people!

[YesThisIsMe]

Oh dear I have this problem. I wear socks and brogues for the walk into work which looks pretty nerdy, and then I change into knee length pop socks and heels.

[Judydreamsofhorses]

I don't wear heels, so this might not work for you, but I wear nude fishnet ankle sock things with trousers/brogues or ankle grazer skinnies/Chelsea boots.

[Floisme]

I'm wrestling with this too. I've dug out some 20 year-old lace up ankle boots. Sorry - that's not entirely helpful but they're kind of a cross between an ankle boot and a brogue and I'm sure there'll be something similar in the shops. They're fitted on the ankle so ok with narrow trousers and just high enough to fill the gap. I think they look ok but I've not yet ventured out in them

Failing that I shall act as if brogues and socks are the height of fashion. I mean where has this idea come from that socks must never be seen? Men don't worry about it.

Or I guess I might lose my nerve and go back to tube skirts with opaques and ankle boots. Whatever happens I'm buggered if I'm walking around with bare ankles in November.

[blueskyinmarch]

I have a pair of ankle boots sort of like this which i wear with tapered trousers in the winter. I wear them with black socks so i am nice and cosy.

[OttersPocket]

Oh I'm so glad I'm not the only one struggling with this problem! Should we bring back the 'novelty sock' as a fashion item? 😉

I think I might try to find a boot that is tight on the ankle as mentioned above.

I much prefer flat shoes and boots but don't want to end up with the dreaded half mast trouser look!

On another note I've been toying with the idea of some non-skinny jeans and will have to review footwear in that department too. Oh the trial and tribulations!!

[MsUnderstanding]

Fancy ankle socks are a thing. Just look at this selection! I've seen loads of women wearing little frilly socks with brogues.

[OttersPocket]

Oh wow, what a selection!

If I can't get boots to work I'll make sicks my 'thing' 😁

[TheHighPriestessOfTinsel]

i was just wondering whether it would be acceptable to venture down the pop sock route?

[megletthesecond]

I'm trying to deal with this too.

[JohnCheese]

Marking my place for a magical solution.

Pop socks ain't happening. Was thinking some of those sparkly-ish socks that Topshop did last year. Like these

[TheVeryThing]

I must confess to having resorted to pop socks on occasion, best contraceptive ever, according to DH.
last autumn I remember looking in envy at a man sitting next to me at a conference, nice and cosy in his socks and shoes, and wondering when it became 'unacceptable' for women's socks to be visible?

I think ankle boots or brogues with plain socks will be my (very boring) solution, although I like some of the fancy socks linked to above.

[Judydreamsofhorses]

I have the ASOS fishnet ones from the link above, plus other lacy ones. Not as warm as proper socks but do give a bit of a layer.

[heymammy]

I have these ankle boots in red www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ZYU5QVE/ref=twister_B010ACYIWI?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 not very glamorous but so comfy and means I can wear socks. I also just bought pop socks this very week

[ftmsoon]

My socks show so I wear cartoon ones or pretty ones!

[PeppermintInfusion]

Sometimes opaque pop socks work, I have a few pairs with a pattern that don't look sock like but aren't the dreaded nudes ones either

[ChippyMinton]

I've got some very fine knit socks, which were labelled as 'trouser socks'. They are plain coloured, slightly glossy. Probably CK or similar from TKMaxx

[ChippyMinton]

I did wear my pink and black argyle socks with my brogues and 7/8 trousers one day last winter but it was a bit bold for my office

[homebythesea]

What's wrong with opaque pop socks? They are my absolute mainstay for at least 5 months of the year!

[user1471503992]

I wear brogues or ballet pumps with nice socks - I had some gorgeous checkerboard ones that I wore until they got holes and grey speckled ones - they need to be quite fine knit and in a colour/pattern that complement your outfit. Black hardly ever seem to work, they make your feet an amorphous blob with black shoes, but grey is good unless they are too matchy with your trousers.

[thenightsky]

I end up moving to a wider leg trouser come the cold weather, so I can fit a longer boot with thick socks under

[megletthesecond]

See, I moved over from wider legs because I walk to work and they get wet and flappy in the rain.

I am in fashion turmoil .

[Floisme]

I agree about wider legs getting soggy and flappy. I think we will just have to wear our socks with pride - or longer trousers. I normally quite like a bit of fashion silliness but I absolutely draw the line at being cold.

[OttersPocket]

Thank you everyone, it's such a minefield isn't it?!

And yes, when did socks on women become so unacceptable?

I like the idea of fine knit trouser socks, I think that may have tonne the solution. I also find wider leg trousers get all flappy and wet and just prefer how I look in tapered numbers.

I tried to Pinterest ideas but fashion bloggers either live in warmer climes or don't mind freezing ankles!

[SpeckledyBanana]

I long for the time when trousers cover our shoes again.

I've just bought a stash of nude pop socks, I'm going to try those for work next week.

[megletthesecond]

"Dear Karl / Stella / Marc, please bring back modern straight trousers that can be worn with socks so mere mortals who work can buy decent knock-offs in primark..... Thanks awfully. Love MN S&B"