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Europe’s most extensive survey on sock-wearing

Inhabitants of 6 countries were questioned concerning their sock-wearing:
Italy, UK, Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria
See the differences!

Italy: Change ist compulsory

Change is compulsory

Italy: The most enthusiastic sock buyers

Who would have guessed that: in no other European country, people are as cleanly in terms of socks as in Italy.

One in ten people change socks even more than once a day. These Southern Europeans buy about 16 pairs of new socks each year. An Italian sock drawer contains an average of 17 pairs of socks.

Italian bestseller: Merino wool socks

UK: Shopping is left to others

Shopping is left to others

UK: The biggest mummy's boys

Who buys new socks for British men? Neither their wives, nor their partners – it's their mothers!

Britons, who don’t buy socks on their own, often have their mothers buy them. When it comes to changing and buying socks, British men are ranked in the middle range of the survey. But this does not hold true in terms of shopping tactics, since they are unique and unparalleled!

British bestseller: Cashmere silk socks

Switzerland: Cleanliness is no virtue

Cleanliness is no virtue

Switzerland: those who shy away the most from changing their socks

Switzerland, the tidiest country in the world. However, when it comes to changing socks, the tidiness comes to an end. There is no country where men change their socks as infrequently as in Switzerland.

Only 70% of the respondents change their socks on a daily basis. One in six people wear the same socks for two days in a row and one in ten Swiss people wear them even more than two days at a stretch.

Swiss bestseller: calf socks in black

France: Change is the exception

Change is the exception

France: The emptiest sock drawers

These drawers are ruled by nonchalance. There is certainly enough space, since French people have by far the least socks: only 17 pairs.

Madame and Monsieur prefer spending their money on other things; they only buy 9 pairs of socks a year. This represents the all-time low of our survey. Nonchalance also when it comes to change: Monsieur does not like changing his socks - only two in three change their socks every day.

French bestseller: knee socks

Germany: Quantity makes the difference

Quantity makes the difference

Germany: The greatest wealth in terms of sock ownership

One can never own too many socks. Or so the Germans believe. In Germany, women and men own 24 pairs each. Hence, they hold the European record.

German people buy 13 pairs of socks per year. And when you own so many new socks, you want to wear them as well. 8 out of 10 respondents change their socks every day.

German bestseller: coloured calf socks

Austria: Delegating is trumps

Delegating is trumps

Austria: The most negligent sock buyers

In no other country, men delegate tasks as readily as in Austria. About a quarter of all respondents have other people buy their socks.

In most cases, it is their wife or their partner who does the sock shopping. And they do this job very diligently: As a matter of fact, Austrian men own an average of 23 pairs of socks and thus come second after Germany in terms of owning socks.

Austrian bestseller: Business light socks

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