Where to purchase solid-color plus-size women's socks?

January 2, 2015 8:20 AM

Wife's b-day is coming up and has asked that I find her some plus size solid color crew socks. She wears a size 11 or 12 shoe. I never thought it would be this hard to find cute plus-size socks for her. Most are just black or white--boring. Or crazy patterns--not her style. Or $15 per pair--too expensive. Sheesh, does no one make a 6 pack or 8 pack of solid-colored cotton or cotton/poly plus size socks, like pink, blue, pastels, etc.? My google-fu is failing. Can you help?
posted by luvmywife to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (17 answers total)

I bought these for my wife as a Winter Solstice present. She wears a size 10.
posted by starbreaker at 8:26 AM on January 2, 2015

When you say plus-size do you simply mean larger sock sizes than is typical for women or do you mean socks that are for wide feet/ankles/calves?
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:27 AM on January 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

You can get such socks at Wal-Mart, just look on the packages for the 8-12 sizes.

I'll tell you this though, they kind of suck.

You really do have to spend $15 for good socks that don't slide into your shoes. I'm still on the hunt for excellent knee socks for my very large and muscular calves.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:27 AM on January 2, 2015

Lots of cute solid colors for cheap in her size at We Love Colors: ankle socks, knee socks. However, the socks are nylon instead of cotton or cotton/poly. I've bought from them before, and their stuff is good quality and durable compared to what I'd normally expect for that price.
posted by Bentobox Humperdinck at 8:35 AM on January 2, 2015

Best answer: If you are just looking for socks for larger shoe sizes, men's socks should be fine. My mom wears a size 11 or so and wears men's socks. I found these online for $6 a pair, though I have never bought them so can't vouch for them.
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:39 AM on January 2, 2015

Maggie's Organics has excellent socks.
posted by spinturtle at 8:39 AM on January 2, 2015

Did you look for those $15/pair socks on ebay? I just showed my MIL how to find her pricey bamboo socks on ebay for 1/3 the price of retail stores.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 8:40 AM on January 2, 2015

Women Within sells a 6-pack of assorted colored crews (two different color assortments) in size 10-12 (which you should add to your Google-fu vocabulary as the standard women's sock size that corresponds to women's shoe sizes 10-13, or "plus" size socks).

And a couple of different Hanes ankle sock assortments in 10-12
posted by drlith at 8:40 AM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Avenue has some selection, but not pastels. It's the wrong time of the year for light colors.

Woman Within has an assorted pack of socks. This is probably the best option I've found (on preview, I see that drlith also found these).

There are many of options on Amazon, but a lot of them are heavily patterned. Here are a few choices that seem close to what you are looking for: (1) (2) (3) (4). And just for fun, here are some pink plus size socks that have names on them.

Lane Bryant also has a few options, but no light colors.

Just My Size has these crew socks in pastel colors at $9 each.

People will probably recommend Sock Dreams to you, but those will likely be more expensive than what you are looking for.
posted by OrangeDisk at 8:45 AM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I have feet about as big as your wife's and I buy dude socks. Go to a runners' store for them. They're not going to be pink but you should be able to get colors.
posted by winna at 9:08 AM on January 2, 2015

With that said if you're committed to pink then RIT dye is cheap. Just wash them more times after dying than the package says so they don't stain her feet.
posted by winna at 9:09 AM on January 2, 2015

If it's just about feet, and she doesn't have wide calves, she may love Uniqlo's Socks in 50 Colors. They're sold as men's socks, and I bought some for my husband, and promptly stole them. They're a cotton blend, approx $3.25/pair and come in, yes, even pink. The only downside is that they're "one size fits all." I wear a size 8.5 women's shoe, and they're a bit big, so they might fit her well. Maybe buy one pair and see?
posted by linettasky at 9:13 AM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: (I am the OP)
Lot's of great answers. Thank you--I'll check them out. And by large socks, I meant "long feet" not larger width or calves.
posted by luvmywife at 9:14 AM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Sierra Trading Post is my go-to for high quality socks. Sign up for their deal flyer emails and you get 30% off on the spot (cancel it or filter the emails later). That stacks on top of the existing discounts. I only buy socks there that are priced under $7, but they're usually marked at $15+ retail and have generally held up pretty well. This search shows crew length socks in her size that have good reviews.
posted by deludingmyself at 9:51 AM on January 2, 2015

I have size 13 ladies feet and have had good luck recently with the multi-packs of men's socks from Marks and Spencer. I ordered online and found they were true to size.

Here's an example. There are plenty of options.
posted by cranberrymonger at 7:08 PM on January 2, 2015

In my experience, the Lane Bryant socks are no larger than Target's "normal" size socks (which supposedly fit up to size 9 or 10, but work well enough on my size 11 feet). They might even be a little smaller.
posted by wintersweet at 7:43 PM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I am the OP. Thought I would return and report what I bought for my wife and what she liked best--may be useful for anyone else looking here for answers.

Thanks to user needs more cowbell, I purchased some from Joy of Socks here: http://www.joyofsocks.com/joyofsocks-com-colorful-cotton-crew-socks-mens/

Thanks to user linettasky, I also purchased some from Uniqlo here: http://www.uniqlo.com/us/men/innerwear-and-loungewear/color-socks.html

Joy of Socks Pros (according to my wife):
A bit plusher that Uniqlo's
Not such a tight/constricting leg ribbing

Joy of Socks Cons:
More expensive than Uniqlo's (but they do have free shipping which makes it on par)
Not as many colors
Shrunk a little after washing, but not enough to make them suddenly too small
Slower delivery

Uniqlo's Pros:
More colors
Inexpensive (but they don't have free shipping so there's that. . .)
Didn't shrink after washing

Uniqlo's Cons:
A bit thinner (A con for my wife--maybe not for you)
Tighter/more constricting leg support (a con for my wife--maybe not for you)
Shipping charges, but they were reasonable.
Faster delivery and service.

The wife says you could go either way--they are so close but if she had to choose again, she would buy Joy of Socks over Uniqlo.
posted by luvmywife at 6:19 AM on January 16, 2015 [1 favorite]