Fashion’s New Footwear Fetish? Stirrup Socks
Taking inspiration from Pilates studios and baseball fields.
Pilates socks are having a moment, but not in the way you think. The toe-less pieces are stepping off the reformer and into the fashion world, commandeered by the cool-girls and repurposed into something entirely new. Almost sister to the leg warmer, the open-toe, open-heel sock is unlocking a fresh way for you to style yourself from the knee down.
Because of this, our very idea of what makes a sock has been flipped upside down. No heel, no toe, is it even still a sock? Where do we draw the line between sock, leg warmer, stirrup and studio gear? With inventive hosiery styling taking over feeds and runways alike, it’s clear that socks, or whatever these are, just got a major rebrand.
The emergence of the silhouette into mainstream fashion could be down to the current fixation with hyperfeminine sportswear, think ballet, yoga and Pilates with delicate wrap tops, layered tanks and lace-up footwear. Easily transitioning from studio floors to city streets, the workout essentials are doubling as style items. Add in the 2000s nostalgia wave that the industry is still riding (hello leg warmers), and it makes total sense that the Pilates sock is the next evolution.
The look isn’t just confined to Pilates either, with the items taking inspiration from traditional Baseball uniforms that once featured stirrup styles with open arches. Designers are clearly taking notes, as they were first spotted back in 2024 during Miu Miu’s Spring/Summer 2025 show, where gray sports-inspired stirrups were paired with sandal heels and midi skirts. They’ve since trickled into the styling of indie brand campaigns such as London-based labels Fruity Booty and Peachy Den, alongside the feed of model and influencer Iris Law, adding the toe-less accessories to her quirky ensembles.
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More recently, this Spring/Summer 2026 season saw the stirrups appearing in mesh form at the Paloma Wool show in Paris, while actual Pilates sock brand Paralía has taken a very fashion-forward approach to its marketing. The brand’s reformer socks are styled alongside crochet ensembles with heels, and more recently featured on the runway at New York Fashion Week in a collaboration with designer Christian Cowan.
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The trend also slips perfectly into fashion’s ongoing obsession with barely-there footwear. Vibram Five-Fingers and endless flip-flop iterations have been flooding our feeds as of late, with a clear desire for the girls to get their feet out. Now, Pilates socks are offering the missing link, a way to style the toe-first footwear into the colder seasons without giving up those summer styles you invested in.
With the 2010s aesthetics taking over and the broader obsession with fashion-meets-function, the style makes total sense. From leg warmers to unitards, multi-use athleisure is back, complete with knee-high socks, primary hues and suggestively stretching yoga poses. This feels like a modern retelling of the American Apparel era. Recession core, nostalgia wave or Addison Rae influence? Whatever it is, we’re here for it.
For more on trends, check out the biggest ones from this SS26 fashion week.
