House socks are school socks knitted in the colours of a pupil's house rather than the colours of the school. A house is one of the named groups a school divides its pupils into, and almost every school that has houses gives each one a colour. The socks come out on house competition days, at sports fixtures and at house events. Each house is its own design, so a school with eight houses is looking at eight socks.
What is a school house?
A house is a group a school puts you in when you arrive. You stay in it until you leave, and if you've got a brother or sister already at the school, you'll probably be put in theirs.
Houses have names. Saints, founders, benefactors, a local landowner, the occasional bishop. And they have colours, which is the part that matters here. Green, maroon, navy and gold, whatever was decided a hundred and something years ago by somebody nobody now remembers.
So what are house socks?
A sock knitted in the house's colours instead of the school's, with the crest or mark. They are normally worn at house events or competitions to show house pride, or (where the school rules allow) in lessons when the students have had enough of black socks.
How does a school usually run it?
The Development Office may buy socks both to send out to alumni and also to give out to visiting prospective parents, the School Shop may buy them to sell them to students and parents, and HsMs may buy them as an affordable way to allow their students to show house pride on a day-to-day basis. Often a mix of this is used with the Development Office or the School Shop initiating it and then the other two groups getting involved to split the MOQ and get everyone in on the socks.
FAQS
What's the MOQ for your house socks?
Our MOQ is 100 pairs with no setup costs. In some exceptional circumstances with large orders (from many different houses) we are happy to enter multi-year supply contracts to reduce the MOQ.
How can we design our house socks?
You can supply us an existing design for socks if you have it. If not we can design one from a tie or any other house kit you might have, or design something totally new with your guidance. We are happy to talk directly to house teams to get to know exactly what you want.
What are your socks made of and where are they made?
Our socks are a cotton rich (82%) blend with enough elastic and polyamide to make sure the socks fits, lasts, and is comfortable. They are made in Europe.
Send your house colours and your crest to enquiries@societalsocks.com and we'll come back with a mock-up within 24 hours. We're always happy to communicate directly with House teams.