A Sock War Is Afoot Between Millennials and Gen Z

Like many members of Gen Z, Kalissa Persaud is not about to be spotted in a pair of too-short socks. Ms. Persaud, 22, who lives in Queens, almost exclusively wears crew socks that reach her calves: “I’ve gotten so used to not seeing my ankles that it would be really jarring if I did.”

Night Noroña, 18, who lives in San Diego, recently threw away all of his socks that hit below the ankle. He said he knew hardly anyone who wore them, except for his father. “I’m like, ‘You’ve got to get some longer socks on you,’” he said.

Gen Z has already taken on shibboleths of millennial fashion like skinny jeans and side parts. Now some young people are declaring a preference for crew socks, which generally rise to midway up the shin, and thumbing their noses at the ankle and no-show varieties that are staples of the previous generation’s sock drawers.

What might be just a mild generational difference in sock preferences is being exaggerated into a kind of theatrical warfare on social media. Jabs are being exchanged. Side-by-side comparisons are being posted. And some millennials are standing their ground.

“You will pry these ankle socks off my cold, dead feet,” the comedian Matt Bellassai says in one of the many TikTok videos posted by millennials in recent months, defending their bare ankles.