There are so many types of socks for Irish Dance! How do I tell which type is right for my dancer?
This is something that a lot of people ask themselves, when they’re starting out in Irish dance. It’s an important question, because socks are one of the most important pieces of an Irish dance costume! Getting the right pair can help you reduce or even avoid the issues of blisters, foot pain, and slipping that plague so many dancers.
But what is the right pair of socks? That can be a very difficult question to answer when there are so many brands and variations on bright white poodle socks. At Irish Seams we get a huge number of questions about socks at every Feis, so we decided to make this article for you to use as a resource when trying to navigate the world of Irish dance poodle socks.
There isn’t really a substitute for personal experience and experimentation when it comes to figuring out which sock is right for your dancer, but hopefully this article will give you a place to start. As with most things in Irish dance, we encourage you to reach out to your dance teacher and talk to them about their own experiences and preferences regarding the gear dancers at their school wear.
With that out of the way, let’s talk socks.
Pacelli Poodle Socks: $9-$10
Pacelli’s Poodle Socks are the ‘old standby’ of the Irish Dance community. They are made in the United Kingdom from a blend of 80% cotton and 20% nylon. They have a toe seam like most athletic socks. Pacelli socks are generally a good place to start for dancers who are new to the sport and don’t know what their preferences are yet, and a fair number of them will find that they don’t really need to explore further because these socks work fine for them. But that doesn’t mean that they’re perfect for everyone, either: Pacelli socks are wider in the foot for their length than a lot of other brands, so dancers who have relatively thick arches or who need wide shoes will probably find them more comfortable. If your dancer has fairly narrow feet they might find that Pacelli poodle socks fit too loosely, which usually leads to blisters.
You can find Pacelli poodle socks on our webstore.
Pacelli socks come in several varieties and have a big color-coded sticker on the foot to help you tell them apart while shopping. Here’s a list of the different types and what the differences are:
Pacelli Ultra-Low Poodle Socks: $9
Ultra-Low socks are the shortest length Pacelli offers, with their top usually falling somewhere between the ankle and the calf muscle. They have a straight foot, are marked with a green sticker, and come in extra petite, petite, small, medium, and large.
Pacelli Ankle-Length Poodle Socks: $9
Though commonly called ankle-length, these are technically named ‘championship ankle length’. This can be confusing because there is another length of Pacelli sock that is called ‘champion length’.* These ankle-length socks tend to come up to the calf muscle on a dancer’s leg. They have blue stickers and straight feet, and come in extra petite, petite, small, medium, and large.
*We no longer sell champion length at Irish Seams, but if you want to order them from elsewhere they have yellow stickers.
Pacelli Arch-Support Poodle Socks: $10
While the other two variations are different lengths, Pacelli’s arch support socks are different for having a band of ribbing in the middle of the foot that provides additional support to the dancer’s arches. This version only comes in ankle-length, and you can tell them apart by the pink sticker and the way the foot of the sock cinches in the middle. While the ribbing can make them a better fit for dancers with thinner feet, the heel and toe are still fairly boxy which can cause problems. Also, if you look closely you can see the ribbing while wearing soft shoes, which some dancers don’t like.
You can find Pacelli arch support poodle socks on our webstore.
What are Stay-Ups?: +$4
Stay-Ups are a type of modified Pacelli poodle sock that have a band of silicone gel on the inside of the sock’s ‘neck’. The gel helps the sock cling to the dancer’s leg better, meaning that you don’t need to use sock glue to keep the socks in place. Stay-Ups are available in all three of the Pacelli poodle sock varieties, and the upgraded versions cost an extra four dollars.
There are some downsides to Stay-Ups. Some types of tanner can stain the silicone gel, which will very quickly leave discoloration on the outside that can’t be washed out. If they are accidentally put in the dryer or otherwise heated, the gel can melt and might ruin any other clothes it gets on.
You can find Stay-Ups on our webstore.
Hullachan socks: $12 NOTE: Hullachan socks have sadly been discontinued. Once our stock is gone, we will no longer be carrying them.
Hullachans are in many ways billed as the ‘deluxe’ version of Pacelli’s socks. They are made in the UK from a mix of 30% nylon and 70% CoolMax blend, and have red labels. One of the things that make them different from the standard Pacelli is that instead of the toe being sewn shut it is grafted together, so these socks don’t have a toe seam and are overall less boxy. They even come with Pacelli’s style of arch support ribbing in the middle of the foot. However, they’re only available in Ultra-Low Length.
Hullachans have an extremely fluffy, soft feel to them, and it’s a noticeable enough difference that we actually get a lot of comments about it when people are comparing socks at our booth. Because of that and the seamless toe, they are really good choices for some dancers who might suffer from touch sensitivity or just can’t stand seams.
You can find Hullachan socks on our webstore.
Kathleen Sassy Socks: $9 plain, $20 with bling
Kathleen Sassy socks, which we like to call Sassy socks, are another classic brand of Irish Dance socks. They are made in China out of 85% nylon and 15% spandex, and their packaging includes a size chart in both USA and UK sizes. Kathleen Sassy socks are notable for being a thinner material and fitting much more tightly against the foot, almost like a compression tee, as well as having arch support ribbing that can be really helpful for dancers with higher arches. They tend to fit more snugly on most dancers, which reduces rubbing for those with narrower feet, but it can make them too tight for dancers with wider feet, which causes soreness. It is also worth keeping in mind that the materials used in Sassy socks do not wick as well as other sock brands, so they can easily collect a lot of sweat for some dancers. The material of Sassy socks is also relatively rough for our socks. Some dancers have actually said that this allows them to stay up without sock glue, but personally we’d suggest that you experiment with that in practice before relying on it at a feis.
Ankle and Champion length Sassy socks come with black labels, and are available in petite, small, medium, large, and extra large. Both Ankle and Champion Sassy socks are available with AB or Clear crystals in sizes up to large. Ultra-short Sassy socks come with green cardboard labels and are available in small, medium, large, and extra-large sizes, and they can also come with AB or Clear crystals.
You can find Kathleen Sassy socks on our webstore.
Katie Luck Socks: $15
Billed as the brand made for dancers by a dancer, these socks were designed by a dancer named Katie Luck and are made in the USA from a blend of 40% acrylic, 15% nylon, 4% lycra spandex, and 40% CoolMax blend. They come in two lengths: ultra-low length in light blue packaging and ankle-length in dark blue packaging.
Katie Luck socks do not have a toe seam, and include arch support ribbing for those dancers with higher arches. The fabric in these socks is very soft, exceptionally good at wicking, and has very low bulk, so we recommend them whole-heartedly for dancers who are very sensitive to touch, those who easily get blisters, and other dancers who commonly suffer from foot-related issues.
You can find Katie Luck socks on our webstore.
How to find the right size of Irish dance sock:
Figuring out what size of socks your dancer needs can be confusing when Irish dance shoes are already using very different sizes from everyday shoes or even most other athletic shoes. Some of our socks, like Pacelli’s brand, have a sizing chart that accounts for Irish dance shoe sizes already:
The other socks we offer have sizing charts in both USA and UK sizes on their packaging. It’s usually best to go by the size of your dancer’s ghillies on the UK chart when buying just to reduce how much sock you have to fit into the shoe, but if you don’t know it off hand then using the USA sizes will work in a pinch. This is the chart on the Katie Luck brand of socks, which is identical to the one on the Kathleen sassy socks:
Socks for male dancers
So far, all of the socks we have covered have been for women and girls, many of them designed and made for Irish Dancers specifically. Currently, there aren’t any brands that cater specifically to male Irish Dancers in this way. However, there are a set of standards that male socks have to meet: all visible parts must be plain, unadorned black. Thickness and height are generally up to your dancer’s individual preference, though you will want to check with your teacher if the socks you prefer are especially short. The rule of thumb is that no leg should show when the dancer is dancing, so the best test is to have him put on his dance pants, socks, and dance shoes and run through his steps while you sit across the room and watch to see if his legs stay covered. Most boys avoid using sock glue, but it may be needed.
Generally, your best bet for getting socks for a male dancer is a pair of standard dress socks from a store like Target or Kohl’s. Currently, it is rare for vendors at Feis to carry socks for boys and men, so you should take extra care to always have enough for your needs. We recommend having a pair and a spare for items like socks and tights that can be damaged or dirtied easily.