{"id":110307,"date":"2025-08-01T13:03:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T13:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/110307\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T13:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T13:03:10","slug":"a-mens-only-club-in-sydney-has-banned-sockettes-is-it-victorian-era-modesty-or-fashion-policing-below-the-ankle-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/110307\/","title":{"rendered":"A men\u2019s only club in Sydney has banned sockettes. Is it Victorian-era modesty or fashion policing below the ankle? | Fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caitlin. A literal \u201cboys\u2019 club\u201d I haven\u2019t heard of has banned a type of sock. What\u2019s going on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hold my prosecco and plate of canapes, do I have a story for you. According to the Australian Financial Review, the elite private members Australian Club<\/a> in Sydney has embarked on a war on men\u2019s socks<\/a>, and the common sockette is in the firing line.<\/p>\n

As per the AFR, the club secretary has distributed amendments to its dress requirements for the clubhouse, which requires that jackets be \u201ctailored\u201d and that socks \u2013 which, they note, \u201cmust be worn by gentlemen\u201d \u2013 should cover above the ankle.<\/p>\n

I can only assume the fashion police will be waiting at the doors, and if you have a low-rise ankle sock on, or, even worse, no sock at all, you\u2019re in danger.<\/p>\n

I thought private members\u2019 clubs were from the 18th century. We still have them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, yes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Australian Club is actually the oldest gentlemen\u2019s club in the southern hemisphere, established in 1838 as a private, men\u2019s only establishment. It\u2019s part of a string of reciprocal elite clubs around the globe, including the Melbourne Club and Athenaeum Club, also in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

According to its website, the Sydney club, situated at 165 Macquarie Street, boasts \u201cunparalleled views\u201d of the Botanic Gardens and north shore, \u201cwhere tradition and modernity are skilfully blended\u201d. Sockettes, presumably, do not count in that skilful blend.<\/p>\n

Wow that\u2019s so retro. How is it still men\u2019s only?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ima, be reasonable. When it opened, this was a different era. It was 1838! Women couldn\u2019t vote, hold political office or own property in their own right. But yeah, it\u2019s still a boys\u2019 club.<\/p>\n

In 2021, 62% of its members<\/a>, who include John Howard and Malcom Turnbull, controversially rejected a proposal to allow women to join (though we don\u2019t know how the former prime ministers voted), with some fearing the \u201catmosphere\u201d of the club could be \u201cirreparably damaged\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Women are welcome to stay in the clubhouse and use facilities when a member is with them though! They just can\u2019t go on the first floor until after 5pm.<\/p>\n

Right, that makes sense. A \u201cno girls allowed\u201d vibe. So what were the rules for entry before?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A pretty stringent dress code has always been in place. Members and their \u201cgentlemen guests\u201d have to wear a jacket and tie (though on the \u201crelaxed\u201d third floor, ties are optional), and \u201cladies\u201d can wear a dress, skirt, tailored trousers with a jacket or evening pants.<\/p>\n

No denim is allowed, and don\u2019t even think about sports shoes. This is the Australian Club \u2013 not the wild west.<\/p>\n

So. Many. Questions. If pants are a prerequisite, why ban sockettes? Not cute, but don\u2019t they remain out of sight?<\/strong> Or are more members rocking a three-quarter chino these days? If an exposed ankle is the cause of scandal \u2026 is it the sensuality of a man\u2019s lower leg?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to think about the sensuality of an old man\u2019s leg.<\/p>\n

But honestly, if it were me making the rules, I would ban sockettes on the basis they\u2019re just a bit daggy. I mean, their slightly longer cousin, ankle socks, have been colloquially referred to as \u201cmillennial socks\u201d<\/a> because they\u2019re such a fashion faux pas among youth.<\/p>\n

And the Australian Club is all about \u201cmodernity\u201d. Its members may have a median age above 60<\/a>, but that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not sailing on the winds of contemporary fashion. I\u2019m with the secretary. Get with the times, I say, and pull up your socks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Caitlin. A literal \u201cboys\u2019 club\u201d I haven\u2019t heard of has banned a type of sock. What\u2019s going on?…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":110308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-110307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114953650490789475","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}