Measure the calf, then read the chart

Compression socks are sized by leg, not by dress size or by how the last pair felt. Two people who wear the same shoe can be four inches apart at the widest part of the calf, and that gap is the whole difference between a sock that stays put and one that rolls down by lunchtime.

Take the measurement standing up, in the morning, with a soft tape around the fullest part of the calf. Do not pull the tape tight. Write down the number in inches, then check it against the size chart printed on the product page, because Levsox charts differ between the standard and the wide calf builds.

Shoe size matters second. It sets the length of the foot and where the heel pocket lands. If your calf says one size and your foot says another, follow the calf on knee highs and the foot on ankle socks.

Four things that go wrong

• Measure standing, at the fullest part of the calf, in the morning.
• A tape pulled tight gives a number a size too small.
• Calf circumference decides the size of a knee high. Shoe size decides the ankle pair.
• Between two sizes on a wide calf build, take the larger one.

Every calf band in this catalog

Built from the size charts of all 49 socks. The last column counts how many pairs offer a size that covers the band.

Ankle pairs are different

These are the pairs for trainers and warm weather, with a padded footbed and a ribbed band that keeps the heel from swallowing the sock. They carry elastic support rather than a rated compression band, so no mmHg figure is listed. Sizing follows shoe size here, not calf measurement.

See the wide calf section