Almost half of APAC respondents think it's not okay to wear socks with sandals

Whether someone is fashionable is rather subjective. But the latest YouGov survey can give you a hint on the general fashion taboos that most people don’t want to break.

Aussies don’t appreciate the sock-sandal combo the most

When asked to indicate which fashion "rules" APAC respondents consciously follow, 47% report that they don't wear socks with sandals. While the combination of socks and sandals tops the list of fashion taboos in APAC as a whole, responses are quite diverse across different countries. In APAC, Aussies have the most disdain for the sock-sandal combo, with 57% of respondents saying they don't mix the two. However, in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, less than 40% in each respective country think the sock and sandal mix is a problem.

Mixing patterns are more acceptable by men than women

The next fashion “rule” that APAC respondents are most aware of is not to mix different patterns (e.g. horizontal and vertical stripes), with 35% of APAC respondents saying they don’t do so. However, men are less concerned about mixing the patterns on what they wear, only 29% of men say they don’t do it while 41% women think it’s unacceptable.

There are also 33% of APAC respondents say that they don’t wear stockings or socks with open toed shoes. Women are again more conscious about this than men (with 40% women and 26% men saying they don’t mix stockings or socks with open toed shoes respectively). Examining the data by county, Hong Kong and Vietnam have the highest percentage of respondents adhere to this fashion ‘rule’, with both countries having over 40% of respondents say they don’t do so. However, this is less considered as a fashion norm in Indonesia and Thailand, with only 25% and 21% of respondents in respective country saying they don’t wear stockings or socks with open toed shoes.

Filipinos, Vietnamese and Indonesians place highest importance on following fashion trends

Countries and genders have different approaches to fashion. But how important is it for people to keep up with the latest fashion trends? In APAC, 51% of respondents think it’s very important or quite important. However, in Australia, only slightly over 30% of Aussies think it is very important or quite important to keep up with the latest fashion trends, while in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, this figure doubles up (with 60%, 62% and 61% respondents think it’s very important or quite important to keep up with the latest fashion trends).

Data was collected from research amongst YouGov’s panelists and was weighted to be representative of online population. Sample size: Asia Pacific (n = 9,037; Australia: 1,009; China: 1,003; Hong Kong: 1,003; Indonesia: 996; Malaysia: 1,003; Philippines: 1,008; Singapore: 1,004; Thailand: 1,004; Vietnam: 1,007)