SockTips

Abstract

A footwear accessory (hereafter referred to as “SockTip”) that facilitates reduced shoe toe-box creasing and enhanced comfort of footwear, for example, dress, casual, and athletic shoes. The SockTip includes instep and toe elements with the instep element constructed with increased thickness atop the toe and metatarsal areas and along the sides of the foot when worn. Worn with toed footwear, SockTip's increased thickness, generally over top and aside of the foot metatarsal area, pads the shoe-toe box, thereby reducing the onset of creasing and facilitating enhanced shoe comfort.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A partial foot covering configured to cover only a forward portion of a foot, the foot covering comprising:
 instep portion and toe portion with the instep portion providing increased thickness atop one or more toes, metatarsal areas, and along the sides of the foot when worn;   wherein the instep portion is of a contoured design that is form-fitting over the tarsal area of the foot, anchoring over the one or more toes and extending to a ball of the foot on its bottom-side; and   wherein the foot covering extends alongside adjacent areas of the ball of the foot and over top of the foot, covering an area that resides under a shoe toe and tongue, where additional layering provides for reduced shoe toe-box creasing and enhanced shoe wear comfort.   
     
     
         2 . The foot covering according to  claim 1 , wherein to facilitate the fit of the foot covering to the foot and comfortable wear, a thin elastic band is sewn around a circumference of the foot covering instep to secure its placement on the foot. 
     
     
         3 . The foot covering according to  claim 1 , further comprising silicon beads which are positioned on an underside of a top area of the instep portion of the foot covering that provides a sticky or tacky-like surface which helps secure a placement of the foot covering on the foot during wear. 
     
     
         4 . The foot covering according to  claim 1 , further comprising a notch within a top contour of an instep circumference of the foot covering that allows the foot covering to lay substantially flat on the foot such that there is a limited or no amount of space between the foot covering and the foot. 
     
     
         5 . The foot covering according to  claim 4 , wherein the notch lies within the foot covering contour having the elastic band sewn around its circumference.