袜

Left clothing radical — the compressed five-stroke form of 衣 (garment). Anchors 袜 in the wardrobe family alongside 衫 (shirt), 裤 (trousers), 裙 (skirt), 袖 (sleeve), 被 (quilt). Tells the reader: this is something worn, fabric on the body.

Right phonetic 末 — supplies the sound (mò drifted to wà via Old Chinese onset shift). Originally a tree 木 with a stroke marking the topmost tip — fittingly, a sock covers the body's bottom tip. Simplified form: traditional 襪 used 蔑 phonetic; the 1956 reform swapped in shorter 末 to keep the sound and cut strokes.