In Chapter 6 of Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, immediately after going to the dentist, Mrs. Hatcher takes the boys shopping for shoes at their usual place, Bloomingdale's. It is while their favorite customer service representative, Mr. Berman, is out back looking for Peter's new loafers that Mrs. Hatcher notices Peter has a hole in his sock, which embarrasses her:

Well, it looks terrible. I mean, to come shopping for shoes with a hole in your sock! That's just awful. (p. 39)

Peter says he hadn't noticed the hole and adjusts his sock to hide the hole. He thinks his mother is being silly.

The reader is never told exactly why Mrs. Hatcher is embarrassed, but since the Hatchers are at a very expensive store, the reader may presume that she feels embarrassed bringing something old and shabby, like a sock with a hole in it, into a store filled with high-quality, expensive merchandise. The reader may also presume she feels embarrassed because the hole can make critical observers think that she is not taking care of her sons properly.

Whatever her reasons, Peter redeems himself by helping calm Fudge. Fudge gets upset because he wants the exact same shoes as Peter, but Peter's shoes don't come in Fudge's size. Therefore, Peter agrees to trick Fudge into thinking Peter is getting saddle shoes, just like Fudge's, when in reality Peter takes the loafers.