Socks!

[MetroStyles]

I always find it difficult to match socks to shoes/pants. In general, I try to keep my shoes and socks similar colors, which is really easy when you wear black shoes, dark socks, and charcoal pants.

But what happens when I wear olive pants with brown shoes? Or with black shoes? How can I mix in creative socks (argyle, etc.) without looking tacky? What if I have no socks the EXACT color of my brown shoes?

There must be some guidelines on what works and what does not, especially when not wearing the typical conservative dark pants with black shoes. Any tips?

 

[ComboOrgan]

I believe the general rule is that socks should match your pants, or be a shade in-between your pants and shoes.

I break the rule for gray pants, because I just don't like gray socks. I've heard that beige socks should not be worn with beige pants, but I do it anyway.

 

[wheelerray]

There are many choices, most of which are only available to those who are comfortable enough with themselves to ignore, or even thrive on snide remarks;

http://www.vknagrani.com/catalog/pro...products_id=48

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

I always find it difficult to match socks to shoes/pants. In general, I try to keep my shoes and socks similar colors, which is really easy when you wear black shoes, dark socks, and charcoal pants.

But what happens when I wear olive pants with brown shoes? Or with black shoes? How can I mix in creative socks (argyle, etc.) without looking tacky? What if I have no socks the EXACT color of my brown shoes?

There must be some guidelines on what works and what does not, especially when not wearing the typical conservative dark pants with black shoes. Any tips?

I wear olive pants with brown shoes sometimes and I always wear my olive colored or grey-green colored socks with them.
As long as you match your socks to your trousers you cant go wrong.
But there are times when you can get a little more chic and Italianate snazzy and you can throw off the whole color scheme by wearing bright red socks, or multicolred bright argyle socks, or bright green socks. Even though they wont match the outfit, the sock color does add a pinch of spice to an otherwise routine everyday wear.

 

[MetroStyles]

Thanks for the replies so far guys!

Any other tips for matching socks to pants, especially since its kind of hard to find socks EXACTLY the same color, and besides thats not fun!

 

[DocHolliday]

There's also the option of wearing contrasting socks. You could choose socks that pick up a color from your shirt, for example. Yesterday I wore khaki trousers and dirty bucks with navy socks, as there was a bit of navy in the shirt I was wearing.

And there's always argyle...

 

[MetroStyles]

Also on the topic of socks, what is the lightest type of sock that allows your foot to really breathe?

I thought it was merino wool, by what I read here, so I bought a bunch of them but my feet have been sweating in them for some reason. The crappy cotton ones I had before were actually better for controlling foot heat I guess. Better ventilation.

So any ideas on what is better for keeping feet dry, anything better than merino wool? Perhaps a cheaper material is actually better in this case. Thanks.

 

[j]

If cotton works for you, stick with it. You can definitely find more "fun" socks and a bigger variety, for cheaper, in lisle cotton (see Pantherella, e.g.)

Personally, I find thin merino to be the best in hot weather. But as always, YMMV.

 

[Edward Appleby]

While they're a bit lacking in style, Smartwools perform incredibly well.

 

[Aristocrat]

I've seen many cashmere socks in my days, they might be good?
It's worth a shot anyway.

 

[j]

Originally Posted by Aristocrat

I've seen many cashmere socks in my days, they might be good?
It's worth a shot anyway.
I find cashmere socks to usually be too warm. They cause me to sweat too much in my shoes and then my feet get clammy and cold (and not in a good way).

 

[Aristocrat]

Haha that doesn't sound good though, but they might be better now for the fall, when calfskin shoes or sneakers is too cold!