Too many men wear black socks with their ensembles, in my opinion. And unless a man is wearing evening trousers and black shoes, black socks just create a visual interruption where there should be either a smooth flow or else something to delight the eye.
On dressier occasions socks should be similar to the trouser, not the shoe, and that includes texture as well as color. Wear heavier weight gray socks with heavier gray trousers, and lighter weight navy versions with lighter weight blue. Slightly more advanced dressers may add a contrasting pattern in that similar color and texture. A large herringbone works nicely. A vertical stripe begins to get a bit racy.
When proper sobriety is not required, all bets are off. Socks might pick up the color of something above the waist like the jacket or the pattern in a necktie, or just generally complement without matching like the light gray birdseyes in the photo.
But save the black socks for evening wear.
Monday, April 12, 2010
On Shoes and Socks
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8 comments:
Quite right, quite right. But here's a quandry: what to put on one's feet when given to wear shorts? I am not generally inclined in this direction, but there are times when the weather does dictate. I can't abide socks with shorts, but I also hate being barefoot in shoes. And don't say sandals! So, what to do?
beingmanly: short temper
Some might say that this is a contentious debate. In conservative places like London (at the very least the City), shoes worn with a suit can only be black; and socks too. This is, of course, a hard rule which does not make much sense to me: I am not going to wear black socks and shoes with a beige suit. According to the City of London's unspoken rules, I probably should only be wearing dark blue, grey and black suits anyhow.
I am of the opinion that even with a formal suit, one can wear lighter socks as long as they don't clash horribly (say, I have a dark blue suit with a light-blue pinstripe - I often wear socks of the lighter blue; I tend to do the same when I wear a light blue shirt). I would love to wear only brown shoes with this suit but when interviewing, I need to wear black... I would always recommend wearing a colour that is clearly different rather than two very close colours (dark-blue and black for example are difficult to match).
Last but not least: I like your idea of lengthening the silhouette with the socks, but what with having very long legs, I actually try to break it!
Excellent article, in any case!
http://davidikus.blogspot.com/
I know this is supposed to be mostly about the socks, but the shoes in the photo are what catch my attention. Nice!
The City, brown suit?
You're either follow City rules or you don't.
If someone is wearing a brown suit all bets are off, their socks are the least of worries.
vir beatum
I'm thinking the only shoes you can wear with shorts are deck shoes. You should wear those without socks, but if you must, use trainer liners, then no-one will see them
As Mr. Brown pointed out, there is that old adage, "never brown in town". Furthermore though a popular combination across the pond brown shoes with a blue suit are generally frowned upon here.
M Snaffles, I'm relieved to hear you say it. I've always been a little uncomfortable about the penchant for wearing brown shoes with a navy suit found in fit pics on American dominated fora like StyleForum and AAAC. With exposure tho I've now a grudging toleration for brown suede with blue.
While I wouldn't consider brown shoes with a blue suit CBD I don't mind brown suede with a blue casual suit- tobacco suede Bluchers, navy socks with a brown highlight and a coarse navy/blue patch pocket work together well IMO
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