How not to wear the wrong socks

The Conundrum of choosing the right socks

One of those days when putting on a suit and shoes you might have found yourself in a peculiar situation. Do I wear navy socks to match my trousers, or black socks to match the shoes? Or another similar color related conundrum. You might have also asked yourself whether or not bright blue argyle pair of socks is appropriate for work. While socks are seldom seen, when they are they can cause quite a clash in your outfit if you chose the wrong pair. There aren't many rules to choosing socks if you want to keep it simple, but the right pair of loud patterned socks can go a long way style-wise if paired with suitable accessories.

Basic sock etiquette

Here are the most basic rules for when it comes to making sure your socks are work-appropriate

• They should be a matching pair (obviously)
• They should match the color of your trousers
• Go up to at least the bottom of your calf muscles so that your skin won't be exposed at any time
• No white socks

If you follow these rules, you should never make a mistake in your life.

Advice for ambitious dressers

Now let's say that you're no novice, but at the same time, you aren't sure how to wear a multi-colored pair of socks with a pattern confidently. In that case you want to make sure that you coordinate them with another part of your outfit. It doesn't mean you have to match polka dot socks with a polka dot tie, but if you wear a blue and green pair of polka dots with a similarly blue solid colored pocket square, that looks good as well. In fact, matching the pattern and color of your socks with another item of clothing will most likely run the risk of your outfit looking tacky or like you're trying far too hard to no avail.

You want the color and pattern of your socks to complement the other colors or patterns in your suit, whether that be your shirt, tie, pocket square, watch, etc. This also means don't strive to implement too large of a variety of colors into your ensemble. Stick to one or two colors and don't get too crazy. Red and gold striped socks, a gold watch, and red tie go together very well with a suit. And if you match your accessories well, you can plan your outfits starting that way wearing simpler style clothing and still looking more than presentable. If you learn how to accessorize well, you can make even the plainest suit look like a must buy.