Socks and Clothes - Matching Your Socks with Your Outfit

The great conundrum that has challenged men for ages ? how are you supposed to match your socks to your outfit? The rule of thumb for the past century has been that your socks should match the color of your pants as closely as possible. This was because of the illusion created of the pants continuing all the way down to the shoes. With the introduction of the leather belt came the matching of the socks to the belt. Black socks, shoes and a black belt paired with brown slacks became a classical combination.

Black Socks ? The Staple of Formal Attire

With the majority of formal events, you cannot go wrong with black socks. Typically, you're going to be wearing either black trousers, or black shoes. Black socks go with both of these. If you're one who wears white suits to formal events, then let's face it, you're not going to be the person that needs to determine what color socks you need. For the rest of us who are more fashion-challeneged, most suits will go with black socks perfectly.

Colored Socks ? The Clashing of the Titans

While fashion doesn't have strict rules like Formula One and the Geneva Conventions, it does follow principles based on aesthetics. If you had a company party, and you were wearing black pants, white shirt, and a red tie, wearing red socks would not be a smart idea, unless it happened to be a Christmas party, or the cute girl from accounting had a thing for red socks.

The thing about colored socks, is that you have to be in tune with the rules of fashion aesthetics in order to wear them. Deviations from these rules could be catastrophic, similar to the ?white socks with sandals? fiasco that lingers in the back of all of our minds. If you want to start trying to incorporate colored socks into your wardrobe, a good guideline is to have your socks match your shirt, and your pants match your shoes. Again, it bears to be repeated that if you aren't completely certain of what you're doing, either get female sense into the picture, or stick with black socks, or the old tried and true, white socks.

White Socks ? Tried and True

White socks have been the gold standard for tennis shoes for decades. Every child in the 1950s can remember his/her mother folding up their white crew socks and putting them in the sock drawer. Clorox made their fortune off of white socks, as they do to this day.

When are white socks appropriate? Basically, any situation that we haven't covered already can handle white socks. White ankle socks are great with sneakers, especially for athletes. The white crew sock is wonderful for an all-around sock, whether you're mowing lawns, or keeping the ankles warm on those chilly days. Once you get to the over-the-calf and higher sock, you're getting into socks that will keep you warm, protected, and stylish.

At some point in your life, you'll have a necessity for all varieties of socks, from black ankle socks to white crew socks to rainbow toe socks. (Nevermind, strike the last part, there's never a need for rainbow toe socks in the world) In any case, by simply considering the colors of your outfit and the rules outlined above, instead of sticking out like a sore thumb, you'll be standing out in a dull crowd in no time.