Of course the standard bottle green or burgundy solid works under the trouser of a dark navy or grey suit, especially when something worn above the waist is in that complimentary color.

However, medium grey socks with a pair of black, dark brown or dark brown suede shoes with a dark grey suit is nice. A grey slightly lighter than the trouser that is. Makes for an elegant but still serious effect.

Another one that works but shouldn’t. A grey suit with a navy tie and navy socks with brown or black shoes.

With a brown suit and black shoes, try a pair of medium brown or “toast” colored socks. Pumpkin also works very nicely and can also work well with a grey suit of any shade as well as tan.

Purples and lavenders go nicely with greys and navies. Purple works better with navy and lavenders work better with mid range to light greys and with tan.

Solid bright red or super marine blue socks can also work wonderfully, whether or not they pick anything up from above the waist. The supermarine color tends to work better with a navy suit.

I love small patterns on socks like the clock faced ones boileau used to make but I’ve given up looking for a reliable source for patterned hose. They are becoming harder to find.

Sulka used to carry great hose in small herringbones, houndstooth checks, POW plaids and polka dots. I am living off of what I’ve amassed in the past and heading towards just playing with solid colors that match something above the waist.

Paul Stuart always has an excellent selection of socks. Personally Ive also had good experiences with Ben Silver's socks which is virtually all I buy from them these days.

Although Pantherella makes a lot of nice patterns they are in cotton. I think the cotton socks are OK, but the wool are vastly superior for foot comfort even on the hottest days. And if your foot perspires a lot the sock will become sodden quickly and cause discomfort and rubbing on your foot against the shoe interior.

Thus, unless the material of your trouser calls for cotton socks (seersucker, linen, cotton poplin), i would stick with a fine gauge wool. However, the cotton socks from some of the finest makers like Pantherella are partial exceptions and they dont seem to allow foot rubbage as quickly as most cotton sock brands. However, Ive found that the dore-dore socks in cotton are worthless in this regard, at least for myself.

The cabled socks that I think Corgi makes are some of the most beautiful socks I have ever seen. They make them in sized and one size fits nobody and in wool, cashmere and cotton.

I think as long as the socks are good quality, do not expose your leg's skin under your trouser when you cross your leg, stay up properly all day (without constant rolling up by you) and are in a state of newness or repair they say you are a good dresser.


And about repair, short of hand washing them, it pays to buy a mesh laundry bag from say a local hardware store and wash them on a cool and gentle cycle (the coolest and gentlest your machine allows) it also pays to use a very gentle detergent. I use baby shampoo, or rather I ask the person that wshes them for me to use baby shampoo.

Hanging them up to dry is also essential, a drier can kill a pair of socks faster than you can say - - - - shoes.