Designer labels are making socks as part of an outfit's focus for runway shows. Photo: Miu Miu
Socks are the underappreciated star of the accessories universe. Handbags get most of the attention, ties and watches a bit, but socks, despite the fact that they are an essential part of everyone’s wardrobe, are often treated as an afterthought, the footwear equivalent of the undershirt.
Maybe this is a hangover from the days when, as Cole Porter sang, “A glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking,” but the general approach to socks seems to be: make them as invisible as possible.
If that is the goal, then matching them to your pants is a no-brainer; doing so creates the illusion of an uninterrupted line, adding length to the legs.
To make them look even longer, match the shoes, too.
If you are wearing a skirt, adopting the nude-socks-with-nude-shoes solution, as originally championed by stylist-turned-designer L’Wren Scott, is another technique that elongates the limbs.
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By contrast, matching your socks to your top, a variation on the sandwich technique, may result in visually squishing the legs (of course, if you want to make your gams look shorter, this works pretty well).
But there is another option, which is to treat your socks the way people now treat their handbags: as flags of personality.
Even if your socks are covered by trousers, they are revealed as soon as you sit down and your pants leg pulls up a bit, a peekaboo moment that everyone can see. That means socks are a statement, whether you like it or not.
So why not be a little more deliberate?
That does not necessarily mean embracing the novelty or joke sock, unless you have a specific reason for doing so.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is a master of the art of sock diplomacy, tailoring his stockings to his schedule and using them as a form of outreach.
He has, for example, worn Star Wars socks on Star Wars Day (May 4) and rainbow socks that read “Eid Mubarak” to march in a Pride parade that happened to coincide with the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
His Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, wore maple leaf socks in Trudeau’s honour in 2017.
David Beckham has been sporting (no pun intended) pink socks to match the signature pink of his soccer team, Inter Miami CF. Michael Jackson also knew the role that eye-catching socks could play in drawing attention to the feet.
Perhaps that’s why many brands have cottoned on to this idea.
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Prada, Simone Rocha and Saint Laurent offer (often very expensive) socks with rhinestones and other embellishments that are less funny, or punny, and more of a sartorial flourish – made to be seen.
Paul Smith, the British menswear designer, has made a signature for himself out of striped socks, which his acolytes wear like secret signals of membership in a club (if you know, you know).
The point is, you should think of your socks not so much as secondary to your clothing but as jewels in themselves.
That means they don’t have to match your pants or shoes or top, but they do have to say something coherent about the package. – ©2024 The New York Times Company
