Once you’ve mastered the rules, you can break them. This is as true in men’s style as in many other fields, and the ability to violate the rules with aplomb can set the FashionMR apart from the crowd of unassuming men that surround him. One of the cardinal rules of good style is that you should match your socks to your pants. It’s a good rule, generally speaking: it lengthens your legs visually, makes you appear taller, and is a safe union of color between the pants and the shoes. But like all rules, it can be broken, and if you break it with style, you can have a flash of bold dress that declares your sartorial independence from the ordinary.
First, some grounding rules- yes, there are rules for breaking the rules. The whole point of bold dress socks is that they contrast the sober surroundings of your pants and shoes. Therefore, if either of those happen to already be colorful, opt for normal, staid dress socks. You wouldn’t wear red dress socks with blue suede shoes, for example- unless you seriously wanted attention. Additionally, you should match patterns with solids and solids with patterns- if both your socks and your pants have a pattern, the effect will be too busy.
That said, use your dress socks for a flash of color in a normally sober outfit, like a colorful dress shirt. In fact, if you choose, you can match your socks with your dress shirt- consider wearing pink socks with a charcoal gray suit and a pink Bengal stripe dress shirt underneath. Play with complimentary colors, if you can: if you’re wearing a navy suit, try some orange socks. Of course, if it’s summer and you’re wearing a white or khaki suit, all bets are off- be as colorful as you like. Use your socks as a palette no less than the rest of your wardrobe, because every part of your body can act as a tool of expression. You should be an individual from head to toe.
