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Men's dress socks

C

c073186

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 2, 2007
821
3
For the guys who wear dress socks to work, does anyone have recommendations on a good brand? I know this may sound like a stupid/little thing, but most dress socks I find very unsatisfactory mainly because either:

- They won't stay up on your leg after a few wearings/washings (lose their elasticity), or
- They are way too long... nearly up to the knee. This feels suffocating to me and gets uncomfortable through the day.

So I'm just looking for something moderately high (high enough to not show any skin including when you're sitting) and something that will keep its elasticity over time.

A selection of (conservative) patterns would be nice (like plaid, argyle, etc.).

Any suggestions.
 
I don't wear suits for work anymore but I ditched dress socks for black and blue crew socks. Way more comfortable and they stay up.
 
I wear black dress socks. I buy whatever is cheapest (~1€ a pair) and they never come down.
I get holes quick though. Never get expensive brand socks! Complete waste of $$$.
 
I wear white athletic socks and sneakers with my suit. Of course the only time I wear a suit these days is for some sort of social outing. At my age, I figured I have the right to wear what ever I want and I hate wearing dress shoes :)
 
maflynn said:
I wear white athletic socks and sneakers with my suit. Of course the only time I wear a suit these days is for some sort of social outing. At my age, I figured I have the right to wear what ever I want and I hate wearing dress shoes :)
Click to expand...

The white socks are also a good look with sandals or Birkenstocks.
 
obeygiant said:
The white socks are also a good look with sandals or Birkenstocks.
Click to expand...

I've threatened to do out in sandals and socks and my wife nearly has a coronary :p

I don't wear socks with my sandals but its good to push her buttons.
 
i loath dress socks. Much prefer to wear my under armor heat gear no show socks when i'm forced to wear khakis, if a suite then yeah. I normally wear gold toe though
 
After looking at most the answers to this thread, all I have to ask is: do you prefer "fashion victim" or "ensembly challenged"?
 
With very few exceptions (and I mean very few) a gentleman should be wearing socks with a suit, or indeed any dress clothes.

The rule of thumb (or calf) is that a gentleman should never expose leg skin when wearing dress pants. Nobody wants to see your dead-white hairy shins when you sit down to dinner. Nobody wants to see your bronzed, smooth, tautly-muscled shins either. No shins outside the basketball court or swimming pool. Got that?

Upholding this rule can be tricky if you don't like the feel of full-length, knee high socks. Ditto for the rule of not liking socks that tend to slide down. A glance at the anatomy of the normal human lower leg will tell you why.

With the forgoing in mind here are my suggestions:

1) Match the color of your socks to your suit/trousers. And you usually can't go wrong with black.

2) Buy good quality ankle-dress length socks. Wool is better than cotton, which is better than nylon/poly. Gold-Toe is a reasonably-priced good quality brand. Buy silk blends if you are wealthy and/or really want to make a splash.

3) Socks last longer if you cut your toenails regularly. Every week to ten days at the minimum. Don't walk about on hard floors wearing socks. And wash them properly: A knit cycle, warm water, mild-detergent. Air dry if possible - light cycle in the dryer otherwise.

4) Once you find a brand/cut that you like: But at least a week's worth (ie. five pairs) identical. This makes pairing them up after drying much easier.

5) Throw away any sock showing signs of age or distress. Holes in the toe or heels won't get any better. And once elastic starts to sag its time to replace. Next to stained or torn underwear, shabby-looking socks make you look like a sad man. Unappealing to any potential (or extant) romantic partner. (Its rarely worth the time or effort to darn or otherwise attempt to repair socks. Although at one time people actually did.)

A good pair of socks ought to last at least a year. And a five-pack of a good brand can be purchased for less than $30. Sixty cents a week seems like a very low price indeed to pay for a worry-free sock experience.
 
maflynn said:
I've threatened to do out in sandals and socks and my wife nearly has a coronary :p

I don't wear socks with my sandals but its good to push her buttons.
Click to expand...



Socks with sandals is the only 100% effective contraceptive.
 
c073186 said:
For the guys who wear dress socks to work, does anyone have recommendations on a good brand? I know this may sound like a stupid/little thing, but most dress socks I find very unsatisfactory mainly because either:

- They won't stay up on your leg after a few wearings/washings (lose their elasticity), or
- They are way too long... nearly up to the knee. This feels suffocating to me and gets uncomfortable through the day.

So I'm just looking for something moderately high (high enough to not show any skin including when you're sitting) and something that will keep its elasticity over time.

A selection of (conservative) patterns would be nice (like plaid, argyle, etc.).

Any suggestions.
Click to expand...


Honestly, I've bought tons of brands, high and low end. The only difference is that the cheap stuff tends to not last as long and wear out easily, I've also had issues during long meetings of the cheap black socks filling themselves with sweat, and feeling mushy, and turning darker once I take my shoes off, even the washing machine can't fix that.

Go mid to high range price wise, your feet will thank you.
 
vrDrew said:
A good pair of socks ought to last at least a year. And a five-pack of a good brand can be purchased for less than $30. Sixty cents a week seems like a very low price indeed to pay for a worry-free sock experience.
Click to expand...
I cut my toenails very regularly, but my socks never last a year.
I can wear them about 5 to 10 times before they are done.

I've worn birkenstocks and white socks to life changing meetings successfully.
 
Don't wear men's dress socks anymore :)

Don't need them with a pair of these:
mens-black-deer-n7217.1.400x239.jpg
 
maflynn said:
I've threatened to do out in sandals and socks and my wife nearly has a coronary :p

I don't wear socks with my sandals but its good to push her buttons.
Click to expand...

Socks with sandals is just wrong, wrong!!

I like to push my wife's button...at night, ;)and the other ones during the day :eek:

Polo and gold toe have served me well though the years.
 
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