Proper Dress Sock Etiquette

Dress socks are not just to be worn with your suit anymore. With the numerous styles and colors being developed everyday, socks are one of the clothing items you can utilize with any outfit to make it your own. As one of our specialties, the Wits and Beaux team wants to give you some tips on how to best wear your socks to make your next outfit truly pop. Afterward, we suggest you browse our selection and pick out a few pairs because, as you’ll see, variety is key!

Dress Socks Should Be Thin

Wool socks are great for early morning hunts or trudging through a snowstorm. They keep your feet warm and dry, which is great when the circumstances call for it. However, when you are searching for socks to wear with any other shoe (save athletic shoes), you are looking for thin material. When we say thin, we do not mean poorly made, but rather socks that will not prevent you from wearing any sort of shoe with them and adhere to your feet well. This also helps ensure your shoe size is more accurate; thicker socks mean added size to your feet which means you may not get the size appropriate for your actual feet. Choosing socks with the right material will be better for your overall style.

Cover Your Calves

Hey, we get it, you want to prove to everyone that you don’t skip leg day, and socks that hide your calves do exactly the opposite. However, Wits & Beaux wants to stress that the right dress socks will and should cover your calf, rising up to just below the knee. Many of you fine gentlemen might be asking why exactly this is important if you are wearing socks with your dress pants or other form of pant (if you’re wearing dress socks with shorts, well, we’re sorry). More often than not, sitting down, crossing your legs, or any other movement that is not standing will cause your pant legs to shift up. This can lead to exposing the bottom part of the leg, and rather than showing off those fine (and potentially hairy) calves, cover them up with the right socks and leave something to the imagination.

Match Your Pants

If you are utilizing dress socks in a more conservative way and are trying to match them with another piece of your ensemble, focus on your pants rather than your tie or shoes. The reason for this is because matching to your shoes would be overkill, as those are (theoretically) supposed to match your belt. If you are attempting to match your socks and your pocket square, you could overpower onlookers if the pattern is exactly the same, defeating the purpose of using those two items as statement pieces. Matching your pants will give you the ability to employ the same color scheme without too much similarity, which would be the opposite effect to what you are trying to achieve with a strong sock game.

Wits & Beaux is here to make sure your dress socks are looking just as dapper and classy as the rest of your outfit. If you are looking to improve your sock collection, need a bowtie to accompany that new pair of socks, or need some other fine fashion accessories, we have you covered. Check out our extensive collection and find your style today!