So your job requires you to wear suits on a daily bases. If you’re like the brave few, you might like to add a little panache to your day-to-day work wardrobe. There are several ways one can add a little flavor to a suit. The more obvious ways being a bold tie, a brazen pocket square, but for those who like to live a little more dangerously, nothing will beat a pair of bright colorful men’s dress socks.
Out of all the ways a guy can throw a little style and personality into business attire, a bright and elegant dress sock accomplishes it with a little bit of subtlety. After all, no one will know what’s hidden until you take a seat. But in order to really accomplish a well-put together look, there lies a thin line between tasteful, and blinding someone with some aggressive brightness as seen below.
The following is a simple guide to make sure you stay on the side of the former and not the latter.
First things first, you should familiarize yourself with a general idea of how to match your suit with your shoes. It is our opinion that if you’re going to introduce an element of personality to a suit, everything else better be immaculate. As you can see below, you can never really go wrong with a black shoe (unless you are a champagne suit wearing kind of guy). The guide is pretty self-explanatory otherwise. However, one faux pas that is agreed upon by most is to never wear brown shoes with a black suit.
And now the fun begins…..
One thing we like to stress hear at Meyza, is to go for a look where it doesn’t seem that you are trying too hard. Subtlety can go a long way with clothing, especially when mixing business and style. The following are a few good tips for keeping you looking your age, and looking like you know what your doing.
The Bootee effect:
There is a stigma with suit, shoe and trouser matching, and you will often get conflicting information. Some will tell you to match your sock color with the color of your trousers, and others will tell you to match your socks with your shoes. They say sock to trouser will elongate the look of the leg, and some say matching your shoe to sock will make you look like your wearing baby bootees. In my opinion, I don't think you should be strict with either. The fun is in-between, and you can have socks that have some hues of its color in line with the trousers, or some hues belonging to the shoes As long as you don't wear socks that would be a perfect look for beetle juice’s suit game, I think you’ll be ok. Remember, you don't want to look like a try hard, and be a walking eye soar for your colleagues at the office.
(Note the poca dot print sock with hues of blue that go with both the rouser and shoe)
Another type of matching I like do with the socks, is pairing them with similar colors belonging to your shirt, or tie and pocket square. I typically try and stay away from an exact match, and aim more for similar tones. Sometimes an exact match can be a little too ballsy and can be quite a distraction (particularly with bright colors). The key here is subtlety.
VS.
(Note how in the first 2 images, both gentlemen have used subtlety by tonality, and subtlety with matching sock and tie, respectively. The 3rd image shows a loud combo where the wearer appears to be slowly morphing into a clown. The 4th just looks like an attempt to match everything beside the actual suit itself.)
A word on tonal textures and patterns:
When it comes to matching a pair socks to your outfit, an element of tonal textures can make it all pop. For example, look at this perfectly well executed combination of a plaid gray trouser with a checkered light purple sock with some gray tonality for good measure. (Pro tip: Gray and purple make a deadly combination)
Sock patterns these days need to be discussed a bit. I see a lot of newcomers to the sock trend showing up to work with patterns fit for a children’s slumber party, complete with onesies. I am talking about the super heroes, marijuana leaves, donuts, etc, printed all over their socks. I am all for expressing your individuality but at the end of the day, it should be kept in mind that you are in a professional environment, and also that there are plenty of cool colorful socks with more adult patterns. You can never go wrong with patterns like pinstripes, horizontal stripes, poca-dots, checkers, plaid, and my personal favorite, herringbone (Meyza Herringbone). There are even some creative patterns out there that won’t make you look like a complete noob, like these wavy patterned mauve colored socks.
Some last minute tips:
Again, the most important thing to strive for, is going for a look where you don’t look like your trying to hard. When in doubt go tonal. If you’ve never been the best with matching, or don't know what part of your outfit should match, choose a sock with some tones of color of something your wearing. Whether it be your trousers, blazer, suit, shirt, tie, or pocket square. Tonality goes hand in hand with subtlety.
Last but not least, be wary of your environment. If you have an important business meeting, your morning involves closing a huge deal, or more obvious you have a funeral, don't get crazy. There’s a time and place for standing out, and there’s a time and place to be serious. But above all else, remember…subtlety is key!
Click Here to check out our Subtle yet stylish collection of Men's Dress Socks