# Black shoes, Navy Suit = only navy socks, or is plain black ok ?



## ozshadow (Jun 22, 2009)

I know it is commonly said that one should match socks to the pants... but

Do you feel solid black, plain socks are totally out of line for a navy suit with black shoes ?


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## deanayer (Mar 30, 2008)

I think it would be ok. Not perfect but better than brown or grey.


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

Black shoes, Navy Suit, *pink* socks! Or pale yellow, robbins egg blue, etc. How about stripes? How about clocks?


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## ozshadow (Jun 22, 2009)

Flanderian said:


> Black shoes, Navy Suit, *pink* socks! Or pale yellow, robbins egg blue, etc. How about stripes? How about clocks?


You like to match your ties ?


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## Dashiell.Valentine (Dec 18, 2008)

Matching socks to trousers is the "rule." However, being a little more playful with socks, is perfectly acceptable, too. I remember when Will said that he liked to use socks and pocket squares as touches of color.

In the morning I pull out a random pair of socks, and provided that it doesn't offensively clash, I wear it. In other words, I wear complementary, but not matching, socks. :crazy:


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

ozshadow said:


> You like to match your ties ?


Yes, sometimes, though compliment is more accurate. And sometimes it is something else above the waist, such as my shirt or PS.

When you're young, you struggle to be taken seriously. When you're old, you struggle to be taken as alive! 

Why be dull?


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## cmacey (May 3, 2009)

Navy blue or a black argyle???


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## Kurt N (Feb 11, 2009)

ozshadow said:


> I know it is commonly said that one should match socks to the pants... but
> 
> Do you feel solid black, plain socks are totally out of line for a navy suit with black shoes ?


Authorities can disagree even on a supposedly elementary rule like this. From the Ben Silver site, Style Q & A section:

"Generally, socks should coordinate with the color of your shoes, but not contrast too strongly with trousers. Black socks with black shoes and shades of brown with brown shoes, but no darker than the shoe itself are appropriate. To have a little more fun with your socks, you can use them to bring out some of the other colors of your selected clothing."

If you're looking for a basis to say that black socks aren't totally out of line, there it is.


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## ozshadow (Jun 22, 2009)

I think they made argyle socks for people trying to figure this out - give 'em a lil bit of everything.


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## Lawrence Connor (Jan 20, 2009)

Do that many people really wear navy socks when wearing navy trousers?
What would you do to follow this rule when wearing any type of gray trousers?
Always necessarily wear only gray color socks with gray trousers? Not black?
How many people always necessarily wear only sufficiently matching color socks?
How noticeable would such a thing be, really?
I bet many members here have worn black socks with navy trousers or gray trousers.
How many people really have an assortment of so many different colors of socks?
More than a few I mean, to follow this would seem to involve at least several different categories of colors.
How realistic is that for most people?
Always navy socks with navy trousers?
I haven't got one pair of navy socks.
I also haven't any gray socks.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

I generally wear navy socks with a navy suit, but I have worn black many times with no dire consequences. Unlike most here I've never thought of socks as being "fun." I just match my pants and move on or, if I can't do that, I match my shoes.

A little secret; buried in the back of my sock drawer is a pair of burgundy colored socks. Clearly there must have been a time in my life when I was slightly bolder with my dress clothing, but danged if I can remember. :icon_smile:

Cruiser


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## Lawrence Connor (Jan 20, 2009)

Cruiser said:


> I generally wear navy socks with a navy suit, but I have worn black many times with no dire consequences. Unlike most here I've never thought of socks as being "fun." I just match my pants and move on or, if I can't do that, I match my shoes.
> 
> A little secret; buried in the back of my sock drawer is a pair of burgundy colored socks. Clearly there must have been a time in my life when I was slightly bolder with my dress clothing, but danged if I can remember. :icon_smile:
> 
> Cruiser


You had a burgundy suit or trousers?


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## coynedj (Jun 1, 2008)

Flanderian said:


> Yes, sometimes, though compliment is more accurate.


And complement would be even more accurate. I trust that your socks are not actually capable of speech. :icon_smile_big:

That said, I often go with purple socks in such a situation, or my pair of Robert Talbott socks with a black base and red and yellow stripes.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Lawrence Connor said:


> You had a burgundy suit or trousers?


No, not even during my hippie period in the early 70's. I don't remember what I wore them with but they've obviously been worn. They say that the memory is the first thing to go when you age. :icon_smile_big:

Cruiser


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## Flanderian (Apr 30, 2008)

coynedj said:


> And complement would be even more accurate. I trust that your socks are not actually capable of speech. :icon_smile_big:


D**ned English language! Even when I remember how to spell it, I can't spell it!


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## Orsini (Apr 24, 2007)

ozshadow said:


> I know it is commonly said that one should match socks to the pants... but
> 
> Do you feel solid black, plain socks are totally out of line for a navy suit with black shoes ?


Socks should match the trousers, OR the shoes, OR "bridge" the gap, OR call out something above the waist (a la: Fred Astaire) AND, above all, should be fun.

For business (unless one of the glamour industries), the safest bet is to match the socks to the trousers, but few will notice if they are black rather than navy.


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## Orsini (Apr 24, 2007)

Cruiser said:


> ...I have worn black many times with no dire consequences...


How do you know? How can you tell what opportunities you have missed.

Maybe, but for black socks with navy trousers, you would have gotten a ride in Formula 1. Or a date with Grace Kelly. How can you tell?

You might have been the third best guy not to be F-1 Champ.


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## Orsini (Apr 24, 2007)

Kurt N said:


> ..."Generally, socks should coordinate with the color of your shoes, but not contrast too strongly with trousers. Black socks with black shoes and shades of brown with brown shoes, but no darker than the shoe itself are appropriate. To have a little more fun with your socks, you can use them to bring out some of the other colors of your selected clothing."...


This is good, although I had not really thought much about socks darker than shoes...


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## Matt S (Jun 15, 2006)

I wear my navy and charcoal suits with like-coloured socks, but I don't see a problem with black socks if wearing black shoes. I find that navy socks look more sophisticated than black. Shoe and sock contrast makes an impression, and I find it makes the shoes look better. Finding navy socks isn't difficult, so I suggest you get some. I have some light grey trousers that I haven't been able to find any matching socks, so I either wear them with black socks (with black shoes) or with subtly patterned socks that include light grey (what I did today with brown shoes).


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

When I'm wearing one of my navy suits, I'm normally wearing black shoes and plain black wool-blend OTC socks. I like the ones from Press, PCC, or Nordie's with the little red or burgundy stripes around the tops to help distinguish them in the sock drawer on murky winter mornings.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Orsini said:


> Maybe, but for black socks with navy trousers, you would have gotten a ride in Formula 1.


Actually I've driven a couple of laps in a NASCAR stocker and in 1968 I won a local drag strip championship in the unlimited motorcycle category, both while wearing black socks. Those were all the racing thrills I needed.

Cruiser


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## Kurt N (Feb 11, 2009)

coynedj said:


> And complement would be even more accurate. I trust that your socks are not actually capable of speech.


The word "compliment" can be tricky even when it's not being confused with "complement." I remember walking by the Victoria's Secret store at South Coast Plaza and seeing a sign: "Buy 1 bra, get a 2nd one free with our compliments." What, I asked my wife, do they say? Something like, "Here you are, my dear, and may I say I think you'll fill this out very nicely"???



Cruiser said:


> Actually I've driven a couple of laps in a NASCAR stocker and in 1968 I won a local drag strip championship in the unlimited motorcycle category, both while wearing black socks. Those were all the racing thrills I needed.


Way cool. Seriously. :icon_hailthee:


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## ade2504 (Sep 5, 2007)

The rule of thumb is to wear socks that are the colour of the darkest part of the shoe. 

Although these days, there are so many fashion socks on the market that maybe we have lost sight of this?


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Trust me...black socks would be fine. Not perfect perhaps but, pretty darn fine!


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## From Vancouver (May 24, 2009)

ozshadow, black socks are fine in a pinch, though not optimal. The guideline "wear socks which match your trousers" is meant to maximise the line of the leg, guiding the eye to the shoe. In the case of black socks with black shoes, where does the shoe begin and end?

Dressers with more experience, confidence and curiosity will know that a large range of colors and patterns exist which when worn will maintain propriety and allow the dresser to add some fun and individuality to their dress.

No need to get lost in the details. Train your eye to know what looks good, then trust it.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

From Vancouver said:


> In the case of black socks with black shoes, where does the shoe begin and end?


In other words, much in the same manner as a black dress boot would appear; therefore, it doesn't seem to pose much of a problem to me.

Cruiser


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