Let’s talk about wearing socks with sandals…
I was going through some photos from last summer and this one caught my eye. At first I didn’t really notice what was wrong with it, but then it hit me: sandals with socks! I remember this style from all those unforgettable family vacations we took, when I was growing up, to some beach resorts and other tourist destinations: men and women wearing their comfy sandals with white tennis socks, as if during vacation, every kind of style crime was acceptable… Since then I have detested this combination, as many other people out there, to a point where it was globally known as a huge fashion faux pas.
Every now then some designers show sandals with socks on the runways, but time after time this trend fails to emerge on the streets. Makes me wonder, maybe it’s just too well-known as a “fashion don’t”, so that it would be adapted by many stylish folks. The only good things I can think about this style are the possibility to wear all those nice and beautiful sandals from early spring to late fall, protecting our feet from dust and dirt, and avoiding all kinds of crazy tan lines.. ;) But I still have my doubts..
I read this post Can I wear socks and sandals style and look chic? and I must admit there were some combinations that weren’t that bad, but even though I can’t get my head around this style and I think it takes a really good eye for style and colors to match them in the right way.. So, I think I’m sticking to my opinion, that sandals should only be worn when it’s warm enough to wear them without socks.
What do you think about wearing sandals with socks?
A Woman and Fashion 
I dunno if women copied this look from us men, but as usual they found a way to pull it off with style. Personally it’s not my style i prefer sandals with bare feet, despite this i think that even with socks they look just fine, under certain circumstances :), some boys and girls might not feel comfortable showing feet, some just don’t like feet in general, that’s where socks and sandals come handy, if the weather is warm and feet need to feel free but still staying hidden.
I think you (the aforementioned boys and girls) need to pull this combination with taste, not excessively, yet still not in a fuc.kitall-like fashion, more carefree but not just like you put in the first thing you find.
Keep in mind that socks are clothes and they can be stylish, as stylish as any other cloth, this is maybe the only style where socks are fully in display, tips includes. I suggest avoiding white socks bar in some special cases and go for dark colors, black goes without saying, always look classy, you might even match them with black sandals to disguise the sock and sandal look a bit, a boy should balance this black with his shorts and t-shirt.
Socks have to be short and ankle length, lower would be unharmonic, a bit higher on the ankle is ok, but you don’t want to cover your legs, if your shins are not so defined and go a bit straight, i suggest the sock to stop at the thinnest point of your ankles, otherwise, with conic and defined ankle points you may go a bit higher as well.
Both for boys and girls the sandals have to be stylish, well fitted and not bulky, especially boys make this error, all these errors together, bad socks, often white, even trademarked (worst), bulky sandals, rarely buckled, ill fitted shorts, often summed with a chubby mody structure, put together the dreaded tourist look imho, and as in google is difficult to find, especially for boys, different example than this, I think that’s what created the curse over this style, that at its time created the mocking jokes over it.
Too many times it’s the result of a lazy dressing, and in most of the so called bad example either the sock is white and standing out too much or hardly the sock is the worst element of an overall bad look, just the coup de grace.
What a nice comment, thank you! Really good points. You made me see this matter from another point of view, maybe I’m just too used to seeing bad examples of this style!!