Despite the perennial appeal of white socks and black loafers, there are plenty of people who prefer to pair their slip-ons with colored socks, or more controversially – not wear socks at all. If you’re considering taking the latter route, especially in the summer heat, there are some important criteria to consider, from dress code to personal hygiene.
First of all, you need to think about whether the socks will suit the outfit and the occasion. For example, if you’re wearing jorts and a tank top, it’s totally fair game to go without socks. However, if you’re wearing a dark suit to an event with a cocktail dress code, you may want to add some (dark) socks to the mix for decoration.
Courtesy of Chris Echeverria
“The decision about whether or not to wear socks usually depends on the weather and whether or not it adds something to the outfit,” he says. Chris EchevarriaFounder of New York-based loafer specialist Blackstock & Weber. “I think there’s room for anyone to wear socks or no socks. As my grandmother always used to say, ‘There’s a time and place for everything.'” It’s unclear whether this adage was intended to include no-show socks, but regardless, Echevarria rejects them wholesale (and so should you). “I’ve never worn a sock without a show in my life,” he says. “Never understood them. Never wanted to understand.”
According to Albert Muzquiz, aka @edgyalbertThe time and place to go commando in your loafers is one where you’ll be inclined to open an extra button on your shirt, but still, the look is not without its burdens. “I wear my loafers 99% of the time, mainly because I’m intimidated by the slim-suit-no-socks-wearing idiots at shows like this. The Bachelorette” Muzquiz says.
Anyone who lived through the aughts and adolescence, in which skinny suits and sockless ankles were as prevalent as “Uptown Funk” and nyan cat memes, may feel the same way. “If you’re in a warm climate and a fair distance from a body of water, I think you can safely ditch the socks without any judgment,” Muzquiz says. “But at that point, why not wear boat shoes or sandals or something more appropriate for the setting?”
Courtesy of Albert Muzquiz
Courtesy of Albert Muzquiz
