I’m not a sock person. That’s not to say I don’t wear socks. I wear them every day. But I’m not a sock person when it comes to parts of my wardrobe that grab attention. (None of my wardrobe is intended to scream, actually.)
If someone concludes that I’m a fun person, I prefer that conclusion to be drawn from my personality or sense of humor, not my socks. Hence, my choices in hosiery tend to be the more understated variety. To that end, I’ve yet to find an itch that GoldToe socks don’t scratch.
Given my suit collection, which ranges from midnight blue and navy to charcoal and light gray, along with a few subtle stripes and plaids within that color range, I do very well with solid socks in black, navy and gray, all offered by GoldToe.
The three models I like are the Windsor Wool, the Canterbury and the Metropolitan. Each is made with a different fabric blend for different seasons and purposes. Windsor Wool is a wool blend that is great for cold months. Canterbury is a light cotton blend, making them ideal for summer. And Metropolitan is made with a soft, but durable mid-weight nylon weave, making the black ones perfect for formal occasions.
Since showing skin between your socks and pants is a crime punishable by no admittance to the boardroom or no sex after dinner, all the socks I buy from GoldToe are over-the-calf, sparing me the embarrassment of baring unwelcome ankle flesh and the harassment of regularly pulling my socks back up. I would recommend the same for anyone else: get over-the-calf dress socks.
Among my favorite features of GoldToe socks are their durability and affordability. The main reason I replace dress socks is the color fading that occurs over many washings, particularly with the cotton Canterbury socks. The black isn’t as black, and the navy isn’t as deep. My need to replace happens about every year (although those Windsor Wool and Metropolitan socks tend to hold their color very well).
GoldToe sells their socks in convenient 3-packs. Windsor Wools are $24, Canterburys are $21 and Metropolitans are $19. Very nice prices for well-made, simple, soft, comfortable, elegant, grown-up socks. I’m a happy customer.
9 Comments
With a blue seersucker jacket, what color pants would you wear?
And what tie over a white shirt to complete the look?
Presuming your blue seersucker jacket is navy, maybe chinos in light blue or khaki. Tie? Tough call not knowing your coloring or personality. Midnight navy in silk knit or cotton, on the safer side. Or venture a floral pattern on a cotton tie.
I agree regarding the myth of “fun socks”. As a general rule they are out of place. Gold Toe are great socks….however their sizing does not fit smaller feet. C’mon “shoe sizes 6-12 1/2”. That’s a broad range! “Gentleman’s Gazette” addresses this issue well.
Another beautiful thing about Gold Toe socks:
Maybe it’s just me, but unless I’m in full blazing sunlight, I struggle to tell my black socks from my navy. It’s damn near impossible in the dimly light early morning when I’m trying not to wake my spouse. So, when I buy black socks, it’s always gold toe. Navy socks are some other brand, solid in color. Easy to tell the difference in my sock drawer. Problem solved!
GoldToes in navy now have a line of light blue stitched across the toe, so you can tell black from blue in low light.
IMO, the only thing worse than attention-grabbing socks is wearing formal clothing (in this context I mean formal as in suit, not as in tux) with no socks at all!
Here’s a trick to extend the life of your socks: Never, ever put them in the dryer / always hang them to dry. Dryers ruin wool and wool and cotton blend socks and speed their demise.
Another suggestion is to turn your good socks inside out when laundering. It reduces the fading.
Only socks to ever put in a dryer are cotton gym socks, which are fine to launder and dry in machines.
Thanks!
Learned a complete new thing about sock. I never wondered that there could be so much detailing in sock too. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. keep up the good work