How to Buy Men's Socks

For the average guy, buying socks ranks right up there with taking out the garbage and cleaning the bathroom on the list of life's thankless chores. However, a well-planned, well-executed socks-buying mission can take care of all your lederhosen needs for a couple of years. Here's how to go about it.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Take out all your shoes. Unless you're the kind of guy who wears purple polka-dot socks with black leather shoes, you'll want to at least nominally match your socks to your shoe ensemble. Take note of how many shoes you own, in which colors, and what color of socks would match them best. (For example, blue socks go well with dark brown shoes, and light brown socks with light brown shoes.)

2. Make all your purchases in one store. The last thing you want to do is buy dress socks at a men's clothing store, gym socks at a sporting-goods store, and ordinary, everyday socks at your local retail store. See if there's a good outlet store in your area, or a department store that carries a variety of styles. Sure, you may have to visit different departments, but you'll only have to get out of your car once.

3. Look for bargains. Most stores have promotions on socks, offering 3 pairs for $7 or $10. Before you load up your cart, feel the fabric and figure out if these socks will last more than 2 weeks (you'd be surprised how quickly a hole can develop in a cheaply woven sock). If you decide it's a good deal, get as many bundles as you can afford-it's not like your feet are going to grow. Remember, you don't want to shop for socks again any time soon.

4. Buy 2 or 3 pairs of nice socks. It may seem criminal to spend $15 on a single pair of socks, but you can generally count on them lasting for a few years and looking spiffy along with your dress shoes. Make sure not to wear these socks while you're jogging or lounging around in your apartment-you want to preserve them for a special occasion.

5. Avoid white gym socks (unless you jog or belong to a gym). Remember those thick, white, dorky socks with the colored stripes on top that always fell down around your ankles in gym class? Unless you'd like to relive your elementary school days, act like an adult and opt for nice, solid colors like blue or brown. Remember, sneaker socks should only be worn with sneakers.