The length of man’s socks is one aspect of menswear that is easy to get wrong. Your choice of socks every time you go for a style of attire will of course depend on weather conditions, the type of shoes you will be wearing, and the physical condition of your ankles or legs – how much of them you want to show.
Men’s socks come in various lengths for various purposes.
No-show socks (also called trainer socks) are not normally visible above the shoe at all. Typically they’re worn with trainers or basketball shoes.
Below-ankle socks are similar but have a little more height so that they come almost up to the ankle and are probably visible above your shoe.
Ankle-length socks cover the ankle and may go a little higher. Again, they are primarily intended for trainers and can look very stylish in a super-casual outfit. However, you should not wear these if you have swollen ankles.
Crew socks are generally bulky, ribbed calf length socks that derive from exercise and sports – they’re intended to keep the calf muscles warm. Again, these men’s socks are normally worn with casual outfits and probably with training shoes.
For more formal wear, and certainly for use with suits, go for dress socks. They are made of lightweight materials, typically wool, silk, man-made fibers or some mixture of those, and they are intended to keep the wearer comfortable.
Your options are calf-length – the commonest and most versatile lightweight sock length – and knee-length (which come to a couple of inches below the knee). Generally, you should balance comfort with the need to avoid exposing too much flesh. The longer length of men’s sock are sometimes called ‘suit socks’ because they provide the assurance of knowing that the bare flesh of your leg will never be seen, not even if you sit with one knee over the other.