The Boardroom Guide to Cool Dress Socks

When you think of dress socks, what image comes to mind? For a lot of guys, it’s drab business attire. But let us be the first to tell you: There’s a lot of cool dress socks out there for men who want their style to be more unique and interesting.

And at the risk of being immodest, we make a darned fine selection of cool dress socks for men and we’re quite proud of them. So in this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about finding and wearing unique and interesting dress socks, and give you some suggestions from the Boardroom Socks store that you might want to add to your wardrobe.

Types of Cool Dress Socks

So what are cool dress socks anyway? Take your basic dress sock — either over the calf or mid calf — and give it a unique color or pattern, and bam! Cool dress socks.

That means there are two basic types of cool dress socks:

• Solid colored socks that are bright and interesting
• Patterned socks that can range from simple to complex

From there, you’ll also need to choose what length of sock you want as well as what material you want it made out of. Merino wool and pima cotton are the two highest quality materials, and we make cool dress socks from both materials.

Not sure which one is best for you? You can check out our guide to the best materials for dress socks for an in-depth look, but the basic takeaway is that merino wool socks are better at managing odor and sweat while cotton socks are softer, lighter, and more comfortable in warm weather.

How to Wear Cool Dress Socks

The reason some guys turn away from colorful or patterned dress socks is that they’re not as easy to pair with traditional business attire. But with just a little bit of color and pattern pairing knowledge, you’ll become a pro at dressing up your 9-to-5 clothes with cool socks that show off your personality.

For an in-depth look at everything you need to know about pairing your new cool socks with your existing wardrobe, check out our guide on how to wear colorful men’s dress socks. The basic takeaways from that guide include:

• Your socks should match your pants, not your shoes.
• Avoid mixing patterned pants with patterned socks (too much potential for clashing).
• Black, blue, and gray always go well together.
• Earthy tones (khaki, olive, brown, orange) look great together.

When to Wear Cool Dress Socks

Once you have a feel for how to appropriately pair your dress socks with all of your outfits, there’s really no limit to when and where you can wear interesting socks. Because they’re hidden beneath your shoes and slacks most of the time, it’s not like wearing a brightly colored tie or blazer — your socks are an accent piece, not the star of the show.

So let your imagination be your guide.

Planning on attending a wedding? There are cool dress socks for that.

If you’re doing the wedding planning because you’re the one about to get hitched, why not branch out and have some awesome groomsmen socks that break out of the usual mold?

Casual Friday at the office? Bust out your coolest business casual socks and show off a little.

Once your sock drawer is filled with high quality options that you like wearing, you’ll find plenty of times and places where they add that final touch to your favorite outfits.

Where to Get Cool Dress Socks

Seeing as we are Boardroom Socks, it may not come as a surprise to you that you should be getting all your cool dress socks right here. We have them in traditional over the calf styles, more modern mid calf styles, and even big gift boxes full of cool colorful or patterned socks.

Now you have everything you need to know about cool dress socks right at your fingertips — so why not pick up a couple of pairs and start wearing them?

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