You can ask even the most clueless of men when it comes to fashion and they’ll generally agree – wearing socks with sandals is just not good taste.

Don’t even start with the Crocs argument, because there’s no winning with some people.

Of course in the world of fashion hotshot designers love being a little risque, and over at New York Fashion Week that sock / sandal rule has just been tossed out the window.

Rather than being panned, many argued in favour of the combination. Below from QZ:

The look works particularly well when it’s sporty and laid back, as it was at Los Angeles label Stampd’s New York show last week…

A similar vibe prevailed at Tim Coppens, where the designer…mixed socks and sandals among the sneakers he designed for his line. They worked thematically, too, as Coppens referenced Japan and samurai in particular in his collection [below].

More pics from prominent runway shows to drive home the point:

Gosh, it’s happening. So how does one pull off this look, other than dragging a sheet behind them as above?

The trick is to look fashionable enough otherwise to balance the classic dad-on-holiday look. It also requires a willingness to push the boundaries, and to risk getting some sideways glances. Odds are good you’ll get at least a few.

To each their own, but I will admit that I like my socks to make a fashion statement. Thankfully I’m not alone, which is why a business like Sexy Socks continues to grow in popularity.

They have a wide range of men’s, women’s and children’s bamboo socks for us to choose from – check out this double for dad and junior:

And some of their latest designs:

What’s also lekker about Sexy Socks is that it’s guilt-free shopping, because for each pair of socks they sell, they give a pair of school socks to a child in one of South Africa’s township schools.

It’s also a case of local is lekker, with the socks being designed, sourced and manufactured in Cape Town.

It’s up to you whether you want to wear them with sandals, we won’t make that call, but you should definitely take a stab at sprucing up your sock collection.

To find out more about their Sexy Jocks give THIS a read.

[source:qz]