Twenty years ago, it looked as if it was all but over for the humble accessory. Then, during the pandemic, everything changed
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n a bright summer’s day recently I found myself facing a quandary. Choosing a top and trousers to wear wasn’t a problem, but my whole outfit was in danger of being derailed by a mis-step: the wrong socks.
Should it be a pair that matched the rest of my outfit, or with a pattern that stood out? Did a frill look fussy, or bring just the right amount of detail? Was the fact they didn’t have a four-letter word on them going to expose me as woefully out of touch? The only thing I was certain of is that they should be on show.
Yes, the young and the fashionable have known this for a while, but for the rest of us it’s taken time to notice the sock’s shift to centre-stage. Maybe it took seeing Natalie Portman wearing black socks with high heels, or Lauren Laverne posting pictures of her “Fucking Legend” socks on Instagram.
