London Fashion Week '10...Sock-less Shoe Trend Casualties

(Picture courtesy of The Nyanzi Report)

The sockless shoe/ankle-length slacks trend on the gents is showing no signs of slowing down. Harking back to '50s varsity styles thru the Don Johnson Miami Vice era, it recently picked up steam when Thom Browne reinterpreted it for the moneyed businessman at Brooks Brothers with more or (rather, sadly) less success for this century. Now I do dig this look as much as the next cat but even Mr Browne felt inclined to sport his expensive brogues with black Nike ankle socks in a notorious Guardian spread - which incidentally I find the most unfortunate sartorial faux pas on the otherwise immaculately turned-out designer.

A well-known blogger recently conducted a survey on the issue, and interestingly, the Italians insisted on donning invisible (is that the name?) socks and found the English sock-less practice, well, "sick" with which I couldn't agree more. (Confusingly, the second picture from the top documents a well-known Italian fashion journo falling victim to the Anglo-Saxon way of doing things.)

Leather will always chafe - with which these chaps will surely concur - thus leaving the house without the comfort of a cotton foot garment is puerile and not without consequences to oneself and, once removed, to one's immediate environment, shall we say... Could an in-built sock (TM) in the shoes themselves be the answer?...;-))

But the plastered ankle look seems so wide-spread these days that it's becoming its own trend...Let's put an end to this and embrace the ladies' new-found love affair with the sock especially if it's multi-coloured, stripey and perhaps even mismatched!!

Rant over!