5 Pairs of Over-the-Calf Socks for Men (and Prince Harry)

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We can confidently say that men’s style has progressed beyond the bare-ankle suit. It goes hand-in-hand with the skinny suit; those no-show socks (or no socks at all) leaving your skin exposed between the bottom of your pant leg and your choice of footwear. Sure people still do it, and we won’t fault them, at least in certain occasions, but it’s on the downward trend.

A trend that has never been in, never will be in and runs rampant despite being easy to fix? The inadequate sock, which was on full display in Prince Harry’s Oprah interview ensemble. We’re talking about a pair of socks that are either too short, too old, too stretched out or not tight enough that they creep down your calf, leaving you with a sliver of exposed skin between your sock and pant leg. Yes, I realize describing it makes it seem almost laughably inconsequential, especially considering the circumstances here, but the effect is sartorially serious: the unkempt sock has the ability to ruin an otherwise perfectly smashing suit.

Thankfully, the answer is simple: just buy new socks that stay put, or buy over-the-calf socks and save yourself the embarrassment of the potential wardrobe malfunction. There is also the possibility of purchasing a pair of sock garters, which, yes, Brooks Brothers does still sell. (And they just happen to be on sale — coincidence?) Those certainly wouldn’t have been out of the question for someone like the Duke of Sussex.

More likely, though, you just need a better pair of dress socks. Below, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorites that won’t let you down, some over-the-calf and others just slightly longer than normal. But when they wear out after a while and you find them pooled around your ankle with your calf peeking out, for Harry’s sake just buy another pair.