Yes, Everyone’s Socks Are Showing. Here’s How to Rock the Trend—and the Pairs We Love.

Anything goes, according to San Francisco–based fashion stylist Rachel Darey. Tube socks with stilettos? Sure. Sheer, floral socks with sneakers? Absolutely. In fact, contradictions are encouraged: “You can wear gym socks with loafers or dainty, delicate socks with super-chunky, strappy fisherman’s sandals,” said Darey. “It should be a dichotomy.”

The cheekier, the better. Bring dramatic sparkles into broad daylight, or use a flash of color to liven up an otherwise subdued or neutral look. “A kelly-green sock peeking out from the hem of a suit gives the outfit personality and attitude,” noted Darey. Even standard black or white socks can be surprising and eye-catching when given center stage, like wearing ankle socks with heels or sheer knee-highs with flats. “Just remember,” said Darey, “a sock is not an afterthought here.”

Ready to give visible socks a go? Here are the pairs I tested that put a pep in my step, along with tips on how to style them.

Somatchi Women’s Sheer Socks are soft and slinky, with a subtle shimmer and a sexy sheerness. I typically wear them with battered white sneakers and rolled jeans—because that’s my uniform most days—but they look especially elegant with strappy sandals or heels. These beauties come up to around the lower calf, and they’re made of an itch-free fabric blend that includes polyamide, polyester, and cotton, with a reinforced toe. Although they are elasticized at the welt (the top cuff) they do tend to slide down after a while—but a small puddle of sparkle around the ankle is not a bad thing. We tested them in black with a pink band; they’re also available in cyan blue topped with purple, pink with gray, golden brown with green, taupe with yellow, and green with orange. They come in a single (limited) size, for women’s sizes 5 to 8.

The Bombas Women’s Sheer Sparkle Quarter 4-Pack Gift Box delivers a similarly brilliant twinkle, but the pairs in this set are more sheer than the Somatchi socks, and shorter (they sit about 3.5 inches above the ankle bone). They come four to a box, in sparkly solid colors: black, gold, plum, and navy. Full disclosure: The navy pair, with its rose-gold sparkles, legitimately increased my heart rate. (It’s just a shame that these socks can’t be purchased in individual pairs, in case you want to double up on a favorite color, or sample just one—shelling out for the whole set is expensive.) The Bombas socks are made from a fabric blend that includes nylon, Supima cotton, and metallized fiber; it’s wonderfully light and silky, but the socks do have a reinforced toe and heel, so I don’t feel the need to be totally precious with them. They come in S, M, and L, to fit women’s sizes 4 to 13—the broadest range of any of the socks we recommend here.

The Baggu Ribbed Sock feels as good as it looks. These classic, mid-calf crews are made from bamboo rayon, which means the socks are unusually soft, breathable, and a true pleasure to wear. We tested the Baggu socks in watermelon pink and loved the way the bright, beautiful coral shade looks with cropped jeans; they come in lots of other solid colors as well as some multicolor options. The socks are fairly thick, so they’re good to pair with roomier shoes—they’d look especially great with white sneakers. Or—and just hear us out here—Baggu socks and Crocs. This pair is available in two (unisex) sizes, which fit women’s sizes 6 to 12.

If you’re looking for colorful socks that are on the thinner side, the SeriSimple Women Bamboo Crew Ankle Socks are delicate enough to be worn with dressier shoes like heels and loafers (though they still work with sneaks). Like the Baggu socks, they’re made of a bamboo blend, but these are a tad shorter, and they have a silky texture. (They’re loads cheaper, too.) The SeriSimple socks deliver a burst of color that hits the sweet spot between flashy and elegant. They’re sold in packs of five, with three sizes (spanning women’s sizes 3 to 11) and seven color combos to choose from. I’m partial to the blues and purples of the Noble collection.

It’s not every day that socks get a membership to the sexy clothing club. But there’s something undeniably alluring about the Sock Candy Ditsy Floral Sheer Ankle Sock. This high-ankle (or mid-calf, depending on your legs) pair makes clever use of negative space—vibrant flowers are embroidered on a sheer nylon backdrop, almost creating the illusion that they’re floating against the skin. (Other designs in the collection include evil eyes, hearts, and forest foxes; all versions come in one size only, for women’s sizes 5.5 to 10.) The socks have opaque, reinforced cotton toes and cuffs, which gives them a bit of added strength and durability on those important stress points. Granted, the Sock Candy sheers aren’t exactly low-maintenance—they must be washed inside-out and air-dried—but it’s a fair price for the pizzazz they bring to pumps and strappy stilettos.

You could pair the Socksmith Tie Dye Athletic Women’s Crew Socks with Birkenstocks. But there’s no need to go full Deadhead. In fact, these mostly cotton athletic crew socks would be much happier in a relationship of contradictions. Tie-dye socks are having a moment (Todd Snyder and The Elder Statesman are among the designer brands offering versions) and have been spotted with the likes of chunky metallic platform sandals, classic penny loafers, and iconic sneakers like Chucks. They can also be the touch of playfulness in an otherwise predictable outfit. This Socksmith pair is about mid-calf length. They’re made from mostly cotton blended with a bit of polyester and spandex, and the leg and arch are pleasantly snug and ribbed (think old-school athletic socks, but more refined).

The Socksmith crews come in nearly a dozen tie-dye color options—we tested the plum option, which is a mélange of three subtle pastels—that manage to look effortlessly interesting, contemporary, and fresh. The single size fits women’s sizes 6 to 10.5; a more limited selection of the tie-dye patterns are also offered in a larger men’s version that fits men’s sizes 9 to 13.

This article was edited by Ingela Ratledge Amundson and Jennifer Hunter.