Most men treat socks as an afterthought and it shows. Not in a dramatic way, but in that slightly deflating way where an otherwise considered outfit just loses its thread somewhere below the ankle. Ankle socks in particular get neglected because the assumption is that nobody sees them. Somebody always sees them. And when you’re wearing trainers with a clean pair of trousers, or going sockless in loafers through the warmer months, the sock you choose is doing more work than you think.

We’ve been looking specifically at ankle socks that stay up, don’t bunch, and are made from materials that actually breathe. The ones that disappear into a shoe properly without creeping down by midday. That last point alone eliminates a lot of contenders. We’ve also looked at fit around the heel and fabric weight, because a thin sock in a loose shoe is its own particular misery.

These are the ones that get the basics completely right.