How to… wear long socks
Cycling socks used to be short. In fact, British Cycling commissaires used to occasionally disqualify riders for having excessively long socks, ignoring the fact there was nothing in the rules about it.
Socks started to get longer when some riders, time triallists foremost among them, discovered that longer socks were more aerodynamic. Style icons that they are, everyone copied them.
You need to get the length right. The long sock must be halfway up your lower leg. Locate the bony bits on the outside of your ankle and just below your knee. Measure the distance between them. Divide by two. Mark the spot.
It is important to get the colour right too. White or light grey is the safest option. Dark socks can make you look unsettlingly like a commuter who’s forgotten their trousers. Stripes are to be avoided, since they make you look like you’re on your way to football training. Patterns will either make you look like you’re a fan of the old Garmin team... or a golfer. If you have particularly big calves you might be best advised to steer clear of the long-sock look altogether. The aim of the long sock (other than aerodynamic enhancement, I suppose) is to make the lower leg look very, very skinny. Wearing them, to the right height, with chunky calves will make your legs look even bigger. If you’re really unlucky you’ll get a sort of sausage-like, surgical-stocking look. And even time triallists draw the line at that.