Interesting news article is found below. Can white tennis shoes be far behind?


Normally liberal Holland has come down hard on a new enemy - white socks.

Bosses at the Dutch Finance Ministry have labelled the garments, popular in the 1980s, against the "limits of decent dress behaviour".


Officials working in the department were also expected to wear dark blue or grey suits in order to give an air of "reliability and professionalism".

A spokeswoman warned: "People are expected to dress in accordance with their function."

In a country famed for its relaxed attitudes towards drugs and sex, the new hardline stance on the humble white sock has taken some inhabitants by surprise.

One fan of the accessory stormed: "White socks are neat and smart!

Degas: You've piqued my interest - but where's the link?

I'm really pleased to hear this news, now Holland has at least one (more) thing in its favour.

StCirq, I may never be allowed in the country again! Link found below from Sky News:

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...971862,00.html

I'm certain the folks in the Finance Ministry will soon come to their senses as will the British about using the Euro...just a matter of time.

Well that explains those male Dutch tourists I've seen (as well as the German ones) wearing sandals with dark socks. Frankly if they have to wear socks with sandals, the white ones would be less offensive than the dark ones in my humble opinion -- particularly when worn with shorts.

JonJon, you have already criticised one of my travel reports as coming from an advertising agency. Now you insult the majority of British opinion, how can people "come to their senses" about something which is economically inappropriate for the country, not to mention a matter of sovereignty. Maybe it will be easier for you to travel in Europe as an American, but why not buy a calculator for currency conversions than depress the British economy? You like to wear white socks too? stay at home dear, please.

I think that is kind of funny but it isn't really that different from places I have worked which had professional dress standards.

The thing I find odd about that report is that these were popular in the 80s. White socks with professional clothes?

I don't understand why people object so much to socks with sandals, or the dark colors in particular. I think it depends on the style of socks -- casual sport socks look okay to me, but knee-high dress socks would look stupid. I don't see why white socks (which stick out visually) would be better than darker socks at all with sandals; I think you need to coordinate with the style and color of clothing, that's the general idea of why things look better together. White socks almost never look that good to me and usually are very cheap, also. I don't think you find many nice, stylish socks that are white. Maybe with tennis shoes and a tennis outfit, they would work. So, if a guy is going to wear socks with sandals, I prefer non-white socks (beige or gray are not bad). And please, no guy over the age of 10 should wear those silly white socks with rings around the top.

I know the reason men do this is that not wearing socks can be uncomfortable for your feet and the sandals can rub against them a lot, as well as sweaty if you are walking around all day. I have had some shoes like that that are fine with socks but would kill me shortly without any.

Try patterned socks by european designers, namely Richard James, Paul Smith....

White socks and their wearers should be banished from society. I'm suprised that the Dutch wear them, the people I came across in Amsterdam (not my favourite place to say the least) were a pretty style conscious lot.

What are they smoking? (Oh, yeah, it is the Netherlands).
When we toured the red light district, I kind of thought the white socks clashed with the neon thongs. I'm glad they are getting serious about their attire.

Christina,
>those silly white socks with the rings around the top<
Believe it or not, I heard over the week-end on a news feature regarding what's in and what's out for 2004 - those silly white socks with the rings around the top are coming back.
JoeG

Doesn't Michael Jackson really like white socks? He may be the only adult male in my memory wearing white socks while not playing a sport.