Yeah, I'm going to listen to people who have payless shoe source loafers and $18 Kohls dress pants. This isn't 1939. You don't have to match pants.
How do you know Asava?
buuuurrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.
and i didn't say you have to match pants. in fact pretty much none of the rules people have said on this thread are nowhere near right.
what are the "right" rules? 
there are no "right" rules. its a form of dress, and like all other fashion it is up to the wearer of the clothing and their personal expression. it is dependent on circumstance (the weather, the season, the event you are going to, the company you are going to keep, your aim in what you want to express), the rest of the wearers clothing (whether you are wearing a tie, suit, bow-tie, scarf, tux, cut of the dress shirt, ASCOT, belt (color, latch color, type), shoes (color and cut), cuff links), and quality of sock or pant.
saying there are "rules" to wearing dress socks is fairly old hat when you are talking about modern fashion.
to give you an example,
if you are wearing a medium to light gray pant, you very much have the option to wear a navy sock, black sock, medium to light brown sock, patterned socks, gray sock etc.
if i'm wearing a medium gray pant, i will typically be wearing a red brown or medium brown belt and shoe (not because that is the only choice, but it is one of my favorites and i just so happen to have a great pair of brown shoes). in order to transfer the gray into the the brown shoe, i will, often times, wear a lighter brown or tan dress sock with a downward pattern incorporating darker colors such as a dark brown or even red. this also depends on if i am wearing a certain tie or not. sometimes you can incorporate the tie color into your sock, sometimes you can't. it just really depends on the above variables.
there are no set rules to it. just a few don'ts like wearing a black sock with a brown shoe, etc.... the point is to allow your choice to be malleable with your style and comfort level. if you want to be loud, get some great socks with a great pattern and color to them and make sure that they aren't overly obtrusive to the rest of your outfit.
just be conscious of your color choices, and make sure that it flows with your outfit and what you want to with it. i'm going to be wearing a completely different sock to the Kentucky Derby than what I would wear to a Board Meeting, things like that.
i was saying don't do match of the pant to the match of the sock because, personally, i think its about the most boring thing you can do. socks are a very underrated portion of a man's overall dress. the right sock can turn a $300 suit into designer, or distract from a $40 pair of shoes you inherited from your brother. sure, if you are going to a funeral, don't wear that navy argyle sock with lime green in it, go with your standard black to black to black.
i'm just glad that there is a thread about dress socks.
