How To Wear... Socks

Le Col’s Yanto Barker lends his stylish guidance to a little area where a lot can go wrong.

I’ll start as any stylish cyclist would, by declaring my love for socks. A wise man once said, ‘The socks maketh the kit,’ and I couldn’t agree more – they are little canvases on which to display a bit of your character; a cottony window into your soul.

As a young amateur based in France I had very limited funds for kit so the guys I raced with and I saved new socks as a treat to feel special on big race days. Just as they were then, they still are a crucial part of any outfit that can tie the whole ensemble together, if they’re done right.

Surprisingly though, you just can’t beat a plain white sock. In other parts of an outfit, white is an unadventurous (although admittedly versatile) colour way, but not so with the sock. White says classic, understated taste. White harks back to the illustrious days of Coppi and Anquetil – I know my stuff when it comes to style but those guys were on another level.