The reason Beckham’s outfit worked so well was because every detail was afforded surgical levels of attention, including his socks. Not only did they lend the outfit a feeling of understated ease, but the neutral pop at the base of the look worked with the white T-shirt up top to create a sense of balance. Yes, his feet must have been slipping around in his sandals like an eel in a fleshlight for most of the show, but he looked elegant nonetheless.

Socks and sandals? As a style statement? It was not all that long ago that we were swearing off socks altogether. When I was working at Esquire in 2011, we ran a feature on the insatiable rise of the “mankle”. Thom Browne had started showing truncated suits teamed with brogues and overnight the sockless phenomenon had taken hold. Men the world over were flashing their ankles everywhere from weddings to work.

It is only recently that socks have come surging back into the menswear firmament with the force of a rocket. In a recent collection for Bottega Veneta, the creative director Mr Matthieu Blazy showed a series of shoes crafted from woollen socks. The designer Mr Kim Jones showed socks pulled up with tonal welly boots and hiking sandals in his recent collections for Dior. And for SS24, Prada dressed its models in pulled-up socks teamed with chisel-toed loafers and brogues.

The reason the sockless trend has gone the way of all things and that socks are back on the style agenda is primarily due to the fact that, more often than not, a flash of hammy, untanned ankle ruins rather than remedies the balance of an outfit. “I think going sockless at the wrong time of year, or in the wrong environment, should be classified as indecent exposure,” says the creative director and sock aficionado Mr David McKendrick. “No one invited your knobbly ankles to the party. Even more offensive is the glimpse of a man’s pop sock. Life’s just too short. Commit to a sock.”

I am a late convert to the outfit-lifting power of a good pair of socks. As a child of the mankle era, I spent the vast majority of my twenties with my lower legs exposed to the elements. It is only now, when I look back at full-length photos of me at the time, that I see how clunky the combination of skinny trousers (trendy in the late 2000s and early teens, before you scoff) with exposed ankles really looked. If I go sockless now, I do so with wide cropped trousers and loafers or mules. Never with smarter shoes. And if I wear pop socks, I keep them concealed.

When it comes to wearing proper socks, I like them long, to ensure the coverage of my ankle is consistent. A stylist friend once admonished me at a fashion show for bearing too much flesh over the top of my too-short socks and I never made the same mistake again. Elsewhere, I ensure that the fabric of my sock is both soft and attractive – ribbed silk, cashmere or cotton, ideally – and that the colour is block, never pattern, for fear of looking novelty.

The key to wearing socks in 2023 is, like Becks, to consider them an integral part of your outfit, rather than an inconsequential garnish or, worse, a functional addition unworthy of any real attention. Mr Felix Bischof, editor of The Week Fashion, is a sock devotee and often pairs grey and oatmeal cashmere foot sheaths with sandals and chichi slippers from The Row. “My favourite pairs are ribbed cotton socks by Charvet, which come in a huge array of jewel-like colours,” Bischof says. “I also love socks by Forma Pilates, which I wear to the gym and are a great take on the classic tube sock.”

“I think of socks like seasoning,” McKendrick says. “Salt and pepper are just as important as the ingredients in a dish, so it’s a crime to overlook a good sock. Also, my mum used to say, ‘Make sure you are wearing clean underpants in case you are in an accident.’ I think the same applies to socks. You never know what kind of situation you’ll end up in. I mean, not that you’d worry about your pants or socks if you got hit by a bus, but the sentiment is there.”

The good news for those who want to take their sock game up a gear this winter is that a host of luxury brands have released statement socks that deserve as much prominence in your outfit as any other garment. From Gucci’s grey ribbed cashmere leg warmers to classic cashmere socks from Loro Piana and Brunello Cucinelli and striped cashmere pull-ups from The Elder Statesman and Zegna, there is something for everyone.

“Sometimes you might not have the funds for big statement pieces,” says Mr Andrew Diprose, creative director of Soho House, who regularly wears monogrammed Gucci socks to the office with a pair of loafers. “But wearing a statement sock gives you a bit of a buzz. It adds a little something to your look, it doesn’t break the bank and people seem to love spotting them when they peep out over your shoes.”