A white sneaker is a blank page. Whatever sock you put above it becomes the most visible thing between your knee and the ground, which is either a problem or an opportunity depending on the sock. Most people solve it with a white sports sock and move on. The better answer takes ten seconds longer and changes the whole outfit.

Here are the five socks we wear with white sneakers, what each one does, and how to pull the sock up to the right height, which is the part people get wrong.

The rule before the list

White sneakers want a sock that shows. Hide it with a no-show and the shoe looks unfinished; drown it in a long white sports sock and the shoe looks like it came from the gym. The sweet spot is a crew sock, pulled up, in a colour or a stripe, with a few centimetres of it visible under the trouser. The whiter the shoe, the more a sock in colour earns its place.

1. 5 Stripes: the sock white sneakers were waiting for

Five stripes at the cuff, straight out of the 1970s running track, and the sock we sell more of than any other. It was drawn for exactly this shoe. The stripes sit just above the sneaker when the sock is pulled up, the base colour carries the leg, and a white sneaker gives the whole thing a clean floor to stand on.

Ecru, blue and red is the one to start with: it looks like it has always been there. Blue, orange and ecru is louder; green, ecru and khaki is the quiet one. Long-staple Italian cotton, designed in Brussels, handmade in Portugal, €25, in men's and women's sizes.

Men 5 Stripes, Ecru / Blue / Red€25 Men 5 Stripes, Ecru / Blue / Yellow€25 Men 5 Stripes, Ecru / Green / Blue€25 Men 5 Stripes, Brown / Blue / Navy€25 Men 5 Stripes, Green / Ecru / Khaki€25 Men 5 Stripes, Orange / Ecru€25 All men's 5 Stripes

Women 5 Stripes, Ecru / Blue / Red€25 Women 5 Stripes, Orange / Hazelnut / Sand€25 Women 5 Stripes, Wine / Red€25 Women 5 Stripes, Ecru / Green / Strong Blue€25 Women 5 Stripes, Green / Agave / Sand€25 Women 5 Stripes, Pink / Red / Orange€25 All women's 5 Stripes

2. Tube socks: pulled up, retro, unisex

A tube sock has no shaped heel, so it goes on straight and sits straight, and the two or three bands at the top land exactly where you want them. It is the sock of 1980s basketball and 2026 pavements, and it is the one to choose when the sneaker is the whole outfit: shorts, a skirt, cropped trousers, anything that shows the full length of the sock.

With white sneakers, a tube sock with a white or ecru base and two coloured bands is the classic. The orange and red above, or the three-stripe ecru, red and blue, both do it without trying. One size for everyone, €22.

Tube Socks 3 Stripes, Ecru / Red / Blue€22 Tube Socks 3 Stripes, Ecru / Blue / Yellow€22 Tube Socks 3 Stripes, Ecru / Green / Strong Blue€22 Tube Socks, Orange / Red€22 Tube Socks, Ecru / Bright Blue€22 Tube Socks, Pink / Green€22 All tube socks

3. Plain crew socks: one colour, pulled up

The strongest look is often the simplest. A plain crew sock in one saturated colour, pulled all the way up, over a white sneaker: that is a whole outfit decision in one item, and it costs €25. Bright red is the obvious one and it is obvious because it works. Wine, juniper green, majolica blue and purple blue all do the same thing with less volume.

The trick is the height. Pull the sock up fully and let the trouser fall over it. A crew sock sitting halfway down the calf looks forgotten; the same sock pulled up looks styled.

Men Crew, Bright Red€25 Men Crew, Majolica Blue€25 Men Crew, Wood Green€25 Men Crew, Capulet Olive€25 Men Crew, Purple Blue€25 Men Crew, Yellow€25 All men's plain crew

Women Crew, Wine€25 Women Crew, Juniper Green€25 Women Crew, Blue Grey€25 Women Crew, Dark Pink€25 Women Crew, Khaki€25 Women Crew, Sand€25 All women's plain crew

4. Classic ribbed socks: for a dressier sneaker

Not every white sneaker is a canvas plimsoll. A white leather sneaker with chinos or a wool trouser wants a sock with a little more structure, and a vertical rib gives it that. The rib stays up on its own, looks sharp at the ankle, and keeps a white leather sneaker on the smart side of the line. Navy, dark green and anthracite for the office; yellow and bright blue when the office is not involved. €22.

Men Classic Ribbed, Navy€22 Men Classic Ribbed, Dark Green€22 Men Classic Ribbed, Anthracite€22 Men Classic Ribbed, Yellow€22 Men Classic Ribbed, Bright Blue€22 Men Classic Ribbed, Black€22 All men's classic ribbed

Women Classic Ribbed, Red€22 Women Classic Ribbed, Navy€22 Women Classic Ribbed, Ecru€22 Women Classic Ribbed, Green€22 Women Classic Ribbed, Pink€22 Women Classic Ribbed, Anthracite€22 All women's classic ribbed

5. Ankle and no-show socks: for the days you want the shoe alone

Sometimes the point is the sneaker and nothing else. For summer, shorts, or a cropped trouser you want to keep clean, a striped ankle sock gives you a line of colour at the shoe and stops there. For the full no-sock look, a no-show sock does the work invisibly: cotton against the foot, nothing above the collar of the sneaker. They cost €22 and €19 respectively, and they are the only two socks on this list we would not pull up.

Men Striped Ankle, Ecru / Yellow / Blue€22 Men Striped Ankle, Ecru / Bright Blue€22 Men Striped Ankle, Blue / Purple€22 Men Striped Ankle, Off Black / Green€22 All ankle socks

Men No Show, Blue€19 Men No Show, Khaki€19 Women No Show, Blue€19 Women No Show, Green€19 Women No Show, Pink€19 All no-show socks

Which sock, which day

Keeping the sneaker white

A coloured sock will not stain a white sneaker; our yarns are dyed and set in Portugal and have never bled onto a shoe in our experience. What does mark a white sneaker is wearing it in the rain and leaving it. Let it dry away from a radiator, brush the sole, and it will stay white long enough to go through several pairs of socks.

White sneakers, worn

See all socks

Questions we are asked

What socks go with white sneakers?
A crew sock in colour or with a stripe, pulled up so a few centimetres show under the trouser. Striped sports socks, tube socks and plain coloured crew socks all work. Plain white sports socks make the shoe look like gym kit.

Should socks show with white sneakers?
Yes, unless it is summer and you are wearing shorts with a no-show sock on purpose. A visible sock in colour is what makes a white sneaker look styled rather than default.

Black or white socks with white sneakers?
Neither, if you can help it. Black socks with white sneakers draw a hard line at the ankle; white socks disappear into the shoe. A colour or a stripe does more for the outfit than either.

What socks to wear with white sneakers and shorts?
Tube socks pulled all the way up, or a striped ankle sock if you want less on show. A tube sock has no shaped heel, so it sits straight and its bands land at the top of the calf, which suits bare legs.

Which Escuyer socks are best with white sneakers?
The 5 Stripes, the best-selling Escuyer sock: five stripes at the cuff that sit just above the shoe when the sock is pulled up. It is long-staple cotton, knitted in Portugal, €25 a pair, in one women's and one men's size.

Escuyer. Considered design, made to last.