Nike Everyday Plus Cushioned Crew Socks (1 Pair) Black/Tour Yellow/White

One: pull the crew up over a black tapered joggers hem so the Tour Yellow cuff sits visible above a black sneaker, which is the cleanest use of a single accent colour. Two: shorts and a low top in summer, where the yellow ties to anything else bright you are carrying. As a single pair rather than a multipack, treat it as the accent sock in a drawer full of plain ones, kept for days when it will be seen. Wash cold, skip fabric softener since it coats fibres and ruins moisture handling, and tumble low or air dry so the cuff elastic and the yellow both hold.

The visible crew sock is one of the clearest markers of how thoroughly sportswear became clothing. Nike's footwear moved from sport into urban and hip hop fashion during the 1980s, then into the mainstream of 1990s and 2000s casual and athleisure dress, and the sock came with it as a deliberate styling element rather than an undergarment. A bright accent colour at the cuff is a small, precise signal in that language, the sort of detail that says the outfit was assembled rather than thrown on. Just Do It, from 1988, sold the attitude that made even this legible.

The Plus in the name refers to the cushioning: an added terry loop zone underfoot, thicker than a standard sock, which absorbs impact through the heel and forefoot where a shoe cannot do all the work alone. Around it the knit changes density, tighter through the arch to hold the sock in place, ribbed at the cuff so the crew height stays up. Nike builds anything worn against the skin around moisture management, which in a sock is the difference between comfort and blisters over a long day. Tour Yellow is applied as the accent on a black body with white relief, so it reads at the cuff. Sold as a single pair rather than a multipack.