It's bad enough that your daily routine involves compiling a spreadsheet detailing company-wide Post-it note consumption, but the fact that you're forced to bring your appearance in line with everyone else makes your blood boil. Well, mark yourself out from the crowd (while still maintaining the guise of a dedicated professional) by wearing a pair of spotty socks.

A flash of spotted anarchy under a suit points to someone who has much more in their locker than the ability to push pens. But be warned. Mixing patterns - a pair of spotty socks under plaid trousers, for example - should be avoided at all costs.

The world would be a bland place without colour. Would a colour-deficient version of Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon be considered such a seminal work? Unlikely. Would the alien warblings of the Teletubbies be as palatable to toddlers and university students in black and white? Hardly.

But there is a time and place for colour. Only a fool, or possibly Timmy Mallet, would turn up to a job interview wearing a neon yellow shirt and pink suit. So to introduce a subtle burst of colour without losing your fashion dignity, try a pair of coloured socks. A kitsch multi-check weave sock is fine under non-patterned trousers, while you'd feel happy as Larry padding around the house in a pair of royal-blue-and-yellow top and tail socks. However, bear in mind bright doesn't mean white - until you can moonwalk like the man himself, leave the Michael Jackson socks in the drawer.

There are occasions when a bright sock won't be appropriate. A funeral, for example, isn't the best place to show off the spangly red numbers adorning your ankles.
At the same time, sobriety doesn't have to be dull. Other than a razor sharp wit and a license to kill, all that separates James Bond from your average man in a dinner jacket is a pair of black silk evening socks. With understated luxury like that, how can you fail to secure yourself a femme fatale?

Decorating your feet and ankles in eye-catching stripy socks will without doubt earn you plenty of admiring glances from strangers. Be careful though - the attention can be addictive. Bag some plum and cerise rugby socks and you might find yourself wandering into the tailors asking them to turn your trousers into a pair of three-quarter length swingers. And unless you want to look like a cross between Just William and a court jester, this isn't a good idea.

But a combination of colourful stripes will provide the perfect counterpoint to a pair of solid jeans. As long as you avoid mixing trouser and sock patterns (too many stripes could make you look like a confused zebra), your feet will be snug and happy.