"A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between, he wears a comfortable pair of socks" _ Bob Dylan
The basic rule of thumb about socks used to be (or rather, still is) The color of your socks should match the color of your trousers. Black socks, black pants, grey on grey, etc. Which is an okay look for the corporate business setting but too dull for adventurous dressers.
In this era, socks have evolved from being basic feet covering garments to being king of the whole outfit. They are no longer the insignificant accessory that you used to put on without a second thought. Now we have big brands coming up like the happy socks.
This is not to say that people are still not getting them wrong. Especially now that they are colorful and
