Socks for ultra-casual

[Karl R]

I'm trying to figure out the right socks to wear with casual wear. But first, I need to explain....

Forget the level of casual displayed in "1 Kilt 10 Looks." That "casual" look is far too classy for my question. We're talking U.S. casual ... and not the stuff that would remotely pass for acceptable on "casual Friday." It's more, "I left work on casual Friday, went home, and dressed down from there. A lot."

When I go out dancing, I dress for comfort (unless it's truly a special occasion). I'm hot. I'm sweaty. I'll bring spare t-shirts for when I soak through the first one (and second one). Within those parameters, I prefer to look better, rather than worse.

From that starting point, I'm considering working a kilt into the rotation of dance attire. It's not quite as cool (body heat-wise) as my linen pants, but it's cooler (same standard) than my 100% cotton cargo pants. Aesthetically, it's cooler than both of those options.

But now I have a sock problem. With my cargo pants and linen pants, my socks are largely invisible. In a kilt, they're on full display. So I would like to figure out which socks look the best with a kilt ... in this setting.

The rest of the outfit:
Black t-shirt with a funny and/or snarky saying (black shows sweat less than other colors)
Dance sneakers (they're black sneakers; completely black; no other color; I'm not kidding; just black; and they're not high-rise)
Dark kilt (my current kilt, and the one on order, both fit that description)
Black hunting sporran with plenty of chrome ... and a chrome chain (it's resting against a dark kilt ... in poor lighting ... I wanted it to be visible)

The setting:
I'll be in a bar/club/pub/dance hall ... It will be dark. Forget suggestions like "cable knit." Observers will be able to tell the difference between black socks and white socks. Probably.

The choice of socks:
Black kilt hose, worn "up"
Black kilt hose, "scrunched down"
Black athletic socks, below the calf
Black ankle-high socks
(I'm following the website's culture of using what we already have in our closets)
Black dress socks, below the calf, are also an option ... however unlikely that is to be anyone's choice ... it is in the wardrobe

The question:
I'm not so interested in what you would wear. (We all have our personal foibles.) When you've seen others dressed extremely casually, at Highland Games or wherever, what ultra-casual socks actually seemed to work on other people?

A side note:
Yes, I have a relatively achromatic wardrobe. And a distinct set of clothes I wear. When I wore a kilt last weekend, it elicited fewer comments than when I wore a blue-gray button-down dress shirt.

I'd welcome any input. I might even put a small amount of it into practice.