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Socks and sandals are a new trend as Dad's driveway fashion hits the runway

How is it that this oft-reviled fashion "statement" is now being seen on runways?
/ Source: TODAY

Fashion designers and athletes, what are you doing to us?

According to The Wall Street Journal, the unlikely style combination of socks worn with sandals has become a thing. And we know exactly who to blame.

At New York Fashion Week in July, men on the runway were spotted wearing the open-air shoes with socks, and NFL stars, like Brandon Meriweather, have been spotted out and about shod with the combination. Meanwhile, footwear maker Teva has now started selling sock-and-sandal packages, offering a guide on how to make the look work.

There's even a whole Twitter hashtag devoted to those who wear the pair.

Socks and sandals in the Vivienne Tam fashion show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2015
Check out those sandals!Larry Busacca / Getty Images file

"We know this quirky combo isn’t for everyone," Teva's director of product and design Lorie Pointer told the WSJ. "You either love or hate it, and that’s OK."

But to many people, this is a look that should never have made it out of the driveway (like when dad goes out to pick up the paper), much less on to the runway.

"It's not acceptable," celebrity fashion stylist Sam Spector said.

The look can have its place. For athletes like Meriweather, it's a way to relax their feet outside of the locker room; cleats can be cramping. Fair enough. But is there a reason to impose that look on the rest of us?

"It’s not a good look," Mark Anthony Green, the "GQ Style Guy" at GQ Magazine, said. "The inherent idea of sandals is that your feet are going to be exposed. To do that and then cover it with socks, you look confused."

MORE: Items grown men can throw out of their closets today

So you tell us: Yea or nay to socks in sandals?

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