As it was written
"I settle once more into the right-hand seat, concerned lest there be a repetition of the crazy entanglement witnessed by McCabe. Therefore I am quite ready when I hear Ross enter the narrow passageway behind me. I turn to watch him hang up his coat in so precise and careful a manner it is easy to understand how his other articles of apparel present such an immaculate picture. His heavily starched shirt fits his powerful torso as if it was tailored by a master. The crease in his pants is knife sharp. His black ankle boots, of the type preferred by most line pilots, match the sheen of his cap-bill.
…
It is pleasant to think that now my ninety-day probation is safely past and as a consequence I might reasonably invest in a pair of jodhpur boots like Ross’, and so keep my ankles warm during the coming winter. With concentration I might also acquire that certain swagger which must go with the wearing of such boots. I will break them in carefully since they are extremely expensive for a co-pilot’s purse, and I will try to keep them shined as well as Ross’."
Attributed to Ernest k. Gann, "Fate is the Hunter"
(But no mention of socks)