...anime now is getting a lot better about it. 
KareKano, for instance...

As for Lain, the clothing was very realistic, I 
think. The giant bear pajama set is not a noteon 
fashion as much as a very important link that 
goes throughout the sotyr...she can only confront 
her family when wearing the bear pajamas (as 
stated by the director). It's a reversion to an 
infantile state...

::laughs:: Kinda makes me think of the custom of 
shaving legs, which originated to make woman 
appear infantile (when witches were caught, their 
entire bodies were shaved in order to make them 
seem and feel infantile and thus lowly; it was to 
demean them). It picked up again after WWII when 
women couldn't wear silk stockings and so they 
shaved their legs and drew lines up the back to 
make it look that way ^^;;

Geh, getting back on track...I think the thing 
really is that most of the anime we like is 
rather dated...most is early or mid-90's, which 
had a decidedly different look to it's fashion 
(anyone remember jellies?). Fruits Basket, and 
many other anime like it have very realistic 
clothing. In fact, shoujo anime/manga tends to 
model life the most...

As for floppy socks...they really do wear them. I 
own a pair of Japanese schoolgirl uniform 
socks...they are indeed that floppy.

-Misha