Sometimes there is a wish to see the wind sock without having to do a low pass over the field. You can "attempt" to see the wind sock/ triangle from 1,500 AGL over the field on a midfield crossing, then commence your descent to pattern altitude on a 270 to midfield downwind. Resist the temptation to get low, because if you missed an airplane already on downwind it could be a very bad day. I also discourage doglegs in lieu of base legs. A lot of pilots do it, but it puts you in a spot that is NOT where we look for traffic most of the time. By and large as Noy said it is best to either do a straight in or try and approach from the downwind side in a textbook entry.