I am a guy and I don’t understand the appeal of sandals for anyone. Here in NC once the weather warms up about 95% of women wear sandals. For men maybe it’s 20%. Someone told me it’s cooler but my feet never got hot, I normally wear socks and running shoes. I really dislike sandals due to rocks and other stuff getting under my feet. (We even have some people wear sandals in January when it’s 30 degrees, if I did that I would get frostbite in 30 minutes.)
You’ve never suffered the joy that is ‘Hot feet’, good on you.
It’s coming on to winter here, and I’m wearing a pair of sneakers that are quite well ventilated. They don’t have tight lacing, the backs are open and I’m not wearing socks. My feet feel hot. Sometimes they feel so hot it feels like they’re burning. Often it’s physically uncomfortable. Very often I’ll walk around barefoot, because I just can’t stand having shoes on.
Sandals are good because my feet can breathe and be cool, but I’m not going to slash my foot open on a chunk of glass I didn’t see while I was walking along.
Running shoes are well ventilated so that helps. They are mostly fabric with a little leather.
I don’t get it either. IMO they’re just plain ugly as shit.
I think for women they get to show off their painted nails. Of course if there were no sandals maybe they would not paint their nails. 
Yeah, my sneakers are very well ventilated. They’re mostly mesh, and as I said, open-backed.
When you’ve got hot feet, you’ve got hot feet. It’s a special kind of hell. Hell, I’ve had points where even SANDALS were too much for me, and I had to take my shoes off entirely.
I can slip them on for a quick run to the grocery store, or whatever. Sandals are good for people like myself who are too lazy to put in the extra effort required by regular shoes.
I put on sandals after a long run, hike or ski. My feet feel much better; lots of air flow and no pressure points.
You don’t get hot feet. If you did, you’d understand the awesome comfort that sandals provide. Also, if you have don’t have broad feet, you’re lucky. I’ve had dope threads about ‘find me shoes that I can wear to work without dying of the heat’. If I could, I would wear sandals every day at work, and all the time that the snow was less than 3 or 4 inches.
Except…I still paint my toenails in the winter, even though I can count on one foot the number of people who will see my painted toenails.
I feel your pain, I truly do. Size 11 womens’, broad foot, hot foot, flat foot.
I don’t like to wear shoes on my feet all the time for the same reason I don’t like to wear gloves on my hands all the time. Shoes and gloves provide protection and warmth and prevent injury, but they also reduce sensory input. In summer, with no need for warmth any more, I prefer more minimal footwear as appropriate - on jobsites I’m wearing thick leather boots with steel toes and shanks which can be hot as hell but provide necessary protection. When such levels of protection aren’t needed sandals are as close to barefoot (my ultimate preference) as feasible give the foot hazards common on the ground, and requirements from places like stores that one has something on one’s feet.
And yes, it really is like gloves - when the weather is warmer but my palms need protection I have fingerless gloves to provide it while causing minimal impediment.
That’s why I wear sandals. Other people might have different reasons.
I suffer from terrible hot feet. I can’t wear closed-toed shoes except in the middle of winter- even then, if I’m just walking a short distance I’ll wear sandals with two layers of socks (and then take off one or both layers when I’m indoors).
I do have running shoes. I find them stuffy too.
(Also, WHY is it that fashion people make such a big deal about socks and sandals? I’ve never gotten it).
And socks! I hate winter because I have to have clean socks around.
Where I work people wear sandals, shorts and t-shirts on a regular basis. It’s a software company so the dress is super casual. I don’t wear shorts but I sometimes wear T shirts.
I didn’t realize initially that you were in NC. I grew up there, barefoot or in sandals for years, and summer there can make your eyeballs and ear canals sweat. You must have some sort of mutant power, or be from Ecuador. Where did you grow up?
I grew up partly in NJ and mostly here in NC. If I did wear work boots outside in the summer I agree those would be hot. As a kid sometimes I would skip socks but I always wore some kind of athletic shoe. I am lucky that I have always worked a job where I could wear running shoes.
I wear sandals almost every single day in the summertime, kayak in flip flops or wear “dress up” sandals like these. But I don’t live in the city and our summers here in the North of Michigan are short - and so should be celebrated by being a beach bum for every day that is possible.
I love how sandals look. Of course, I love how most shoes look. It’s gotta be one ugly shoe if I hate it (and there are some). But what’s not to get? It’s another look, another style, another way to look and feel good — irrespective of painted toenails.
Me too! It cheers me up to see my own brightly-painted toenails for the time each day it takes for me to shower.