# Are you a shoe person or a barefooter? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004 "2006-05-09T02:21:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/41 "2006-05-09T17:51:03Z")
Shoes - I hate getting my feet dirty and even worse, I’m a tenderfoot who feels pain if I even step on a grain of sand. Dirty feet really gross me out. I wear slippers indoors. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/42 "2006-05-09T17:53:46Z")
PS - **Misnomer** , Merrells are one of my favorite brands. I have the Gardena thongs and they are the most comfy flip-flop type shoes I have ever worn. I wear them on my walks they are so comfy. Mine are red - a TJ Maxx $20 find - I wish I could find 5 more pairs at that price! ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/43 "2006-05-09T19:38:45Z")
I’m more in the “barely shod” category. I hate socks and enclosed shoes, but I’m uncomfortable barefoot. So in the warm months, I’m usually in some sort of slide or sandal. I like my feet to look nice, so my nails are always polished (red or black polish only.) I also wear toe rings. I’m enough of a glamor girl that my only pair of Birkenstocks are black patent leather, and my flip-flops are platform style, with sequins. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/44 "2006-05-09T19:49:22Z")
Shoes just to get around. When I get to the office, I take them off and I have sandals at work. At home, I wear house slippers. . .with socks or without depending on the temp. When I’m working in the yard, I wear shoes, but for basic puttering around, I wear the house slippers. I don’t think it’s healthy to confine your foot in a shoe all day. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/45 "2006-05-09T20:04:23Z")
Count me in as another barefooter. I have several pairs of sandals, and i live in the cold Northeast but try to wear sandals ten months out of the year. I never wear anything at home, and socks and shoes make me feel claustrophobic. I always like to tell the story of when my parents tried to put me in jammies-with-the-feet. I nearly screamed the house down trying to get them off. I was pretty young. They never tried again. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Wombats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Wombats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Wombats)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/46 "2006-05-09T20:09:59Z")
If it were possible, I’d be barefoot all the time… I try to balance it by wearing sandals whenever possible / appropriate. Shoes sucks, but unfortunately, they’re necessary ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/47 "2006-05-09T20:11:45Z")
Shoes. For one, I lurve shoes and always want to wear something [stunning](http://www.stevemadden.com/item_image.asp?id=12466) on my feet. I get compliments on my shoes almost every day. Two, I don’t enjoy going barefoot. My feet aren’t tough enough for outside anymore (my feet were tough as rocks when I was a kid, we never wore shoes unless it was for school) plus I don’t want to step in something icky. Inside, I usually wear slippers or flips fliops 'cause I have cats and there’s constantly fur around. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/48 "2006-05-09T20:41:51Z")
When I was a 5-year old boy, our babysitter Mrs. Gibbs wagged her finger. “Don’t go outside barefoot, you’ll step on a bee.” I ignored that. I went out in the yard barefoot, and promptly stepped on a bee. :smack: I’m always shod outside, but inside the shoes come off. ---
**Author:** ![ninevah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/46a35a/32.png) [@ninevah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninevah)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/49 "2006-05-10T04:36:17Z")
Another vote for the barefooter. I **love** padding round the house with no shoes on. If I absolutely must, I’ll put socks on. I save the shoes for going outside. My husband is the opposite. He wears shoes everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/50 "2006-05-10T11:05:27Z")
I feel naked if I’m not wearing shoes outside. I have a pair of Colorado Work/Hiking boots that I wear all the time, with a pair of heavy duty black shoes for work, and a couple of pairs of dress shoes for those really snazzy occaisons. But yeah, I like boots (and we won’t go into my thoughts on knee-high or thigh-high boots on women! 😃 ), and I’ve always thought people who went barefoot outside were probably… poor or something. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/51 "2006-05-10T22:00:05Z")
In the summertime, around the house or on the beach, I’m barefoot practically all the time. Any other time, and I’d rather be properly shod. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/52 "2006-05-10T22:38:06Z")
[QUOTE=Ice Wolf] Barefoot around home (except when it’s winter and I need socks), shoes when I’m out and about. I can’t walk very fast barefoot out on the pavements. [/QUOTE] Yep, me too. My shoes come off right after I get home, and by this time of year I’m usually in sandals (unless it’s wet like today) until it’s way too cold for them - like early October. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004/53 "2006-05-11T02:15:30Z")
Feet, esp. toes are just too darn delicate and precious to just let them out in the open - those babies need some serious protection - I have no sympathy for anyone who risks unprotected feet and gets them injured bacuse of that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-a-shoe-person-or-a-barefooter/356004.md?page=2)