I think, but don’t ask me for a cite, that this became the “rule” in the last 5 years or so when flip-flops (aka thongs) came roaring into fashion. It certainly wasn’t the rule when I was younger when “sandals” meant clogs or wedges or open toe Mary Janes or Jesus-like footwear. It’s still not the rule for Birkenstocks or Earthshoes, for sure. But with little flimsy flip-flops, the toes became much more exposed, literally and artistically. They’ve become the focal point of many outfits, and so, yes, you’re “unfinished” with bare toes in flip flops. I think there’s just some bleedover of the rule from flip-flop wearing to other sandals now.
Never paint my toes, but wear sandals most of the time.
On the other hand, anyone looking to my appearance for fashion tips is stupid. And my preferred sandals are halfway between Birkenstocks and super-feminine.
I probably should trim my toenails more often than I do.
Just my humble opinion, but toenails painted any color other than something extremely close to their natural color looks stupid. I’m thinking “gloss” if anything.
Clean them, maybe file & buff them if you want - I’m talking to you guys too - and that’s it.
I’m far more interested in whether your feet smell like parmesan flavored corn nuts, than the state of your nails.
I wouldn’t say it’s a necessity, but I think it looks better.
It’s funny, I used to think professional pedicures were silly and never had one until before my wedding. I loved how pretty it made my feet look, and now I get one once a month during summer. For me it’s worth the money because I seem to get polish everywhere except my toes when I do it myself.
The way I see it, if people are offended that your feet aren’t groomed up to their standards, serves them right for looking that closely. Assuming you don’t put your feet up on their desks, which would just be rude.
I don’t groom my feet and I wear sandals all summer. To work. In an office. So there!
I think it depends, at least in part, where you live and who you’re around. I never used to worry about it at home in a really rural, farming-type community, and it wasn’t an issue when I was in college and then grad school with a bunch of geeky engineers. But for the last few years in two successive marketing jobs in the suburbs, it’s become very important.
So I think if you’re hanging out with the type of suburban crowd that cares about how you look, what kind of car you drive, how big your house is, etc., then yeah, you’d better paint your toenails. If you’re with a crowd that doesn’t notice or that is into more natural look, than I’d say it doesn’t matter.
Like the OP coworker, I wouldn’t wear sandals or open toe shoes unless my toe nails were painted and perfect. However, I do not like finger nail polish at all on anyone. Finger nails should be buffed and filed with clean cuticles. Toes need to be polished to look groomed.
Go figure.
However, if you’re going to do it, do it right. If you have only a few shards of polish left on your toes and the rest has worn off or grown out, for chrissakes, just take off the rest of it.
(This is why I practically never bother polishing my fingernails; they are of a respectable length and reasonably well-groomed otherwise, and I don’t bite them, but on the rare occasions that I bother polishing them, they are chipped and peeling within 24 hours, so what’s the point? I think the last time I bothered was for my sister’s wedding, 3-1/2 years ago, and even then only because she strong-armed me. I compromised - it beat the hell out of letting someone pluck my eyebrows, which my sister was also trying to strong-arm me into doing. And yes, one nail was chipped within the hour.)
I vote not a requirement at all. Healthy pink nail beds are preferable to me. I know my MIL is always hiding a mean fungal infection under one her highly buffed and polished toe nails. However, exposed toes in a more formal or business setting should be ready for the spotlight, polish or no polish.
My toes are always painted. Year-round. Dark red usually. I never paint my fingernails though, just use clear coat.
I suck at painting my nails but mom taught me a nice trick. When applying new polish, first moisturize your toes. After the lotion is all dry, paint and don’t worry about getting some on the toe itself. After they are set, use soap and washcloth gently over toe area more than normal in the shower. All the excess paint on the toes should come off and the polish on the nail should stay. I usually paint at night and wash off excess paint in the shower the next morning.
Well, I’m a heathen I guess. Not only do I run around in sandals all summer, but I never paint my toenails or even think about my feet. In fact, I’d cause a family feud if I did paint 'em -painted toenails give Mr Athena the willies. He just thinks they’re wrong.
In all fairness, I have pretty nice feet, no fungus or any other grossness. But even if I did I can’t imagine painting my toenails or giving up wearing sandals.
I have never understood the idea that feet are inherently gross. Sandals are about all I wear, except for when I’m going barefoot, and I never paint my toenails.
Why are feet gross? Because they touch the ground? So do shoes. My feet are my shoes.
So nobody else thinks painted toenails are silly and somehow horrible? Oh well, I never was a fashion expert. 
Yes…exactly!
Wearing polish all the time tends to stain nails yellow, which means you need to wear polish all the time to cover the stain. Rinse, repeat.
I enjoy the occasional pedicure and when I’m ambitious will do my own toes, but this season I haven’t gotten around to it. My toes have been bare (but clean, trimmed and nicely pink) since May and I’ve worn open-toe sandals pretty much every day. I realize it’s a little “naked” for some, but screw 'em. I am lucky to have good feet, though.
Of course you don’t have to paint your toenails!!
I like the way it looks, and I usually have mine done, but I certainly don’t expect anyone else to do it.
Let’s put it this way–if you have a really nice pedicure, I might notice. If your feet are all gross and nasty, I might notice. Anything in between, and I can assure you, I won’t notice your feet.
Maybe it depends on where you live. I grew up in rural Michigan and never heard that you were supposed to paint your toenails- it seemed purely optional. But here, 99 percent of toenails are painted, including mine, and I half-believe that you might even get funny looks if you were to go bare. It is VERY prevalent here to have painted toenails.
Dude here. I don’t know if I can speak on behalf of all men, but I think I can speak for many when I say that we don’t care. In fact, I’ll go one step further: I generally prefer when your nails are unpainted and natural (that’s not to say they shouldn’t be taken care of).
Wow, it’s not just me, then. I don’t like how my toe nails look, so I keep them painted all summer. I never do my finger nails, though. I hate how it looks, and they look so much better just kept nice and clean.
Anyone else can do as they like, though it’s better if their bare toe nails are prettier than mine.
But that’s part of my regular grooming, I don’t do it only when I’m wearing sandals. One thing I love about beach vacations is that walking barefoot on the sand is a much nicer method to get smooth heels than pumice stone.
No, you don’t have to paint your toenails.