# Doper Poll: Moccasins **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2000, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613 "2000-07-14T22:29:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/1 "2000-07-14T22:29:52Z")
- - - Lately around these parts it seems to be a fashion to wear moccasins instead of shoes. By moccasins I mean, the cheap things they sell as bedroom slippers, except people are wearing them instead of shoes. Now I know at one point in time black guys thought it was cool to wear flannel pajamas & bedroom slippers when going out, but this is mostly white guys/gals. Is somebody on MTV wearing Indian shoes or what? Do _YOU_ wear moccasins? - MC ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/2 "2000-07-14T22:40:16Z")
First of all, I want to suggest you be a little careful when using the black/white comparison. You may be accused of bigotry. :rolleyes: I think moccasins are very comfortable. Would I wear them going out? No. I don’t even own a pair. I haven’t in a few years. I’m more of an athletic shoe kind of gal. As for the MTV thing, I have no idea. And may I just ask you where “around these parts” is? ---
**Author:** ![tygre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@tygre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygre)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/3 "2000-07-14T23:47:36Z")
I rotate between 3 pairs of moccasins and my Birkenstocks. I’ve been wearing mocs for a long time now - I wear a 9 1/2 AA width shoe and the mocs are the only shoes I’ve found commercially available that fit even halfway well off the shelf. –tygre ---
**Author:** ![Minxsmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Minxsmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minxsmom)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2000, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/4 "2000-07-15T23:29:15Z")
I love my mocs. I wear them quite often, they just _seem_ a little more dressed than my little white tennies. But, I don’t wear the bedroom slipper type - these are real, good leather moccasins. I can’t imagine it would be too comfortable walking around in slippers, especially if it rains. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/5 "2000-07-16T02:26:07Z")
I wear mocs most of the time. If you can find them, get them made from moose leather. You’ll never find a more comfortable shoe. ---
**Author:** ![dragonlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@dragonlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragonlady)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/6 "2000-07-16T05:13:26Z")
My Mother has lived in hers for years, as long as I can remember. And RealityChuck, elk is just as good. We bought my Mom some from a specialty place and she wore them almost 10 years. Every day. ---
**Author:** ![JBurton99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea5d25/32.png) [@JBurton99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBurton99)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/7 "2000-07-16T06:59:23Z")
That’s amazing. Here in PA, i can’t say i have ever seen anybody wearing mocs outside except to get the morning paper. Now granted, i don’t get out much, the warden won’t let me. j/k Hmmm, i wonder if i could start a fad by wearing my wifes bunny slippers outside. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Soupy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Soupy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soupy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/8 "2000-07-16T07:21:05Z")
I wear Topsiders, without socks, which are the moccasin pattern, including the rawhide strip around the top edge of the opening. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/9 "2000-07-16T08:08:37Z")
Can someone clarify the difference between moccasins, loafers, topsiders, etc? I see nothing wrong with [this](http://www.natural.es/calzashoe/s613.jpg) or [this](http://www.natural.es/calzashoe/s3020.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![mega\_the\_roo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mega\_the\_roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mega_the_roo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/10 "2000-07-16T18:44:39Z")
I only ever wear my moccasaurs inside. :: sigh :: and I sure do _love_ my moccasaurs. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/11 "2000-07-17T01:33:47Z")
Dragonlady – well, a moose is related to the elk, so it makes sense they’d be similar. I prefer moose, preferably with squirrel trim, since I always liked moose and squirrel. 🙂 Topsiders are quite similar in design to mocs. Usually the leather is a bit stiffer, and they have a different sole, probably designed to get a better grip on a deck. I used to wear them, but prefer mocs, especially since mocs can cost less and you have more choice. ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/12 "2000-07-17T02:10:13Z")
Sailor I’d call this#1 a penny loafer. Moccasin style. I’d just call #2 a loafer. They are both shoes. A moccasin as I know them have no sole. Indian style. They used to sell beaded ones in tourists traps in northern Minnesota. ---
**Author:** ![Pink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/71c47a/32.png) [@Pink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pink)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/13 "2000-07-17T05:08:16Z")
I love moccasins, always have, since my first shoes as a baby. I never thought of them as trendy, since they aren’t in Arizona. They’re in every store every year, forever. ---
**Author:** ![Byzantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@Byzantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Byzantine)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/14 "2000-07-17T05:29:51Z")
Wow! Even FOOTWEAR becomes some kind of “color” question! How silly! Frankly, I’m barefoot most of the year and no, no, I don’t live in the “hills”. It’s just convenient and actually very healthy to go barefoot, IMHO. When I run I have my running shoes. Yes, expensive but functional. They are the most expensive thing I buy. But for around town? Sandals, basic 10$ shoes, left over running shoes or homemade moccasins or barefoot; I’ve gotten kicked out of places because of my loathing to wear shoes. All things being equal, I’d rather go barefoot than wear anything on my feet. Okay, yeah, they are huge and hard to fit (9 1/2 EEEE) but also I just feel more “connected” without shoes. I wear them only when I have to and only for about three months out of the year. Even on the river: My shoes are strung to the boat so if I need them they are there but I generally don’t need them. Yes, my feet get very dirty but I wash them in the sink like I wash my hands. It sounds weird but I’m flexible enough to do this. And it doesn’t bother me or the bulk of my family or friends. They just take that as a part of me, I guess. So, moccasins? Yeah. They are comfy, easy to make and wear for a long time… Did I answer the OP? ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/15 "2000-07-17T05:35:48Z")
And the syntax of your OP could easily be construed as offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Byzantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@Byzantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Byzantine)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/16 "2000-07-17T06:23:04Z")
2sense – Could you very please, come down off your big, huge singular cloud? I know this is difficult for you to get a hard and fast grip on, but how is this about you? Or your belief that EVERYTHING is about race? My post, about even footwear being about color was in jest… I just need to ask; where are you really coming from? No one can make an observation or it’s racist? No one can make a point or it offends you? What really, honestly, is your point? The syntax of the OP? The syntax?! Do you really grasp what that means? Again, what is your point? I know mine, and I’m very secure where I’m coming from but I really want and need to ask just what it is you want and need from the bulk of us? We can’t point ANYTHING out lest it offend your “color code” when you, yourself, kept calling our black, African-American, posters “niggers”? Just where is it on the scale you get off? You used that “n” word over and over and then went on how you wanted to fight “their” fight. Just where do you get off? And I just have to ask: What “color” do you think I am? Would it make a difference? What if I were Black? What if I were Indian? What if I were Hispanic? Or Italian? Or German or who the hells knows what?! Is that going to make a difference to you? If it will help you rip me apart I’ll be glad to give you my basic creed/race background. Just where the hell do you get off?! I don’t mind that you want to point something out, I’ve done it myself, but make your point. Don’t be this “vague” little fart that runs in, posts, and then runs away because you really don’t have the ability to stand up for what you purport to believe so strongly in. Just pull your head out and stop being a pointless little fart. I’m sorry, Slythe. I’m not trying to get this dumped to the pit but I’m asking this poster to be fair. And I want to point out I didn’t use one single “bad” word in that whole rant. But I wanted to… ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/17 "2000-07-17T11:24:27Z")
- - - First of all, the type of footwear that I am referring to is one that has no rubber sole, just a large piece of leather on the bottom drawn up around the sides, more or less. On one hand (-or foot, just thought I’d head that one off at the pass), they must wear out fast but on the other, they don’t cost but $10 a pair, maybe. And I’ve seen white teens/twentysomethings wearing them everywhere lately, such as, to the mall. - - - Secondly, many fads tend to be confined to racial & social groups; is there something wrong with asking about the fads? -Because it’s difficult to ask about the fads without bringing up the particular groups they occur in sooner or later. Insisting that “it’s not an issue with you”, and then “reminding” anyone else who mentions it, starts sounding like a crock after a while. I see nothing to apologize for, because for me, it isn’t. -And I have used the same screenname since I found the board on AOL, and I can’t recall any incident where I asked someone else’s race or ethnic orgin, or made racial or ethnic insults. -I can’t guarantee it- but if I ever did, it’s been pretty rare. If you can work the search engine, you can check that out yourself. - _And no, I’m not sorry._ - MC ---
**Author:** ![Sycorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Sycorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sycorax)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/18 "2000-07-17T20:58:35Z")
To get back to the subject at hand: YES! I love moccasins. I have a pair with no sole (Indian type) and they are the most comfortable - almost as good as barefoot; also have a pair with the beaded thunderbird design. I hate athletic shoes – Gawd, that’s all you see anymore – people wear them for every occasion. And they are ugly when they get old and dirty. I don’t understand how they can be comfortable in hot weather. ---
**Author:** ![Byzantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@Byzantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Byzantine)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/19 "2000-08-17T02:36:26Z")
Slythe, I hate to drag up an old thread but I have a very valid reason for doing so. I really messed up. I posted a huge rant at 2sense for no reason at all. I got him confused with another poster. I apologize and will make sure I check the poster twice before I go on another rampage. Now, 2sense and I hashed this out in the Pit but I wanted my apology attached to this thread as well. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613/20 "2000-08-17T13:54:49Z")
And as long as this is back on page 1, what I wanna know is, _where can I get another pair?_ I’ve been living in a pair of Wal-Mart bedroom slipper moccasins for the past 10 months, because of the foot thing, only putting on the sneakers for trips to the store, did the entire Pacific Northwest trip in them (except for visitor centers), and they’re on their last legs. Literally. But every time I go back to Wal-Mart, they never have them. Just what fell off the truck that week, which is NEVER “blue and pink bedroom moccasins with fluffy white stuff around the top”. curse curse curse curse curse [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-poll-moccasins/25613.md?page=2)