# Is it gross to wear sneakers without socks? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909 "2020-03-20T17:57:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/21 "2020-03-21T03:21:18Z")
Ummm… If your feet get gross, then it’s gross. Or you have 142 extra feet. Which would be kinda gross too. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/22 "2020-03-21T05:06:19Z")
That actually killed someone: Calvin Coolidge, Jr. [Calvin Coolidge Jr.'s Death - Shapell](https://www.shapell.org/historical-perspectives/between-the-lines/death-calvin-coolidge-jr/) ---
**Author:** ![Smudge777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@Smudge777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smudge777)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/23 "2020-03-21T07:15:26Z")
For me, gross. I sweat a lot, especially from the feet. Added to that is the fact that I just find it uncomfortable. The skin on my feet don’t appreciate the inside of shoes for whatever reason. However, for anyone else, it’s not particularly gross. If you can do it without stinking the room up or making yourself uncomfortable, you do you. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/24 "2020-03-21T09:08:02Z")
I’d never do it, but I don’t consider it _inherently_ gross. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/25 "2020-03-21T10:27:18Z")
My feet stink terribly if I don’t wear socks, hell even my children’s feet stink if they don’t wear socks. ---
**Author:** ![r10k8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@r10k8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/r10k8)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/26 "2020-03-25T18:13:08Z")
I don’t. I got a pair of wool slippers for Christmas and they do a great job of keeping my feet warm and they don’t stink. I guess wool has some anti-microbial properties or something. I love these things ([www.nootkas.com](http://www.nootkas.com)) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/27 "2020-03-25T18:19:57Z")
> [@r10k8](#): > > I don’t. > > I got a pair of wool slippers for Christmas and they do a great job of keeping my feet warm and they don’t stink. I guess wool has some anti-microbial properties or something. I love these things ([www.nootkas.com](http://www.nootkas.com)) I have [glerups](https://www.glerups.com/), similar to your nootkas. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/28 "2020-03-25T19:13:46Z")
For me, yep. You really don’t want to be around me (or my shoes) if I got out of a pair of shoes where I haven’t worn socks. For others? I don’t know. Your biology/sense of smell may be different. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/29 "2020-03-26T19:02:30Z")
I typically do not wear socks. The exceptions are when wearing: - boots - running shoes only when running That’s about it. I go sockless pretty much all the rest of the time, including when wearing: - sneakers, tennis shoes, when not running - loafers - dress shoes - casual shoes - flip flops and sandals - etc. My feet don’t sweat, and I much prefer the coolness of not wearing socks. This is the course even in the winter. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/30 "2020-03-26T22:04:31Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > On my feet, yes it’s gross. I have to use foot liners. They’re like nylon stockings for your feet. They don’t even reach the ankle. After just a few hours, they get kind of sweaty and gross, but better the liner than the shoe. I’ve got maybe 15 pairs and I use them every day in warm weather. This. It doesn’t bother me if someone else does it, but on my own feet it’s gross. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/31 "2020-03-27T12:58:52Z")
I have super-sweaty feet, so it’s gross when I do it. I even wear socks with slippers and sandals (although I’m not much of a sandals guy in the first place). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/32 "2020-03-28T15:12:39Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I don’t wear socks around my house. If I have to go out and check the mail or something, I just put my tennis shoes on without socks. ) This. And since we’ve got a small shopping center \<10 minutes from the house, I’d even not bother with socks for a quick run there just to pick up a couple of things. But for more than ~30 minutes of wearing sneakers, I’d want socks. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/33 "2020-03-28T15:19:50Z")
I grew up on a farm, so I don’t think so. As my mother would say, “Wearing socks just makes another job for me.” (re: she’d have to wash them) ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909/34 "2020-03-28T15:29:52Z")
I wear socks all the time. Often to bed, even. I have one pair of sandals that I don’t wear socks with, but I rarely wear them because they aren’t very comfortable. I have toe socks for wearing with open-heeled shoes in the summer. I hate the sensation of skin sticking to the shoes, which is inevitable no matter which pair it is. Even the house slippers demand socks, because they are so warm my feet feel sticky in a very short time. I started wearing socks all the time living on an island. I hated to feel of sand between my toes, and there was no avoiding it on an island. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-gross-to-wear-sneakers-without-socks/849909.md?page=1)