Look. Socks with hiking or work boots are not about fashion or the lack thereof; they are about survival, in the sense of not getting blisters on your feet, or frozen feet in the cold, or overly-moist feet while working (a good sock can wick moisture away from the foot).
Fashion always takes a back seat to survival; people who put fashion in front of survival die early. As they should.
There is nothing wrong with wearing shorts with hiking boots, except that you may not want to do that if you are working or hiking in the bush. Likewise for short sleeves. It’s all about insect and sun protection. I wore long sleeves and long pants last weekend even though we were working outside on a warm and sunny day.
But if you aren’t hiking through mosquito-infested bush or mixing concrete or shoveling horse manure (all of which I did last weekend), and you put on your sunblocker and hat if needed, there’s nothing wrong with shorts and short sleeves, even with hiking/work boots.
And there’s nothing wrong with socks in sandals, either. They sell socks specifically-intended for sandals, after all. Just don’t wade with socks in your underwater sandals.
We’re talking about walking around town in hiking boots and shorts. What does survival have to do with that?
Except that it looks ridiculous.
They also sell assless chaps. Doesn’t make them right or wearable.
ETA: If you work in construction, at the zoo, or in the woods, you can wear hiking boots and shorts as your work uniform.
If you work at an office or indoors, or you’re on your way to the movies, shopping or dinner, then you look silly with hiking or combat boots and shorts.
Can you clarify what’s going on here? What type of work? Nursing? Exactly what else are you wearing? What do other people wear? How professional is the situation. Are there clients/patients who have certain expectations?
I wear rugged hiking boots with socks and rugged hiking shorts. When I hike. Looks great. Feels great. Very appropriate. Wouldn’t wear that combo at work, however. I’d feel like an idiot. No problem with boots/socks/shorts, but only in the proper setting.
How the hell do you wear hiking boots without socks?
If you mean hiking boots and shorts, then well, it sure works better than, say, cowboy boots and shorts
Lunar Saltlick, NurseCarmen is a guy and definitely not a nurse. And IIRC he has some sort of manly man job, the kind where hiking boots are a step up from sneakers.
Okay, to clarify. Yes, I am a guy. I am not a nurse. I am a computer geek at a supercomputing institute. I don’t like tennis shoes, so I just wear hiking boots with white socks, scrunched down, and shorts to work during the summer. I bike to work, so I suspect my calfs are okay for the ladies to look at.
My concern is what the ladies think of the shorts with boots look. Somehow this has veered of into socks land. Prolly due to the socks/sandals pit thread. Maybe due to poor clarification in the OP.
OK, I’ll clarify too. I’m not a female Doper, so maybe my opinion carries little weight. Nonetheless, if the atmosphere at your workplace is cool and nobody gets terribly bent out of shape over what you wear, I think you’re probably fine. I work in an IT shop too, and guys here are wearing everything from hiking boots to construction boots to flip-flops. Lots of people wear shorts in the summer. One programmer wears capri pants with a wrinkled track shirt and no footwear at all. He also sports a seashell necklace. Your hiking look’s gotta be better. You probably look kinda bike-courier-outdoor-lover-get-outa-my-face. Go with it.
And when it’s hiking time, you’ll find me in shorts, hiking boots and white socks scrunched down. If I were a little more daring, I’d wear the same to work. I guess it also kinda depends on age, and how ambitious you are. I have to say, no managers here would ever sport your look.
That said, I realize I’m not your target polling audience, so I’ll shut up.
You’re right that tennis shoes are not a good idea. But there are more options than either boots or athletic shoes. The latter should only be worn with workout/running clothes or scrubs. The former should only be worn on the trail, on the construction site, or at the zoo.
If you are looking for a decent look with your shorts at a computer office, look for something along these lines
Get a light to medium brown color. NOT BLACK or dark brown. Those colors don’t look good with shorts either. Too formal for shorts, IMO.
Get some very short socks. Like the kind that that will barely stick out of the shoe. Trust me, it will look better and you’ll like the look. You can get the shoes for like 20 bucks at Wal-Mart and the socks are like three or four dollars.
Wait. Are your “hiking boots” low-tops, like shoes? Or are they hitops like traditional boots? I hadn’t considered that you might be wearing cross-trainers or trail shoes. I just noticed these things are also considered “hiking boots”. For instance, here: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5156147
If that’s the case, you’re fine with shorts. I was picturing an actual boot.
All IMO, of course. And I’m not in your target demographic either, so…
