# Shooz **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587 "2005-07-28T14:37:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/21 "2005-07-28T17:51:39Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > So, lets say I am at a desk. I take off my shoes, inside my cubicle. No one can see my shoes under my desk. However, it allows me to feel more comfortable. People have a problem with this? :eek: > > Let’s say I then go to make a cup of tea. I walk down the carpeted corridor towards the break-room. My socks are immaculate. I don’t see the problem here. What if you have a hole in your socks? It’s just a little one. It’s not like people don’t get holes in their socks. Would you consider that a problem? What if you skipped showering now and then? It’s not like people don’t sweat or have body odor when they miss a shower or two. It’s natural, right? Where’s the problem? There is such a thing as professional office conduct. Yes, some rules may seem overly strict and limiting to your sense of personal freedom but the rules exist so that people keep to a certain minimal professional standard. Nobody is offende when you are showered and dressed appropriately and it should not feel like an impossition on you. If it is, perhaps office work is not for you. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/22 "2005-07-28T18:16:32Z")
There a lot of people in the world who equate grooming particulars with ability to work. If I show up one day and I am freshly shaven, I will do a particular quality of work. These people feel that if I show up the next day and I have not shaved, I will not meet the previous day’s quality. Likewise, if I grow a beard, need a haircut, have a stained or ripped shirt, mismatched shoes, no underwear, bermuda shorts, rope belt, facial tattoos… None of these things have any affect whatsoever on my ability to do my job, but if I were to cross those lines, my job would be in danger, not because it would affect my ability to do my job, but because there are people out there who _think_ it would affect my ability to do my job. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/23 "2005-07-28T18:18:16Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > And it’s disgusting as well. From a public health stance? Germs? Bare feet look oogy? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/24 "2005-07-28T18:27:03Z")
It’s a just a learned response that some think the bare feet is “wrong” in the workplace. It could just as well have been learned that it’s unprofessional not to dab mashed potatoes behind your ears before going to work. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/25 "2005-07-28T18:32:17Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > … It could just as well have been learned that it’s unprofessional not to dab mashed potatoes behind your ears before going to work. Well, that sure explains a lot of weird looks and promotions that I have been denied. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/26 "2005-07-28T18:37:38Z")
Don’t forget the gravy, too. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/27 "2005-07-28T19:24:34Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Don’t forget the gravy, too. Damn it! Rules, rules, rules. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/28 "2005-07-28T19:31:22Z")
What about cranberry sauce up the nose? Where do you stand on that? ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/29 "2005-07-28T19:33:33Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > From a public health stance? Germs? Bare feet look oogy? All of the above. 😃 I am grossed out by feet unless they are perfectly pedicured. And very few people have perfectly pedicured feet. There’s nothing worse than a thick-toenailed, callousy foot in a pair of sandals or barefoot. _barf_ ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/30 "2005-07-28T19:37:44Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > One of those circular logic things? I’m sorry did you want me to write an essay about the subject? Shoes off is casual. Is work casual?\* No. It’s work. It’s the opposite of casual. - I realize that some people have jobs that shoes off is fine. They are exceptions not the rule. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/31 "2005-07-28T20:01:31Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > I would recommend the Birkenstocks. They are leather and so look a little more like a “real” shoe, but you can just slip them off when you are in your own office or what have you. Also, you get a special bonus if you wear them with white tube socks. Lord knows I don’t want to commit any fashion fox passes. Should I get a matching purse for these? ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/32 "2005-07-28T20:02:06Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > Just get some little ballet-looking slippers–they’ve got them at asian import stores, or you can get a bit different version at the discount stores–and keep them at your desk. You’d only need to put them on to go walking about and there’s barely anything to them so they wouldn’t feel confining. > > I have to wear full shoes at my job since I work in a laboratory, but the second I’m into my car at night those little bastards go into my backseat until I need them the next morning. Shoes, especially in the summer, are the suckage. Or those swimsox/shoes. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/33 "2005-07-28T20:05:53Z")
Seems to me it would be a problem from a liability standpoint. For example, if they didn’t specifically say that shoes were required, you might stub and break a toe and sue them for pain and suffering. You’re not going to do that, of course, but legal minds have to work this way. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/34 "2005-07-28T20:12:36Z")
> [@Push You Down](#): > > I’m sorry did you want me to write an essay about the subject?.. Yes. I want an essay. In a case where an opinion is stated as if it were a law of nature, I think that this is appropriate. I thank you in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/35 "2005-07-28T20:15:11Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > …Should I get a matching purse for these? For the love of all things holy, no! With Birkenstocks the appropriate accessory is either a fanny-pack or one of those brightly colored draw-string shoulder bags. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/36 "2005-07-28T20:16:22Z")
I almost always kick my shoes off whereever I go. I hate shoes. So far, no place that I worked has cared… Sorry, no help, but I empathize. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/37 "2005-07-28T20:18:50Z")
What about some slip-on [Vans](http://shop.vans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?section=shoes&catalogId=40000000002&storeId=2&productId=654&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=4003&gender=76&mainPageCat=mens&mainNavCat=1&mainNavSubCat=1&mainNavDept=1111&shopperGroup=null)? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/38 "2005-07-28T20:31:09Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > For the love of all things holy, no! With Birkenstocks the appropriate accessory is either a fanny-pack or one of those brightly colored draw-string shoulder bags. :smack: What was I thinking? Can I keep carrying around my Starbucks cup? ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/39 "2005-07-28T20:34:17Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > …Can I keep carrying around my Starbucks cup? Ooooooh. That’s iffy. Do you have a locally owned café that you could choose to support? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587/40 "2005-07-28T20:56:39Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > There’s nothing worse than a thick-toenailed, callousy foot in a pair of sandals or barefoot. I don’t know, I think getting skullfucked by a flaming rhino would be worse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooz/314587.md?page=3)