When I was a kid in the Chicago area, when we went out to play in the snow, sled, or ice skate, my mom would have us wear plastic bags (usually bread bags) between our 2 pair of socks to keep our feet warm.
I currently bike with my sister so long as the sun is shining and it isn’t too windy, and I still wear plastic bags to keep my toes warm. (Tho I have upgraded to gallon sized freezer bags.) Anyone else sport such fashionable footwear - either as a kid or as an adult?
A couple of seasons ago on a very wet ride on my dirtbike. My boots are comfy but leak like a sieve! Had 40 or 50 creek crossings on that ride…
Back in the 1960’s, I think. My boots leaked then.
Yes, I do remember wearing plastic bags under my boots, though only as a very young kid.
The article/story appears paywalled (by our parent company) now but I’d heard this story on the radio when it aired a few years ago. One person interviewed is a USPS letter carrier who recommends sock >bag > sock > boot.
10 years ago ‘thru hiking’ the AT when it got cold and was rainy, rainy for about a month 
I did do that for a day or so. Yes it helped however not appreciable so to continue.
It used to be standard winter hiking technique, VBLs (Vapor Barrier Liners) were either plastic bags or branded gear from hiking companies. As boots got better I stopped using them, but some folks still do.
Do Kleenex boxes count?
I’ve seen people wear plastic bags on the outside of their shoes. Never wore them that way or under boots or shoes myself.
I’ve done it several times when I got caught out without an umbrella and it started to rain, with puddles enough for it to be likely that my shoes would soak through and get my socks wet. I just tie them around the outside of the shoe.
I remember kids wearing bread bags in their boots when I was in elementary schoo(60s-70s). I was always very curious about that. At the time I had no idea why they were slipping their feet into bread bags before they put their boots on!
Back in my misspent youth, I worked for several years at construction. When it was bitter cold, my toes would get uncomfortably numb. I solved this by wearing two pairs of socks with a bread bag between each sock. This method worked great; when I got home and pulled off my socks, the inner sock was soaked with my sweat, but I never got cold feet.
My mom used to put bread bags on our feet before we put our boots on. Last time for me was grade school (maybe 3rd grade).
Bags over the socks but under the boots used to be standard livery for boy scouts when hiking in the rain or mud or snow. As boots and socks got better the instructions for bagging feet went away. Some scout leaders still recommend it, but it’s not in the official scout handbook. I personally only did it once but soon discarded them as they made my feet sweat. I suppose if we were hiking in really muddy terrain or a swamp or something I might do so, but we never did, so I never did. Now I’m totally removed from the BSA and don’t hike much anymore, so it’s not an issue.
I’d say it’s to allow the foot to slide into or out of the boot easier.
I’ve had pairs of leather boots ( engineer or western type-ish ) that were kind of tough to pull on until they were fully broken in due to the fact my feet have a high instep. I would take a small plastic bag, create an escape hole toward the toes area, place it in the boot, slide my foot in, gently pull the bag out. No trouble sliding back out really.
Late January. I messed up my leg, and my right ankle is swollen like a cantaloupe. I foolishly put my big rubber boots on to go do some work out in the snow. These are difficult to remove in the best of times.
Came in the house, boots caked in mud. No way was that thing coming off! Ended up having to wear shopping bags over the boot to keep from ruining the house with mud. Tried like hell to get that thing off. No Dice! Ended up having to drive to a neighbor’s house and have him pull the boot off. Fucking Humiliating!
I know that now. But as a little kid, it was quite a curiosity!
Well…I never.
I mean, really never.
I wear Crocs everyday of the year. Yeah, sometimes with socks. Don’t judge.
If it’s wet someday, I’ll try it. That will gross the Lil’wrekker out, bigtime! Imma gonna do it.
I used Galoshes to cover my dress shoes for many years.
It’s been at least 15 years since I saw them. I don’t know if they got thrown out or not.
I haven’t worn nice dress shoes in a long time. I’m not as worried about my athletic shoes getting wet.
I never tried bags over my socks. It’s a good idea.
Never needed for this Arkansan either. And I live further north for Beck. I’ve always either had boots that were water tight (with spray on waterproofing if necessary) or just didn’t go out while there was a problem.
In more northern climes, I understand the latter would be impractical. And I don’t know how long waterproof shoes and sprays have been a thing–a bag does sound a lot cheaper. Though it still sounds like you’d have to dry your shoes a lot.