Bare feet in public (stores, bars, malls, etc.): What do you think - sexy, comfortable, inappropriate etc.?

Question

What do you think about those of us who enjoy going barefoot in public? I'm just asking about the impression you get, so do not say it's illegal because of health dept. reg.s, or because one can't drive barefoot legally. It is perfectly legal
http://www.barefooters.org

Bare feet do NOT "smell" if they have been bare for a while. SHOES make feet stink! Also, you first few answerers should read the material on the link I provided - so you can LEARN something!

Bella, people who go barefoot constantly do NOT get fungus. People who go barefoot in a locker room and THEN wear SHOES get fungus, as fungi thrive in warm, damp, dark environs.....READ the material at barefooters.org before making an ignorant statement PLEASE. I don't mean to be harsh, but I get tired of the myths being propagated!

LuluBelle, I am a man who takes VERY good care of my feet!

Joseph, I live in Texas, and IT'S NOT ILLEGAL TO DRIVE BAREFOOT!!!!!
Read up on it PLEASE!

Bollywood, I go barefoot in Nature as well as in Urban environs. Nothing bad has ever happened to me, and my feet are quite healthy and attractive (according to many women who have complimented them).Also, the vast majority of the surfaces one encounters in urban space have their counterparts in nature somewhere.......

pogogod, the reason those people's feet are "nasty" is because they have been deformed by shoes.

Melissa K, I asked to get an answer concerning an impression, not false lectures or myth spreading. And btw, sometimes the sh*t DOES need to be stirred!

Answer 1

Okay, the asker provided a link but I do not think anyone of the answerers above actually visited it. So much bias, based on myths and unfounded fears. Going barefoot is really comfortable and healthy, there are NO health laws prohibiting bare feet in stores and restaurants, and driving barefoot is NOT illegal. Folks, please check the link and stop spreading myths. (Edited: ClassyGranny, this includes you, please *read* the link, there are NO health codes prohibiting bare feet in the US. It's also interesting that in other countries people rarely believe it's unhealthy or unsafe; only the US has this bias. And I'm not speaking of 3rd world countries; here in the Netherlands, I have never seen a sign saying 'no shoes, no shirts, no service... not once, nor on my trips to Belgium & the UK. Not countries where health care is lax or behind times, really.)

Also, bare feet do NOT smell. 'Foot odor' is really a misnomer; it should be called 'shoe odor'. It's not the sweat itself you smell, but the substance created by bacteria breaking down the sweat in anaerobe circumstances -with little or no oxygen. This happens inside shoes, or sometimes underneath wide, synthetic straps of some sandals. A bare foot may sweat, but the sweat will just dry & be broken down without that typical odor.

Our skin is made to keep pathogens out, we're at very little risk to pick up any disease through our feet, unless we lick our toes or put our feet up on the table. We're far more likely to pick something up through our hands, because with our hands we touch surfaces many people touch such as shopping carts, stair railings, money, and then we touch our food (who's never eaten a single snack or cookie without washing up) and face (to scratch, lean on our chin, etc, etc) so the germs can find a way to enter our body. Germs on the soles of our feet will just sit there until we wash them off.

Hookworm is one of the few things that can enter our skin but it's been all but eradicated from the South since modern plumbing has replaced the outhouses, and never was a problem in colder climates.

Athlete's foot can get picked up by putting your bare foot down in a damp place where others have gone barefoot as well, but after you pick up the spores, they need the warm, dark and damp environment of a closed shoe to grow. On the well-ventilated bare skin, exposed to the sun & daylight, it just dries up.

Injuries are unlikely; when you're habitually barefoot, the skin gets very tough, much tougher than most people who wear shoes usually believe. I've been barefoot for ten years, I never divert my step no matter how much glass I see, and I get a tiny splinter maybe once a year. Never had a cut, never had even the smallest splinter indoors (edited for the next answerer: this includes when I got started, never had a worse injury than a *very* rare splinter, never had sore feet AT ALL, believe me or not it's the truth). And just in case, there's been a vaccine against tetanus since the 1920's, which everyone should keep up to date since there are other ways of catching it apart from stepping on something while barefoot.

Feet do not need support; a study of the rikshaw coolies in India from last century, when they still all ran barefoot all day rather than using bikes or motorized vehicles, showed they had very little foot trouble, and in fact had far, far less foot problems than Western folks with all their expensive shoes.

Going barefoot is very good for general health; I used to be sniffling, sneezing and coughing from early fall until late spring. These past ten years I've called in sick once (for all of two days) and even having a minor cough is rare.

Answer 2

o.k. all the nay sayers have a point. i wish that i could be barefoot more often. i hate shoes and socks. however, i could never walk barefoot in a public washroom or a bar, when i am at home i am barefoot all the time, indoors and outdoors. i think being barefoot in public is a little bit unsafe, what if there is broken glass you don't see, a crowded place and someone steps on your foot, or worse you step on a needle used by some heroin addict with H.I.V. too many risks to take...just wear flip flops. i have heard of barefoot sandals, they are just beads that you wear like thongs but your feet are still bare.

Answer 3

No, I have not wore it but it sounds cute. I live in Cleveland, Ohio so that outfit wouldn't be my top pick beacuse it's cold as hell here. The only thing that I don't like about the outfit is the fish net stockings. Do sheer or nude. Light eye make-up, with black eye liner and nude eye make-up. You don't want to over do it, you outfit is going to say enough. Then do a powerful red lip! Try to find a lip color that matches the shirt perfectly. Oh, and I hope that the shirt is a silk shirt like the tie. If it's not then it's not going to look right. ( Silk, Leather, & Cotton?) If I was "Other people" I would think " Yeah, that's a good effort to look cute but it's tacky" Also if your hair is long think, flips. The look is Janet Jackson. Good luck ( I would hate for you to "Break a Leg" in your boots) :) Also the Bra is a NO!!! unless you have a leather G-string too and you plan on giving it up that night. I wouldn't do it, your going to sweat and itch! And don't worry about what other people say or think, if you like it go for it their just haters! Just don't act the way you look. (I mean that in a good way)

Answer 4

I think it's gross, just because of all the nastiness you had to trek through to get into the stores, bars, etc. I think of all the crap I've seen in parking lots... filthy diapers, spit, vomit, decaying food, squished bugs, poured out sodas, cig butts... that is just not something I want my bare feet touching. I'm not saying I think barefoot people go and stomp on the dirty diaper, but you just don't know what was on that pavement 10 minutes before you stepped on it.

However, there's folks out there who find the sight of a dirty bare foot to be very sexy. So, do what you want. Doesn't matter to me one way or the other if someone else has shoes on.

Answer 5

I love barefootin' but only when I know the environment.

There are strains of staph and Strep out now that are resistant to antibiotics. An infected scratch landed me in the hospital for 7 days on 4 kinds of antibiotics. Rather be safe than sorry. People who have chronic health problems need to be cautious.

Answer 6

The no shirt, no shoes, no service rule that most places have is in place for a reason. It violates the health code. And even though it is illegal to drive barefoot, I have done that, because after an 8 hour shift my shoes are hurting my feet and I take them off as soon as I get in my car.

Answer 7

We get a lot of them in New Zealand. I don't really care, but a bit concerned when young children are running around bare feet in the middle of winter and there is potential that these kids might get hurt by broken glasses etc.

Answer 8

People who want to go barefoot can do what they want, I don't care. Personally, I would not do that because I worry about stepping on yucky stuff and I would also worry about my feet getting wrecked and not looking nice.


More details:
I like walking barefoot in nice grass and on the beach. When I'm asked if I would go barefoot in public I think of going to the grocery store, mall, library, park, etc. etc.
That totally grosses me out. Chewed gum, spit, barf, dirty diapers, doo-doo, and the list goes on.

Answer 9

I don't mind barefeet. I just hope nobody hurts their feet on glass or something like that. I usually wear shoes, but being barefoot is probably a comfortable alternative.

Answer 10

Depending on 'where' you are barefoot, it may give the impression of being unsanitary. If you walk in a public place where animals urinate, or people spit, etc. Just my opinion. I don't find it awful or a bother when others do.