No-shoes idea for this summer

Just found this site and it's nice to have someplace like this. Been having fun reading all the older posts.

Since I busted my ass in school for the past year I'm going to be taking the summer quarter off. During the time I had off between summer and fall quarters last year, i set an all time record (for me, at least) of going barefoot for five days. Of course I didn't go too many places because I'm still a little nervous about going barefoot. But next month I'm thinking about really committing myself to breaking that record. The idea i'm kicking around is once all the cold weather is done and over with, is that i'll throw away both pairs of shoes i currently have and all of my socks and not replacing them until the end of august. This is the best way i can think of to get over my fear of being barefoot in public. It would really break my five day record since I wouldn't even own any shoes or socks for three months.

It's just an idea at this point. i'm not a hardcore barefooter or anything. i just think it's fun going places without shoes because i feel like i'm getting away with doing something that i'm "not supposed to do," among other reasons. i'd be interested in hearing any opinions on this, but especially from people here who might consider themselves to be "casual barefooters," for lack of a better term, who don't go barefoot every day. there's a pic on my profile page of what i would be seeing when i look down every day this summer if i did go through with it.

 

Welcome. I'm no hardcore barefooter either, I do it when the mood strikes me and the weather is pleasurable. The feel of what you walk on and the doing something you're not supposed to do, make it a superb feeling. I'm still nervous in public too, but there is really no reason to be. Most people don't notice and those who do usually don't care. I've had store employees notice me but never said anything to me. I've been told to leave a store once and they were nice about it, but I still just walked out and put shoes on because the next store selling what i needed was quite far away. Younger kids tend to bring it to attention if they notice, since they don't know to keep anything to themselves yet. But for the most part no one really cares, so whats to be nervous about. You don't even need shoes when you return to school, I have left class with my sandals in my back pack, no one ever cares.

 

I hear what you guys are saying about there being nothing to be nervous about. No one has said anything to me when i've gone without my shoes. Did get a few looks, though but thats not really that big of a deal. I guess the part about being afraid of going barefoot in public is kind of an overstatement on my part. Maybe thats all part of the doing something that i'm not "supposed" to do thing. I was reading on one of the old posts where someone mentioned that they almost felt naked when they went outside barefoot. I think that might be part of it too, because i'm fairly modest by nature. Hell, i don't even really like wearing shorts unless the weather is really hot.

 

I go barefoot most of the time,but not 24/7...it just depends. I rarely get any looks in stores...I think most people are so caught up in what they are doing,they don't even notice.

I agree with what Blackie said also....if you are confident,then no one will notice. I am used to going with no shoes...so I walk right into places and go about my business. Once you get used to it,I think other's notice less.

 

Being nice and speaking first helps. I hardly ever get negative comments or remarks I think it's because I appear to be kind and considerate. If you want good service be a good customer. On the rare occasion someting is said about me being barefoot I expect to be treated politely. if not they'll get a lesson in customer service. No one should ever have a bad retail experience due to their footwear choice.

 

It might be hard to do this but not impossible. The thing is you might get thrown out of stores ad soemtimes you can go to another but I have been thrown out of 5 so I am running out of stores.

It might make a differnce where you live too. May I ask where you live?

If you try it out let everyone know how it went

 

I think the law needs to protect barefoot people so that storeowners cannot deny customers service simply on the grounds that theyre barefoot. The "take your business" elsewhere approach works sometimes when you have a handful of places you can go to shop and probably find one or two that might accept you barefoot but if you must go to a mall or on a bus and there is only one or two of those in the whole place and they both deny you because youre barefoot then youre stuck, thats why the law needs to protect the customer so that businesses cant just kick people out simply because they have some hangup about bare feet. Its an unecessary annoyance to have to try and go somewhere else to shop just because a store owner wont take your business just because youre barefoot, thats kinda silly.

 

I agree but damn it would take a lot of people to move this government. The only way this is ever going to happen is if barefoot becomes a sort of norm or even a fad then I believe things could change but I just think that is probably very far off if ever.

We saw that guy sue his library for denying him and he lost so without a lot of people we don't stand a chance.

 

I live in columbus, ohio. For me there is a sexual componant here as well. Going barefoot or seeing others barefoot is a bit of a turn on to me. I came up with the idea of throwing away all of my shoes and socks when I thought about how I would feel if I didn't have any. The first word I thought of was "helpless" because I'm still a little new to going barefoot. For some reason I get aroused when I feel that way.

 

Well, I live in CA which I would think to be BF friendly and have run into a lot of hassel. If you try it out let everyone know how it went.

 

Alec, I was your neighbor for many years, as I lived in Cleveland and Akron. I've always wanted to throw away my shoes and socks, but employment and those darn Northern Ohio winters made that an impossibility. At the present time, I own only two pairs of closed toes shoes and a few pairs of socks. When living back in Ohio, I started reducing my amount of shoes and socks by throwing the old stuff away and using what was left only when really necessary.

I can understand the turn on, because I too enjoy going barefoot and especially love seeing others forgo the shoes and socks.

 

The only place I've ever been told to put my shoes on was in a nightclub (and this was only last week). I'd taken them off because they were getting uncomfortable, but was asked to put them back on because there might be broken glass, whatever, on the floor. Makes sense. And being in the condition I was in at the time (hammered) I wasn't really thinking of that