Socks?

I've read all the replies, but I still like to walk around outside in socks. Yes, socks are a form of soft shoes; yes they cover my total foot. No, they don't cramp my toes, shoes do that. If I wear socks without shoes, my feet don't get too hot or stinky. I don't mind getting the soles of my socks dirty; they usually last me 2 or 3 outings. Light-colored socks help filter out excessive sidewalk heat, reducing it to a comfortable warmth.

Sockfooting outside can be contagious. One day I was walking in my white-socked feet on a street. A girl behind me asked me where were my shoes, I told her I didn't want to wear them. She said, "I want to be like you"; I said, just before going into a store, "Fine, be like me!" When I came out a few minutes later, she had taken her shoes off and was walking in her pink-socked feet. We walked together for about a block; it was all I could do to avoid touching her toes with mine!

The next day I was wandering in socks around the market. A vendor noticed me and after chatting with me for a while, kicked off his sneakers and stood on the pavement in his gray-socked feet. That lasted only a few minutes, however, he soon put his shoes back on. He said he usually wears sandals or goes barefoot in the summer, even on the job.

In a park another time, a bunch of impromptu musicians were playing. I was in my socks, a girl listening had taken off her high-heeled shoes and stood on the ground in her black-stockinged feet, and one of the musicians was barefoot. Later, I played hacky-sack in socks with a bunch of others who were all wearing shoes. They said I too should wear shoes, but I felt I played better without them. Another guy (black sock-footed) who was not playing said it doesn't really matter whether you wear shoes or not to play hacky-sack. Shoes cut me off from the feel of the earth; without shoes I feel in spiritual communion with it, even with socks on. Other times I have talked other people into being SF outside, even if it was just for a few minutes; I have spent whole days outdoors SF.

Yet another time I was at a tarot card reading, with a girl who padded around on her blanket in dark brown socks. Her sandals were well hidden under a shawl or something. She had kept her socks on because (she said) her feet were dirty. She had been like that all day, she said, and that she found shoes very confining. She and I were sole mates: I had been wearing sandals; when I sat down on her blanket, I slipped them off and was barefoot. That, she told me, was a hopeful sign, that I could relax and be myself without worrying about things. After the reading, she said she felt powerful forces acting in my favor. I told her I could not feel them, and needed her to transmitt them to me by some form of physical contact. I asked her to touch my toes with hers. She did so, keeping her socks on, while I remained barefoot as long as possible. We sat wiht our toes touching for a long time, and eventually I felt the forces she mentioned washing gently over me, as she said they would.

 

Uh huh... I never knew how important 3mm of fabric could be...

But seriously, just go barefoot. It's better.

 

What a waste of socks. I hope you don't do that often, if they wear out in 3 outings.

 

Yes, those 3 mm of fabric are important to me; I'm much more comfortable with it than I am BF. Socks act as a cushion, keep my soles clean, and filter out excessive sidewalk heat, all without the confinement of shoes. Wearing socks, I can also get into some places I'd be stopped if I were BF.

I go SF outside a LOT, usually wearing 2 pairs of socks. The inner pair is white, the outer usually white with gray or black bottoms. The inner pair is usually crew length if I'm wearing jeans, or quarter-length if I'm wearing shorts. The outer pair is usually ankle-height. Yes I wear out a lot of pairs of socks, but they're cheap. I do see the odd sole mate, even the odd girl walking outside in stockings, sometimes carrying her shoes, sometimes with no shoes in evidence.

 

Hm, well, whatever floats your boat I suppose. Still, it doesn't make much sense to me.

 

why not just get some moccasins? You won't waste so many socks, your feet will probably be cooler (two pairs of socks would be hot on my feet, anyways), and you still have the soft sole.

 

Been there, tried that, didn't like it much. My feet are still cooler and more comfortable with 2 pairs of socks and no shoes than bare feet in moccasins.

 

Other people have researched it: http://web.archive.org/web/20030618105020/http://www.urbanlegends.com/legal/driving.barefoot/driving_barefoot.html

It's a good idea to look this kind of stuff up, especially if it's about a topic like barefooting, where unfortunately the number of myths is far greater than the number of actual laws & regulations against it.

 

haha socks, no socks, shoes on shoes off there all cool to me just depends on how im feelin.

But Toe Socks ROCK!!!

 

haha, socks and shoes are close collaborators, got get rid of them in same time or keep both.

 

I'm afraid that I am in the minority here. I'm quite uncomfortable without socks on my feet. The only time my feet are bare is when I shower and on occassions when I'm on sand at the beach. Even, then, I don't enjoy it. I cannot enjoy the touch or feel of my bare feet against the floor, be it indoors or out. I'm not used to it and I don't know that I'd ever get used to it. Aside from hurting, the dirt turns me away from the idea all together.

 

Well, your feet, from being deprived of any sensation other than the inside of a shoe, are just super sensetive. Your feet, having very little to feel, has increased the nerve ends in your feet. This is so you can balance. But if you walk around barefoot, these nerves eventually decrease because they aren't needed. After a time it wouldn't hurt much, and even starts feeling good.

And as far as dirt. When was the last time you washed your shoes? Think of the bacteria and fungus that live, that THRIVE, in warm, moist, dark places with lots of skin cells, sweat, and oils to munch on. Then consider how often you wash your feet, and the fact that dirt may look dirty (duh) but it isn't generally contaminated.

 

I don't think that's quite accurate. Nerves are not going to decrease by going barefoot, and to say they aren't needed when you go barefoot is a misconception. Just because you get to where you don't notice something that would have been painful before doesn't mean your nerves have decreased. Your nerves in your feet actually become more alive, more able to discern what is harmful and what isn't, more able to feel the terrain. At the same time, of course, the soles of your feet become tougher and more resistant to trauma. The nerves of feet that are constantly enclosed in shoes have little use, and in effect become somewhat atrophied. And so when feet like that are suddenly subject to actually feeling something other than the inside of shoes, the signals sent to the brain are hyper-sensitive and confusing. That's what CasinoRoyale is feeling.

You're absolutely right on point here. I agree.

 

I like socks, sometimes. Shoes hurt my feet, so I'd prefer socks, but they still stop my feet from being bare and getting to feel things.

 

I absolutely hate socks. I may own about 5/6 pairs at best. I wear them when I work because I wear workboots. If I am not working, I am barefoot.

Flip flops are probably the only shoes I wear when I am not working. Therefore no socks are involved there.

 

I never wear socks. I work as a bartender so I can wear high heels and such without socks. I dont wear shoes or socks anytime other than that.

 

i don't even own any socks

 

everyone had such gret replys idk what to say

howabout this, i wear socks when i have too usualy at work i am beatfoot but it has been -15 here for a week and idk how you guys do it but i took 3 steps out to my mail box in the 2 feet of snow at -15 and i couldn't feel my feet anymore SOOOO cold so i have had to wear shoes ( i wear slipons that i disinfect every day ) with thin dress socks cause the shoes hurt w/o socks (were talking like nylon thin dress socks almost feels barefoot almost)

but if the temp goes up around like 30 above ill be back to bearfoot

edit : its slightly warmer and i been going in flipflops on the snow