Fake flip-flops...interested?

okay - I'm new to the forum - but not new to runnin' around without those nasty boxes on my feet, those things that make y'all uptight. Been a progression with me, sandals, then flip flops, driving barefoot, then flip-flops year round, then barefoot in the summer, but...

There are still a lot of uptight people in the world, epecially when you travel. there must be something wrong with that barefoot guy - that's what the cop told me earlier this summer - thought I was homeless!

So...

Ever since the cop harassed me and hating shoes as much as I do, I've been busy perfecting fake flip-flops (FFF's). They look JUST LIKE a pair plain ol' barely there flips...except there's no sole. nada. With a pair of pants on, NO ONE can tell that you're barefoot! the illusion of flip-flops is enough to keep the barefoot police at bay, 'cause by the time they've figured out there are no soles to your FFF's - you're gone!

With them on, i've literally been across the country in all sorts of places, doing all sorts of things. this past week, I was in Portland; walked all over the city, went to bars, stores, restaurants, etc - not just fast food places, either. Was kinda neat to sip a pomegranate martini in a high-end sushi resuarant and be able to feel the texture of the floor for a change. As you already know, being barefoot is soo liberating - like being able to see or hear for the first time; being able to go about without some old hag getting on yer case 'cause you're shoeless makes it twice as nice - and my feet stopped hurting, period.

It's been waay harder than I first thought to arrive at something wearable, I'm on my third re-design as I type this. I've got a pair now which are amazingly comfortable, but I'm afraid they'd wear out too quickly, so I've ordered up a bunch of new materials to test.

I think I'll have sorted out durability issues by the end of the month, and will B permanently shoeless shortly thereafter. I'd like to share what I've come up with, so I'm floating the idea out there to see if it makes sense to make them available to other barefoot fans.

Lemme know whatcha think.

thanks!

 

Sounds interesting….Why don’t you post some pics in your photo gallery

 

I think I will when I get the next design iteration worked out; the ones I have now are starting to look a little frayed. I tried using Latigo strips like the Barefoot Societly recommended, but they're nearly a quarter-inch thick - about twice as thick as the current pair. will be trying a series of thinner straps next week; will post up results then.


Besides - I'm a little embarrased about the material of construction on this set - I started with a old cheap belt in the back of the closet!

That's what freaks me out - I know where the material came from, and it's good enough to fool the hostesses of high-end restaurants.

 

Awright - I'll letcha see.

Please note these are prototypes:

 

that is awesome. I am thoroughly impressed.

More-so, why didn't I think of this?

 

thanks!

it takes getting harassed while you're mining yer own bidness to come up with something new. That scar on my big toe, BTW was from laying my bicycle down wile barefooting it 1st week of June. thought I'd need a skin graft, but it's coming along well.

I've been in doctors offices and hosptials wearing these - I figure if someone was gonna complain, it'd be a doctor, right?

 

Way cool!

Do they wrap around your heel? Can you show all of us the entire strap?

 

I like those! I wouldn't mind getting a pair (or two, or three) for those occasions when I'd like to be barefoot in public and cannot, for whatever twisted reason the shoe police have.

 

I'll show the whole schmeer after I get them sorted out. I've tried several different materials and configurations to get them 'right'; i'm still sorting out the toe pad configuration...it's got to be thin - but stiff - and not float around.

Same for the strap which goes under your arch - too thick and it's uncomfortable; too thin and it floats around on your foot.

Added bennie of the under-arch strap - you know how hot ashpalt gets down south? The strap keeps yer tender bits off the pavement - like rolling to the outside to prevent blistering, 'cept the strap does it for you.

 

gonna have to pass... but i'm sure others will.

 

Only thing with me is, I'm never in long pants! Or if I ever got driven to wearing long pants, it would be in the sort of severe cold where there's no way even I would allow my feet bare.

If you can convince me these work with the relatively short shorts I habitually wear, then we can talk seriously about this!

 

You should try making some fake Chacos or sport sandals out of that stuff used on backpack/shoulder bag straps.

 

hi relaxed, they look great with jeans. they will definately fool the shoe police. however, as cool spruce stated are they effective with shorts. i prefer to keep my feet bare but, i would like to go to my favorite sushi restaurant and other places that i must pull out my damn emergency flips.

i am looking forward to see your results.

 

the next round of materials came in and I'm gonna give it a whirl here shortly and will post up results.

I can eat barefoot in the sushi restaurant on Green Street in Key West no prob. it's when I get up to those stuffy northern places that I need to fool 'em. I have a pair of e-flops, but it's much more interesting to pull one over on the shoe cops with fakies.

 

how did you make them?

 

I've just completed the second, more durable version - but I'm not happy with the toe strap. Got the bottom part down, but the top part is a tad uncomfortable. Once I get this issue straightened away - I'm gonna ask for a volunteer to try out version 2.1.

Leather straps, black. I'll have pix up this weekend.

 

I think they will - keep cheking here for the full monty...

 

I'd love to be your first volunteer. Folks round here are actually a little to weirded out by my barefootedness. I actually tried to make these things myself a few months back. I took the straps off an old pair of reef flip flops and sewed some elastic bands to form a loop that I could wrap around my foot. In the end it just didn't work out and I resigned myself to forever be forced to wear flip flops in most public places. But you give me hope now.

 

i would wear those! i was born with club feet (when youre born with your feet bending inwards) its been corrected since i was little but no shoes i wear are comfortable but flip flops and even those bug me sometimes. i think those are a great idea! ingenious!

are you planning to sell these?

 

Yeah - I'l like to sell them - eventually after the bugs are worked out. They've got to be comfortable, durable asnd fool the foot police. I'm doing pretty good with what I'm running right now and will try to get pix up shortly. I'll need a couple of volunteers of different foot sizes to understand how to lay the patterns out, then you've got to commit to wearing them out in puiblic to gauge reactions. So far - no prob everywhere I've been, although a few folks have noticed, but have not said anything.

Cost may be an issue - the right thickness leather strap ain't cheap, and the poly strap just doesn't hang right on the foot, wanting to slip off on the outside. Leather seems to be the material of choice.

More here later.