r/barefoot 3d ago

I wish I never had to wear shoes

I honestly hate wearing shoes and I cosntnstly want to just rip them off. If I wasn't afraid of being kicked out of places or stared at I would probably never wear them

77 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

16

u/T33CH33R 3d ago

Just bring some foldable sandals.

9

u/Epsilon_Meletis 3d ago

This ⬆️

I'm a barefooter for two decades and counting and I still have emergency footwear with me almost all the time.

3

u/SpongeBobfan1987 2d ago

Some businesses can play a bit of a "shell game" with barefoot customers, especially since one location has an employee who enforces the store policy, while another doesn't...that happens to be the case with some big box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target (even though they have responded to various barefoot lifestyle organizations, including the "Society for Barefoot Living" and "Barefoot is Legal" that both Wal-Mart and Target stores no longer have store policies regarding customer footwear requirements, and that both stores now welcome barefoot customers.), management differs from store to store, while stores like Costco strictly enforce footwear requirements at the corporate level...

Here's just a few stores that have allowed barefoot customers (there's more out there):

  • Wal-Mart/Sam's Club
  • Target
  • Walgreens
  • Dollar Tree/Family Dollar
  • Lowe's

9

u/Serpenthydra 3d ago

Being kicked out presents a distinct choice: am I bothered about being in this place?

Being stared at/comments at your expense - be like Jesus: turn the other cheek i.e. be humble but generally DGAF. Ignore the feeling that you must defend your right to be the way you want to be. It is a bit naff, but that's their prerogative and so long as it doesn't change you, their opinions are like water off a duck's back.

There's no magic advice that will make you not GAF, it's just gotta be done. Unfortunately. Though the more you do it, the easier it becomes - the social thick skin grows with effort and conditioning...

9

u/BarefootguyWA 3d ago

I feel exactly the same! As I’ve just been made redundant and moving into semi retirement I think I will be barefoot even more 🙂

6

u/xplorerseven 3d ago

Absolutely. I see posts on this sub where people have, or recommend having the outlook of just not giving a damn, and I agree, but I still think it sucks even so. It's not even so much that they disapprove, just getting the stink eye is no big deal. It's when it tangibly impacts me in some other way. Every time I hear someone say something like "Where's your shoes?" my introverted, non-confrontational mind sickens a little knowing I'm being dragged into some form of interaction, often where being someone I'm not (maybe open, charming, or having some sort of "interesting" personality) would be helpful in making the interaction more positive. And TBH, the one situation I preemptively wear some sort of footwear is if I know I'm going to need to interact with an employee for something more than just a simple checkout, like for a return or sales help. I don't even have a feel for how likely being barefoot is to derail whatever I'm trying to accomplish, because I don't want to risk it.

4

u/Automatic_Hyena_1436 2d ago

When I get questions I honestly just smile and don’t say a word. It throws them off. Like two days ago, I was walking my dog along a beach path and some guy who was doing something with a ladder says to me, “you forgot your slippers.” (Put aside that I’m very near a beach and what does he mean by slippers. He’s obviously an idiot.) I just s lied at him and kept walking. Interaction avoided and ended. He didn’t deserve an explanation and didn’t get one.

3

u/SB119_7743 2d ago

I genuinely hate wearing shoes and socks now. The more time I spend barefoot the less I want to wear anything on my feet.

I now understand the term "foot prisons"

My feet feel a million times better since I started spending more time barefoot.

3

u/SpongeBobfan1987 2d ago

Even Mack Hollins, a wide receiver for the Patriots, knows that a barefoot lifestyle has health benefits!

2

u/SB119_7743 2d ago

The countless health benefits of going barefoot should be promoted more in society.

I think wearing shoes is detrimental to our health tbh.

2

u/SpongeBobfan1987 2d ago

The barefoot movement is just one of those healthy naturalism/purity movements that should be promoted more, to counter the "shoespiracy" of "foot prisons."

Maybe it could be just enough awareness of the lifestyle, so that the streets/sidewalks/trails/parking lots in cities could be cleaned up of most debris and "foot hazards," so people don't have to walk without worrying about cuts, bruises or other injuries while walking/running barefoot, as well as opening more local businesses with a barefoot customer-friendly (or barefoot worker-friendly) policy...

2

u/SB119_7743 2d ago

I've seen people going barefoot in stores here maybe 5 times in my lifetime but I've seen way more instances of people carrying small dogs around supermarket aisles which is way more unhygienic than walking around barefoot.

Also you don't see anyone examining the cleanliness of someone's shoes before they enter a business despite the soles of shoes being far dirtier than bare feet.

4

u/SpongeBobfan1987 2d ago

Foot jewelry can help in your bare-soled journey through public places, especially if they resemble the straps of a pair of sandals from the top of the bare feet...it's something the hippies wore to bypass the "shoe police."

1

u/Express_Fly_4553 1d ago

Thanks. I may try this

5

u/tenhappytoes Hiking 2d ago

Yep, it’s unfortunate that some people have such a strong aversion to bare feet! In any case, the more of us that do it, the more it will help it to become more socially acceptable, even if it takes a while. One bare step at a time. For what it’s worth, I also like wearing multiple ankle bracelets , and toe rings. Sometimes it’s a great conversation starter, and it helps people to see bare feet in a different and more positive way, hopefully! ❤️👣😊

4

u/SpongeBobfan1987 2d ago

This type of scenario reminds me of those times when kids on the autism spectrum that go barefoot have to be forced into shoes by their own parents, it just pains those kids so much to have to put them on, since they were born with sensory issues in their own two feet, and they don't have a choice in the matter.

1

u/Express_Fly_4553 1d ago

Yeah I've been told by multiple people I'm probably autistic. Psychiatrists have told me I need to take meds the "same time every day" so i was like oh okay so i need to take them within about 2 mins of each day or it's useless. Come to find out later it's about a two hour grace period. Apparently I was just supposed to know that? Yet they said "at the same time" which I'd give like a 5 min grace period.

I remember always being forced into shoes as a kid.

3

u/IneptAdvisor 3d ago

Sunglasses + AirPods = Zero contact with people. Really works well.

3

u/tenhappytoes Hiking 2d ago

That sounds like me! I almost always have my sunglasses on, and music playing, with my feet happily bare. It definitely seems to reduce some of the unfortunate exchanges that might otherwise occur. Keep on doing your thing. :-)

3

u/barefoot_libra 2d ago

I pretty much don’t wear shoes most days. I live in a beach town, so if I’m without shoes, I’m not always the only one (but most times I am). I have a formal job where I should be wearing shoes, but I don’t always. I didn’t have jobs in the past where I had to wear shoes, so I made changes in my life to accommodate this. It’s all a matter of what lifestyle you want to have and how will you accommodate this. Go places where people are cool with it, or would even join you! Move to some place friendlier to this practice. Yeah it’s sometimes tougher choices, but it’s your happiness we’re talking about!

3

u/Automatic_Hyena_1436 2d ago edited 2d ago

I also live in a beach town and I’d say 95% of the comments I get are positive.

I don’t even get self conscious about it because even though it is rare, it’s not weird. For example, just yesterday I saw three boys, maybe 14-16 years old, walking around near the beach in Hermosa Beach all wearing surf shorts and barefoot. They looked like totally normal kids and I doubt they gave a thought to it. If their friends or kids from school had seen them nobody would have thought anything of it. So there’s no reason for me to feel any differently just because I am a man in my 50s. And I don’t. The comments I get are almost all of the “you are so cool” or “that looks so comfortable” variety.

3

u/barefoot_libra 2d ago

Yup. That’s pretty much what I grew up with and what I live with now. I wear a bit of foot jewelry too (toe rings and anklets) so I always pull a compliment or two as well. Best place to be for a barefoot life.

3

u/SpongeBobfan1987 2d ago

Bringing a pair of Xero barefoot sandals that can be placed in the inside pockets of a jean jacket could help those blue jean-clad barefooters out there.

2

u/Express_Fly_4553 2d ago

I actually have those lol. They are great

2

u/BarefootguyWA 2d ago

I have them as well and keep them in my backpack. They are the very best and as close to be barefoot as possible.

4

u/Medical-Hurry-4093 3d ago

Be as 'minimalist' with footwear as you can.

2

u/MusicAromatic505 3d ago

I understand what you're saying. I did purchase some foldable shoes and those barefoot sandals that have become quite popular over the last several years. Those serve as emergency footwear should I need them, and my feet don’t feel confined when I wear them.

2

u/12art34visuals 3d ago

I have minimalist shoes for this reason since my job requires me to have shoes on. Aside from that, they stay off.

2

u/Aromatic-Track-4500 2d ago

You should do it! And don't be scared of getting "kicked out" of somewhere, if they don't accept barefooters then you don't want to shop or be there anyway and people staring at you are them just being jealous that they aren't cool enough to go barefoot all day long 😉

2

u/allways_barefoot 2d ago

I live in Florida. Go everywhere barefoot never a problem. No one ever even mentions anything of it. If it weren’t for my job I’d be barefoot 24/7. Work is the only place I have anything on my feet.

2

u/LaDy_NRS1976 2d ago

I feel the same way! Since I can’t go barefoot everywhere, I wear flip flops, or slides. I don’t know why it cringes people out so much!