to expect host to let her party guests know that she has a no shoes policy?

First thing I do in someone else's house is take my shoes off.......I also advise people to wipe their feet on the way out if they are visiting mine 🤣🤣🤣

Because it was a formal party not a casual visit.

For a formal party I would expect shoes to stay on whatever the normal household rules.

I wonder if this was one of those occasions where the first guests were friends of host who followed the normal rules without thinking. After that the host doubled down on it.

If I knew or suspected in advance I'd wear slippers. But I wouldn't want to dress up posh in that case.
I really dislike going to other people's bathrooms barefoot or (worse!) in socks, you then end up wet and sticky for the rest of the evening.
In a party environment there is also a risk of bare feet and broken glass.

I think you've got that completely wrong, I was replying to someone else who was talking about it this being a class division. I said nothing about my class, (which as someone from abroad I find funny and watch from afar) was talking about the area I live in. As you've just demonstrated people get so touchy and worked up about imaginary divisions. Especially when they themselves have some chip in the shoulder. But please do continue to harass random people on the Internet. That's not vulgar at all. Ciao and ta-ta darling.

If taking your shoes off inside is such a norm in the UK, how do you explain Kirstie & Phil and their househunters touring potential homes with shoes on? Or Kevin McCloud, George Clarke, Tinie and Angela Scanlon going round the transformed homes on their shows with their shoes on?

If it was such a norm, TV makers would get them to take their shoes off so the viewer could relate to them. But in fact they keep shoes on because who wants to see a TV host in their socks or bare feet? Nobody. Same applies to a fellow guest at a party IMO.

I went to my friends house to drop of her daughter off today and while chatting inside by her main entrance I removed my shoes. My DD removed her shoes and went off inside to play briefly. Her son's friend was visiting and his shoes were at the door. It's just perfectly normal. I am not sure why people are surprised.

No one has yet said where all these shoes are left, is it a big pile where you hope to find both your shoes again or special holders or do you carry them with you all evening. It's not going to be like when a couple of people visit and they are left by the front door.

Dogs and animals still poo outside last I checked. It's still very unhygienic.

@SaltyGod It definitely isn't something most people will have to deal with, but it was more in reference to those saying they'd be horrified if a guest took their shoes off when going into their house and saying people who do so are weird.

I think it's personal preference, and if someone asked me to keep my outdoor shoes on of course I would, but I don't think it's strange either to not want whatever has been walked on outdoors brought into your house.

Could have been worse @JustABitOfUncertainty , they could have been one of the 'no outdoor clothes' households (I spend too long on MN) where you would have been expected to put on host provided loungewear if you hadnt brought your own.

@CamoPenguin

Yours is a valid but unusual reason for shoes off. I can’t imagine many of the party guests had been walking through lamb and sheep bodily fluid on their way to a formal party in smart clothes.

In your case of course it makes sense to take a spare pair of clean shoes with you.

Most folk are just walking from car to door, or from the bus stop.

I have some very wealthy friends - the only time I can remember keeping shoes on is when the party was outside.

I am amazed at how many people expect visitors to take their shoes off when they visit them at home.
I think it is incredibly rude & unwelcoming to do this and totally unreasonable in the circumstances outlined in the OP

I wouldn't dream of doing this unless people were wearing muddy boots/wellies.
I've reached an age where I don't give a fuck - I have and will leave if someone tries this on me.
I have reynauds and would be in pain within minutes if I wandered around without shoes on.

Charles with hole in the sock when visiting a mosque

There’s some strange fuckers out there 🙄

@eise Yes, these are more or less my thoughts. Especially now (lambing season) there is a slight risk to pregnant women, for example. Not everyone would know I'd been walking through the farm as I'll clean my shoes on top as we also wear slippers or socks only indoors, and I'd hate to bring that into someone's home.
I also live in the UK and don't know anyone who would walk into someone's house wearing outdoor shoes. Perhaps it makes me dreadfully common in the eyes of the MN upper classes, but I would ask someone to remove outdoor shoes if they wanted to wear them in my house. 😅

Really people? A formal party you expect people to take shoes off?
No. This is bizarre. And kinda gross. Bare feet on wood floors are far worse than 'outdoor' shoes.

Are people missing that this was a formal fundraising party for guests who were not friends of the host? I think that there is a huge difference between asking your friends to remove their shoes and asking it of people you don’t know and who you are hoping will give money to a charity/have paid a donation to be there.

It’s not an ‘issue’ but as this is the UK everything seems to be perceived as an indication of class 🤣

And if I had to call it, shoes off would be lower middle or middle middle, and shoes on would be upper middle or upper. I can’t imagine the Duke of Devonshire hosting a party of people in their stockinged feet. A Google suggests that the Torygraph, Times and DailyMail all agree, so it must be true.

It’s Mumsnet, it often boils down to class comments a few pages in.

I’d also be curious to know if those who are extremely concerned with microscopic bits of dirt, germs and animal poo dragged in on outdoor shoes have pet cats and dogs?

That's ridiculous, who makes people take their shoes off for a proper party? We are generally a shoes of household but I would never insist and don't expect it when we are hosting parties.

I’d probably assume shoes off as we don’t have shoes in the house either.

Definitely not a posh party. If they were truly 'posh' they would have hard floors and any wooden floors (real) would be covered in scratches caused by their dogs claws.
I wouldn't consider myself posh, but would rather eat my own hair than ask anyone to remove their shoes in my house. 😁

Why is class an issue? Who cares if someone is working, middle or whatever class? I don't think every upper middle class person insists on shoes on. The class system is so silly, and usually used to put people down on MN.

Well put 👏👏