Flip-flop etiquette

[VikingVagine]

Where do you feel it is acceptable to wear flip flops? Are they proper shoes or slippers?

DH made this face [buhmm] at me when I decided to weary flip flops to the supermarket the other day (it was sunny, I was wearing a skirt and light jacket). He said I might as well have gone in my PJs.

*Plantar fasciitis
I always get that wrong. :/

I have spent an inordinate amount of time in France (DH used to work there) and I was always surprised at how old fashioned and limited the women's shoe choices were.

The most common for the over 30 women were those lace up wedge kind of shoes. Really ugly IMO, but can't seem to find a photo on the internet! Anyone know what I mean?

Bonfire this was in France, but he says he would have made the same face in the UK.

He would love me to live in heels although he doesn't pester me too much about it. I am sorely tempted to buy him a pair of stilettos in his size and make him wear them for a day just so he can fully grap why I only ever wear them very occasionally.

this was a good read about needing shoes or feet hurting
nymag.com/health/features/46213/

from page 2 -- "One saleswoman I spoke to at a running-shoe store described how, each summer, the store is flooded with young women complaining of a painful tingling in the soles of their feet?what she calls ?flip-flop-itis,? which is the result of women?s suddenly switching from heeled winter boots to summer flip-flops. This is the shoe paradox: We?ve come to believe that shoes, not bare feet, are natural and comfortable, when in fact wearing shoes simply creates the need for wearing shoes."

flip flops are for the shower in the gym, the pool and beach only.
not good for feet and posture at all.

Having lived in them for 80% of year when abroad I go with wearing them whenever I want. It's bare feet he should worry about!

One of the things I miss most about living in Australia - having a pile of flip flops by the door in every colour, ready to slip on at any time

And I miss wearing them to work! No-one ever bat an eyelid, I mean as long as the sun's out and your feet are fairly well-manicured it's not even an issue. Feet just get a lot more air down under.

To be fair, it's a lot warmer down under. The climate here doesn't lend itself to wearing flip flops for months on end.

To be fair, it's a lot warmer down under. The climate here doesn't lend itself to wearing flip flops for months on end.

I am shocked that MissLofPubia some posters would sink so low as to wear £1 Primark flip flops. Have some decorum people and stick to the fancy Primarni £1.50 styles like I do.

MousyMouse - why are flip flops not good for feet? They don't give you bunions, or encourage toes to 'claw' which isn't good either iirc.

It's considered rude to wear flip flops in the city in France though, my DMum made that mistake in Paris one summer, had to dive into a shoe shop as she couldn't stand the glares directed at her feet!

Wearing flip flops on filthy dusty streets of London is gross.. you're feet are covered in all sorts of nasties. Beachwear only I am afraid.

Couldn't pay me to wear flipflops anywhere other than a beach or swimming pool, and even then probably under duress, I hate the things. (and OP's DH, if you're keeping a tally, I'm not British either so there might be something colouring my opinion there :o )

Not my problem what other people choose to wear on their feet in the supermarket though, but if I encountered someone in a more formal/professional setting wearing flipflops I'd find it odd. Don't think I'd think less of them for it or judge them but definitely odd.

Any open footed footwear is ok by me as long as the feet don't look manky. Every summer I see dry crusty looking feet with gnarled yellowish toenails, it's vile. It makes no difference if they are in flip flops, Birkenstocks, or any other type of sandal. If the feet are in need of an industrial sander to get rid of the hard skin on them, they should be kept firmly in closed shoes.

I only possess fit flops and uggs with a pair of trainers thrown in for the treadmill

I wear fit flops to work when it's not raining!!

I never realised that flip flops were so frowned upon. I wear Fit Flops in warm weather for casual wear. I don't wear them to work, but would go shopping in them.

I wouldn't wear them with a skirt and jacket! imo, they're really to go with shorts or casual trousers and tshirt.

re high heels - does he not know how damaging high heels are? bunions, corns, ankle problems, knee problems that may lead to a higher risk of osteoarthritis, changes to tendon and muscle structure, unnatural posture, back ache...

high price to pay for looking 'sexy', eh?

oh, that said, doing the claw toe to keep flip flops on is not that great for you either

And look what can happen when you wear them too often

I too like Joyce overcame my flip flop fear recently. I now live in them when the weather is decent.

I vary between £2 matalan, £10 topshop and £110 ugg ones... a flip flop for all occasions!

The pic I linked to was what happened to a woman who wore cheap made in China flip flops bought in Walmart...could SO easily be Asda or Primark though!

I would not wear them around horses, cows or anything large that enjoys mangling toes [bushock]

AwkwardMary - good grief, to be fair that condition can't be from wearing them too often . If you had that sort of reaction to an individual pair you'd stop wearing them pretty quickly!

I've worn flip flops since childhood, probably over a hundred different pairs - cheap, expensive, the lot - and that as never happened [bushock]

And I have lovely straight bunion-free feet [smug]