Aside from health, comfort, and the overall freedom of having your feet bare, here are some more reasons to convince you that going barefoot is better over all!
Beauty
For some odd reason, there are many foot-phobes out there who simply get offended by the site of bare soles, and will actually convince themselves and others that the human foot is ugly and therefore should be concealed, which is nonsense.
The human body is in itself a miracle and a natural structure of beauty. The way we eat and breath, how perfectly placed our muscles are and are ablility to articulate them is a wonder. By exercising, eating a proper diet and making proper use of your muscles, you can maintain your body’s natural beauty. On the other hand, if you overeat, not exercise or use incorrect posture, you body loses it’s natural appearance, but with changing your diet and routine you can regain your natural structure.
While I’m not implying public nudity, which is illegal (although it would be awesome if it were legal – I generally wear only two articles of clothing, and some days in the summer only one), going barefoot is better,more beneficial and 100 percent legal.
Think about it. You don’t cover up your hands, and at the same time you need to maintain proper movement and positioning of your hands to prevent ailments such as arthritis. The same thing with your feet – by wearing unnatural footwear and suffocating them 10 hours a day, your muscles atrophy and physical disorders develop, whereas, by giving your feet and toes the proper exposure and movement for which they were designed, you can maintain their natural beauty.
And if you are already suffering from ailments from improper fitting shoes – start spending some of your day in bare soles. Your feet will regain their natural beauty and strength and will thank you for it.
Take one more look at the two pictures and now tell me what is more attractive!
Bare feet are cheaper, save time and never go out of fashion
No shoes, no socks, no stockings! Just bare feet! No need to spend all those wasteful hours trying to decide which shoes or stockings should go with which outfit. Not only do you save time and the energy that is wasted on indecision, you’ll cut out a huge chunk of your budget.
Fashion is expensive. The styles go in and out the average person replaces his shoe wardrobe at least twice a year. New job or promotion, time to buy a new pair of shoes to go with that suit. You’ve put on quite a number of miles on your sneakers – time for a new pair. Throw out those old worn out socks and replenish – one or two pairs of socks for each day. Is all this effort neccesary?
A woman has an even higher footwear budget. New outfit – need heels to match with dress and purse! Old heels get worn – take them to the cobbler or replace shoes. Summer sandal special -buy one pair – second pair half price! Winter time has arrived, go and grab that new pair of boots that are in fashion how ever uncomfortable they may be. Stockings – don’t buy the cheap ones – they itch. An expensive set of hose for each day plus a pair to carry around in your purse in case you get a run.
If you still have doubts about being fashionable, look at this picture of Jackie Onassis barefoot, probably the most fashionable First Lady in American history. I think if you asked her, she would agree that barefoot is better.
Natural skin color and bare feet go great with any outfit on any occasion. If you feel you need to have footwear for some occasions – believe me, I agree most of us need to throw society a bone every now and then – buy one or two good quality shoes that you can mix and match, along with a pair of flip-flops, and wear them not for fashion but only if you need to.
Since you will wear these shoes much less, they will last much longer. In time, you feet will become heathier and resilient to climate changes, and your skin will have a healthy appearence, eliminating the need for socks or stockings and of course shoes! I have shoes that have lasted me literally, over ten years and socks from when I was in high school in the 80’s.
And as with your hands, sometimes you’ll put on a ring, watch, or bracelet to dress it up a bit, spiff up your feet by either giving your toes a nice coat of color, or dress it up with an anklet, toe ring or a pair of soleless sandals, though I prefer the completely bare and natural look.
In the case of a man’s shoe, even though it is not as uncomfortable as a pump, the price is that the entire foot is encased and by default a sock. And for some reason, it is more oddly looked at is the ankle is exposed, but I say heck, let your foot breath! I must admit, I thought it looked kind of odd to wear a corporate or smart business casual outfit barefoot, but if bare feet may cost me my livelihood, I go sockless with a shoe that slips on and off quite easily and leave them off when the atmosphere becomes more relaxed.
BTW men’s fashion magazines, such as GQ frequently feature photographs of men wearing a suit sockless or even barefoot. It only takes a little bit of confidence and opening your mind to the fact that bare feet go with any outfit on any occasion and that barefoot is better. And if you want to be a bit daring fashionwise, slip on a toe ring or two!
It’s Fun
Going barefoot is truly one of my most enjoyable passions! I must confess, I am a complete addict when it comes to having nothing on my feet! The great thing about it is unlike other addictions, like drinking, gambling, and over-eating, barefooting is a positive, healthy addiction. In addition, it costs nothing!
While with some fun activities, the thrill tends to wear off after a few or many times, I never get tired of going barefoot. In fact going barefoot fills me with a sense of advanture to try new activities, such as hiking or running, as well feeling the different textures under my bare soles, whether it’s hardwood, concrete, or natural surfaces such as gravel and snow. At times I get to experience the joy of ice skating with my bare soles on a frozen pond.
There are always fun places to go as well, such whether local or distant. I must admit, I’m somewhat of an exhibitionist when it comes to my feet! I have a blast on those days when I leave my home without any footwear whatsoever. I go do my errands, visit people, stop at the coffee shop to work wifi and take the train into Manhattan.
The most fun time to take the train is in the winter. Because of the slush outside, the platforms get wet and almost instantly, my soles become totally black. I also like to wear shorts all year round – not just regular shorts, but cut-offs that cover only the upper quarter of my thigh. I’ll be sitting on the train next to or across from people – men and women alike all who are fully shod (shoes and socks or hose) or double shod (boots and double layer of socks) and I’m completely bare from my toes and soles all the way to my upper thighs. I cross my legs and people are doing double takes pretending not to stare at my blackened soles.
At the end of the week , I reflect back to how many hours I went straight without anything whatsoever on my feet, which are at times 48 to 72 hours. I would say on average during the summer months I have footwear on me for about a total of 6 hours per week and in the winter maybe about 10 hours – both cases it’s normally flip flops. Some shoddies consider flip flops to be like going barefoot, so in their point of view I’m a person who simply doesn’t wear shoes ever!
Confidence
Living barefoot in a primarily shod society is a great psychological test. Although it shouldn’t be, going barefoot freely in public is considered by others to be living on the edge. When you decide to go barefoot, it is almost like leaving a safe job or making other life changing decisions where you will always be met with some opposition, especially by the people closest to you – best friends, family, work associates- or in many cases and mine as well – your spouse. Further on in this site I will give strategies for adjusting your co-workers and others to your choice in lifestyle.
I love the challenge of finding new places to venture to in bare feet, whether they are restaurants, museums, building lobbies and corporate offices. I must admit that I’ve become more appreciative of that challenge. When I was a child, I would feel very uncomfortable if I was barefoot and the people around me were shod. It was only when I went to sleep away camp in my pre-teen years that I really started to adopt bare feet as my preference.
By the time I was in high school, I was barefoot more often than not. Fellow classmates taunted me, including girls who just a month before were baring their feet. Some wise guys on a few occasions, even took to hiding my shoes out of sight – which I didn’t mind at all since it forced me to go barefoot without having footwear around. I was actually quite disappointed after they got bored with the hiding, so I started hiding them myself!
I was actually loving the fact that from late October to almost early May, while every single person in the building students, teachers and staff alike, was fully shod (both shoes and socks or stockings), I was happily going about my school day with my feet fully bare. It seemed that nobody even noticed after a certain point. By the time I was in college, I was proudly barefoot anywhere and everywhere!
An often fun thing to do is starting a conversation with a man or woman in corporate attire, while waiting in line at the bank or in a wifi hotspot. Sometimes the subject of bare feet comes up and sometimes it does not.
Once I was running an errand to the bank and I spotted a lady in a business pant suit, closed shoes and black socks asking someone for directions to get to a store. I knew where it was gave her directions. After she thanked me, she looked down and exclaimed “OMG! Why are you barefoot?” I told her my many reasons and we walked down a few blocks as she periodically glanced down at my feet and shook her head in disbelief. The ironic part about it was that I was wearing my normal spring/summer attire, consisting of only one article of clothing – my very short cut-off shorts and no underwear, I was practically naked.
On another occasion, I was in barefoot in Starbucks in the middle of the winter and was looking for a table along with a girl who was there to do some work. Seeing there was only one table, she offered to share it with me. I was in my winter attire, jeans cut-off at the knee and of course my bare feet, which stood out in a fully shod crowd – the majority in winter boots. We worked and had a conversation at the table. I had one leg crossed over the other with my bare foot in plain view. We walked out at the same time and together about a few blocks and there was no comment whatsoever about my feet despite the fact that there was about a foot of snow on the ground and my bare foot prints alongside her boot prints behind us. In fact, after hearing that I was a computer consultant, she promptly took out a pen and paper and wrote a whole lists of small businesses to call.
On the subject of work, that has actually proved to be the biggest challenge to my lifestyle design. Since I decided for me that the best footwear was absolutely none whatsoever, this has to some extent challenged me in exploring my options as far as work. Sure it would be easy for me to go back to shoes and socks and the corporate rat-race where I spent about ten years, but then I would be falling back on the “security” of relying a paycheck rather than utilizing my full growth potential. I prefer the challenge and reward of living a barefoot lifestyle after all barefoot is better!
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