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I used to go through ebay and Poshmark on a daily basis, looking for the next big thing. I realized this morning that it has been a long, long time since I've bought any new shoes. I looked it up, and it's been over six months. I have several items that I'm watching, but I do not feel the desire that I used to. I suppose that's a good thing in many ways, but it does mark a severe shift in buying habits. It also doesn't hurt that I've had zero shoe failures so far this year, which is nothing short of amazing.

I am just not a barefoot guy. A few years ago I was on a hike and my hiking boots were really giving me blisters, enough so I wanted to take them off. We were on a hike where the trail wound through the woods, but a slight walk away and you could take a paved road. I took off my boots and socks and started to hike barefoot down the paved roadway... on a day that it was not hot out and overcast, and even with cool pavement it was too rough for me to do barefoot. It was bad enough that I put my boots and socks back on and that was with blisters. My ex-wife, she would go barefoot anywhere and everywhere. I remember once on a New Years Eve night, her heels hurting her feet so much that she went barefoot. That included the walk to the car. I remember it well because there was snow on the ground and -20 below zero (F). Yes... THAT cold and she only had pantyhose on as she walked out to the car. Another time we were pouring concrete, and yep; off come her shoes and barefoot she went right into the concrete. A feat considering the caustic nature of concrete.

Okay, so walking on grating can be difficult, as could walking across a lawn after a four-inch rain, a sandy beach in high heels would be tough, but what about 4000 feet above a valley while walking across a slackline? 🙂 I realize this is an old video, but I did numerous searches on this site for "slacklining" and was surprised it had not been discussed before. I routinely work at height, but not at 4000 feet, nor are we allowed to walk the transmission lines, at best a ride in a helicopter, but most days just on aierial lifts. I cannot fathom walking the high-tension lines at all, much less in high heels.

As time progresses, the chances of a lawsuit based on driving in high heels or bare feet continues to decline. Why? Because nobody wears heels anymore, and nobody goes barefoot anymore.

How many police reports include an inventory of everything g the driver was wearing? Unless it was something spectacular, like you were driving home in your Folies Bergère costume, nobody is likely to notice

I happen to know somebody who's got a combined boot/trouser setup. I'll have to ask him whether he's actually worn it anywhere.

The problem here in the United States would be, not so much a police officer as it would be an opposing attorney. For just driving barefoot or in high heels... no, nothing would ever be said about it, or a fine levied. However, if you were to be in an auto accident and say someone was killed. If you were to be driving without shoes, or wearing high heels, there is a greater likelihood that the victim's family would use that as a determining factor at making you culpable. Especially if they had nothing else to pin their death on you for. Here we call it "leverage". The opposing attorney finds you did something outside the norm for driving, then would use that in a court of law to sway the jury. Most likely it would never get that far. It would be leverage used in mediation, but ultimately the car insurance carrier would cave and pay out the settlement.

Hmmmm. I still think the odds of anyone being taken to court for driving barefoot or in heels is vanishingly small. There would have to be some truly spectacular other factors and even then that would just be an extra charge thrown in for good measure.

The evidence offered by a police officer would be considered, with other factors, by the court. And the civil aspect is perhaps even more important in that any third party claim is very likely to involve consideration of apportionment of negligence, with a loss of control due to inappropriate footwear being a potentially key factor. It is by no means as trivial or clear-cut as you suggest. This from the AA: 'In 2010, the AA conducted a survey and found that 27% of people said their choice of shoes led to difficulty while driving. Around 5% went as far as to say their footwear caused them to drive dangerously, lose control, or even have an accident. Evidently, the kind of driving shoes you wear really does make a difference – no matter the weather or road conditions. You may be tempted during warmer months to drive without shoes. However, according to Rule 97 of the Highway Code, drivers should make sure “clothing and footwear do not prevent you using the controls in the correct manner." Failure to do so can result in fines or a penalty. Driving barefoot isn’t illegal, but it’s also not advised.'

That’s what I would have guessed too

Probably not combined boots and trousers. More or less the same rig as here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11090063/Paloma-Faith-wows-red-latex-trousers-matching-jacket-Brighton-Pride-Sussex.html

I first ran into it when I was talking with a truck driver and he said he was pulled over by the Weigh Wagons (police for trucks) and was told to get out of the truck. He said he went scrambling for his shoes because it was against the law to drive without shoes on. It was the first I had ever heard of a law prohibiting it. Later, as I researched the validity of what he said, I realized that it was untrue, but a VERY common thought. In the United States anyway, the Supreme Court has ruled that your vehicle gives you the same rights as your home. There are a lot of rights that are bundled with that, but one surprising one is that it is perfectly legal to be naked inside your car. Yep, no joke. Castle Doctrine also applies.

Oh so much fun. The novel I am working on now is also from the 1920's. The second of a trilogy but about an aviatrix of that era. She is not a flapper herself, but there are many in the novel... much to my main character's dismay. But like all of my novels, it is an allegory. I have written a few historical fiction novels and find them enjoyable to write. Challenging, but enjoyable in their own right.

I too am working on a novel - a black comedy crime story set in the 1920s. My heroine, a delightfully a-moral flapper, wears heels but only because it is naturally a part of her way of dressing. The only time the heels actually figure in the story is when she conveniently stumbles in them and falls in the way of a detective whose pursuing a crook whom she feels sorry for, tripping the lawman and ending the chase. Her breezy excuse that she just can't walk in these silly things falls on sceptical ears since she won a Charleston contest while wearing them only the previous night, but since she's also extremely rich, aristocratic and well-connected nobody is inclined to argue the point. The detective takes his fractured skull like a man and she goes on her way with an airy flip of a bejewelled wrist.

I only get regular polish on my toes, but I see some women that get gel on they toes. Maybe if you going on a tropical vacation with lots of walking in sand. You could start slow with a tint instead of pure color. Or you could go all out with glow-in-the-dark polish for Halloween.

I’m obviously gonna encourage you to at least give color a try. If it’s not your cup of tea, it’s simple enough to undo. And a tip - even wearing openly in the summer, I don’t get gel or acrylic on my toes, and the color holds up nicely through my nominal one month pedi cycles.

In the days before vacuum assisted brakes, I could see an argument for requiring footwear while driving, but even that is a bit of a thin argument. Unless there was something actually wrong with the brakes, they didn't require that much pedal effort. @Shyheels, I look forward to reports of your 12 cm adventures outside the boat.

Yes but proving it would be another matter - virtually impossible and I can’t see a public prosecutor being interested in pursuing a comp,I aged and likely unprovable case … for what?

I think we agree that walking on pillows is not the way to go, probably for anybody. Beyond that, yes, I also agree that each person has his own physiology, and therefore has a different solution to each issue. Not unlike the crafts and the trades. Each person has her own way of building something or fixing something. As far as the barefoot thing goes, I enjoy wearing heels too much to worry about going barefoot so much. I have had to walk home barefoot a couple of times when I experienced catastrophic shoe failure. I can remember wishing for a sign I could carry, saying "My shoe broke." I wouldn't feel that awkward if I were carrying tennis shoes or something, but carrying heels has a stigma to it.

There is no specific UK law that prohibits driving barefoot, or in any particular type of footwear such as stilettos or flip-flops. But it would not be difficult to frame a charge on the blanket basis of 'failing to control' a vehicle properly if, following a collision or other motor accident, it is alleged that particular footwear (or the lack of it) caused or contributed to the lack of control. There have certainly been instances where individual drivers have been challenged by the police when wearing e.g. skimpy mules, high heels, heavy boots or wellies. Let's be honest, all of those footwear choices can prevent full pedal sensitivity and control, especially if wet or muddy.

Thank you! I’m quietly excited. You and @mlroseplant have both been huge helps and great influences

The rumor that driving barefoot is illegal also goes around in Germany, I don't know why. @Shyheels Great! Seems the day of wearing them to the cafe is getting closer and closer.

Back to the high heels challenge: I've been continuing to make good progress in my 12cm boots. It's even more fun now to drop down to the 10cm ones, which I can handle - at least in my indoors practice area, with something close to aplomb. With an eye to one day soon trying out my 12cm stilettos my venturing to a cafe, I rather boldly ordered myself a very nice pair of chocolate-brown leather trousers. They were boot cut and so would have obscured the shafts of my boots but they looked smart in the photo so I ordered them. They arrived yesterday, and while I liked them, they were also really baggy in the lower leg, well beyond what I thought boot-cut should be, especially with slender calves like mine. So sadly they'll have to go back

Just as a follow-up, I did finish that novel and was able to rework some of the high-heel elements to it. It was not that hard. Having written 18 novels, one thing I do in all of them is have easter eggs. That is a literary term where a writer plants obscure hidden elements in a novel for readers to discover. All my novels have five easter eggs in them with one being a cheesy line. This harkens to the 1980’s where all movies had one, like: “don’t bring a knife to a gun fight”, “I’ll be back”. “Go ahead, make my day”. For this novel, being a real estate novel, it was, “hey, I close deals in heels”. Ultimately the story between the real estate agent and the code enforcement officer ended up being a convoluted one where the two had a relationship seven years prior. The result of that was a child together that was killed with the novel actually dealing with how the two dealt so differently from the grief of that loss. High heels did not play a huge role in this novel, but it had its place. A hobby aviator as well as a real estate agent, the main character’s brand… her way of differentiating herself from other realtors was in always wearing high heels and a fascinator, gleaning the look from her great-grandmother, and aviatrix from the 1920’s. A few times, because she always wore high heels things did not go smoothly for her, but then a few times, wearing them certainly did. Currently on this site there is a discussion about driving in high heels, well in this novel she was flying a helicopter in them!! Focusing here on the high heels aspect of it, it may not sound like it, but it is one of my best novels. Out of 18 novels written so far, I would put it at number four. Thanks for everyone's help on this site in letting me achieve that!!

I realize some of your notations and questions quoted are rhetorical in nature, and rightfully so. I am just not convinced there is an exact fit for all people and all types of feet. I am in no way being argumentative with you here as it seems for me harder insoles… whether added or are part of the original shoe itself, works better for me too. It’s counterintuitive I know, but harder insoles are more comfortable for many of us it seems. That is why it is frustrating to see the latest insole mindset by shoe manufacturers to be in having built-in pillows on everything. Well... maybe for some types of people and types of feet, but certainly not all. Being an online chatroom where we talk about shoes, I am probably not alone in this, but I am just NOT a barefoot guy, at least not outside. My ex-wife would and could work in a broken glass factory barefoot all day and not be uncomfortable, and was forever barefoot, while I could not walk across a mattress warehouse without wincing. But nonetheless my house is a shoeless house. There are other reasons for that, but my podiatrist said it is best to have proper foot support even at home and to wear supportive slippers, so I bought some but can’t seem to get used to wearing them in the house. I am not sure if that is detrimental to me or not, but at our house shoes come off at the door and its either socks or bare feet after that.