Shopping without shoes?? Are you a culprit??
By Sasselle
@Sasselle (698)
Australia
February 19, 2007 3:31pm CST
This has really bothered me as of late but ... do you/would you ever go out shopping without shoes on??
I'm talking about trudging around a shopping mall with just bare feet - no sandles, no socks, no sneakers, no thongs [flipflops for those non-Aussies].
I guess I could understand if it was an emergency and your shoes broke on the way into the mall and you were on your way to buy a new pair ... but i don't understand why people do it for their food shopping or just general browsing.
I would hate to think what sort of germs and things you'd pick up by walking around public places barefoot - well I would assume you'd pick up something.
Is it just laziness or some fashion trend that I don't understand? Hoping someone else can enlighten me.
[yes i realise that most people are having winter currently ... but would you do this in summer?]
9 people like this
37 responses
@DRoddy77 (1776)
• United States
19 Feb 07
NO, I would never do that! It's disgusting! I dont want to see other people's bare feet and Im sure people dont want to see mine! Plus you might step on something and hurt yourself badly doing something like that! Most stores require you to wear shoes before entering!
3 people like this
@Sasselle (698)
• Australia
19 Feb 07
Stores here say that you need to wear shoes too - but that doesn't mean that people do!
I started noticing this "trend" a few weeks ago when my brother-in-law went shopping and he always goes without shoes ... he says that his extremely long baggy pants he wears covers his feet up but you can still see some toes sticking out of the bottom.
I hate looking at feet anyway - they are probably my least favourite piece of anyones body. I'm not sure why this is.
2 people like this
@mikeyr6000le (2123)
• United States
20 Feb 07
I have enver seen anyone go shopping for anything without something on. I know in the summer time I just slip my slippers on to go do quick stuff. Sometimes I wear socks sometimes not, depending on the temp out and how long I'll be gone. Most places won't even let you in the door unless you have something on your feet. Especially food stores.
2 people like this
@sioux2u (176)
• United States
20 Feb 07
IM one of them people who run around barefoot HAPPY, i always run around as a kid with no shoes. i aways took off didnt like them, know you have to wear shoes to go into any store, but if i had my way i would never wear shoes, alot of people know me for wearing no shoes, who cares anyway we all have grems we get it from touching the shopping cart, door handle , but i do clean up every night. love being bare foot happy doing so,
@freak369 (5113)
• United States
20 Feb 07
Most places have signs that read:
No Shirt
No Shoes
No Service
Do people realize what is on the ground? Rocks, dirt, spit, bubble gum, needles, glass ... that's the short list. I hate walking around barefoot, sure, I have troll-like feet - but that doesn't have much to do with it. Ever step on a rock? Imagine walking around for a couple hours without shoes on when you are outside.
If I saw someone grocery shopping and they didn't have shoes on, I'd tell the manager. You have no idea what diseases they could have, I am talking foot diseases in this case. Eww, now I feel like I have to go take a shower! LOL
2 people like this
@retardedrugrat (4791)
• Canada
20 Feb 07
I've been known to check my mailbox in bare feet and also in the summer if I'm out in the yard, I'm usually barefoot. But I could never do that like at the mall or anything. The thought of what germs could be on the floor would terrify me too much to go barefoot.
I know of some people who go shopping in bare feet, and apparently, there are people who do it for the shock factor.
They can have their shock factor when they got some disease or something that they picked up by walking around barefoot. I'll stick to wearing my sneakers.
2 people like this
@Ridgydidge (558)
• Australia
22 Feb 07
NO Way, I could not, & would not wear bare feet out in public unless it was at the beach even then I look very carefully where I walk. I see parent letting there kids go shopping at the mall & local corner store without shoes on. There are too many things now broken glass, needles anything not even thinking of germs. Yuck.
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
20 Feb 07
That's gross. Who does that??!! I've never seen that. I guess because it's winter in Canada, but, I've never seen people walking through the mall without shoes.
1 person likes this
@katty0004 (386)
• United States
20 Feb 07
Know I don't think so , theres to much out there to step and cut your foot open and think about all them germs , just think if you had a cut on your foot and all germe would get in there talking about one bad infection .
2 people like this
@sehgalskapil (1332)
• India
21 Feb 07
no no no,,,,i'll never ever do this not in summers as well as winters.coz i just hate going out w/o my shoes.
1 person likes this
@doodlebug5250603 (1993)
• United States
20 Feb 07
I live in USA and you have to wear shoes just about everywhere you go. If you aren't wearing shoes, then you can't go inside the stores. That's just the rules. And i personally don't see myself running around shopping, and doing other things without any shoes on. Yuck!!! No telling what you would be stepping into.
1 person likes this
@cjthedog64 (1552)
• United States
20 Feb 07
I couldn't imagine doing that. Maybe at a little stand on the beach, but not a regular store. I've never seen a place that would even let you in without shoes.
1 person likes this
@Sasselle (698)
• Australia
20 Feb 07
I've never seen a place that will kick you out! I can understand the beach thing ... but i'm talking about major shopping malls that you would have to drive too! So there is no reason why you shouldn't have shoes on your feet.
'cos my brother-in-law is a dork ... he will drive with shoes on too the shop and then take them off before leaving the car - ewww
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
20 Feb 07
There is no way on earth I would go out in a public place without shoes - and I am an anti-shoe person. I walk in the door and the first thing I do is kick off the shoes, same at my family or close friends houses but never ever in a store or anyplace like that. Just think of the thousands of people who have been walking were you are going to walk and where were they walking before they walked there - yuk, germs, groose, nope, not me.
@lucie225 (157)
• United States
20 Feb 07
That is just nasty. I have learned over all the years that no shoes is not cool! There are too many "things" u can catch like ringworm and stuff. I don't like to see that either. Flip flops costs like 2 bucks around here so I donno why people insist on doing that. The worst place I have ever seen someone with no shoes though is the local health dept. which is not the most hygenic place in the world. EWWWWWWWWWWW.
1 person likes this
@cwgrlsarefun (1581)
• United States
20 Feb 07
I myslelf could never do anything like this. I have to have my shoes on to go anywhere, even if it is a pair of thongs or sandals it is still something on my feet. Don't get me wrong I do go barefoot at home and out in my own yard but when it comes to going to a public place I must have on my shoes. Not only do I think about the germs that you can pick up off of the floor but how do you protect yourself from getting cut or something if you don't have any shoes on your feet. Just at home I don't know how many times I have stepped on a tack or something without shoes on, I can not imagine doing this somewhere else and the chances of it happening would be greater as they are always stocking shelves and putting things out.
@jokerinthepack (116)
• Sweden
20 Feb 07
Haha. I don't think it's an impossible thing to do. I have walked downtown without any shoes on. My shoes hurt like hell so I had to take them off. It was very disgusting. I almost walked in spit and old chewing gum. But no, I would never walk around in stores barefoot voluntary, only if I really had to ... which I most likely won't have to.
1 person likes this
@Michele21 (3093)
• United States
20 Feb 07
No way, I would never do that, you never know what you might step on!! There are too many nasty possibilities of what is on the ground, I don't even want to think about it! I don't like it when people wear their house shoes (slippers)to the store, I think it is icky and lazy!!
1 person likes this
@eternalknot (26)
• United States
20 Feb 07
Well ... people who walk around barefoot tend to have tough feet, so they aren't as likely to be hurt by the same things that a softie shoed person might be ;)
I rarely wear shoes. I'm admittedly lazy, but that plays no role in my shoe habits. I'm admittedly unfashionable, so again ... not that.
My pigs just like fresh air! And I see little point in shoving them into ill-fitted fashionable contraptions for most of my day to day events :)
1 person likes this
@AuthenticPeach (283)
• United States
20 Feb 07
I've seen it but I didn't know it was happening that often. I think that is very unsanitary and hazards to your health. My friend stepped had on shoes and stepped on a nail and has to get surgery. What would have happened if he was barefoot? That crazy and nasty. I agree with you germs are every where. It's bad enough we have to open doors with our bare hands, walking without shoes in people and animal filth, I think not.
@nomascorporate (52)
• United States
20 Feb 07
That is unacceptable to enter a store without shoes! One would think the manager would send the person packing. These are the sort of folks that probably would try to file a lawsuit after stepping on something and hurting themselves - no accountability. You are correct, there are surely germs to catch. Nasty.
1 person likes this
