Going barefoot is cool

I see this section of the hip forums and I think cool.I used to go barefoot
a lot in the 80's.
It's just people/society became so uptight so I started wearing shoes
all the time.Everybody used to go barefoot in the 70's/80's , it used
to be no big deal.
I never see people barefoot around Toronto anymore.It used to be
so common place ,the hot looking girl ,in her skintight jeans sauntering
along the street barefoot.The jock with no shoes,etc.Nobody ever
thought anything of it.
What happened?

 

I was a teenager throughout most of the 70's and it was commomplace for my peers to be seen barefoot during the warmer months. I remember some kids would just leave their shoes behind when paying a visit to their friend's house, in their bare feet!. There was one girl that took off her shoes and socks as soon as she got off the school bus and walked home barefoot, no one said a thing! Barefooting was cool.

Around 1975, (ok, a history lesson for some here) someone invented a tennis shoe with a waffle like design on the sole, named the shoe company Adidas. This new kind of tennis shoe replaced the P.F. Flyer, another brand of sneaker that is now reproduced today, known as those basic black and white tennis shoes. By the mid 80's, and throughout the 90's, the athletic shoe industry would continuously develop a classier, sleeker more supportive shoe that everyone just had to own, take Air Jordan's for example. No longer was it "in" to go barefoot and you had to keep up with your classmates with the latest and greatest tennis shoe. There were some individuals who were actually robbed of their sneakers!

There you have it. Gee, I feel old! Even though I'm 45, I have a neighbor of mine who mistakenly thought I was around 25. It pays to think and look younger than you are.

 

i don't see many barefoot people either. once in a great while i will. kids i see barefoot more offen then adults for sure. it doesn't snow here and in the summer the street gets so hot it can burn your feet if you're not careful. i can barefoot all year around lucky me

 

Excellent! I am a very young 53, and I'm determined to make up for this lost time while I still have a shred of youth left to me. And I do. Attitude is everything, along with a lot of outdoor activity.

When I really do get old? I don't know, probably have to go hide at one of those places in the sun belt where they're used to seeing old folks' bare parts. (The horror.) For now, I'm very unashamed of how I look in the bone-chilling state of Maine---even though we're skipping out on winter this year for the first time ever, still it would be too cold for most people to bare foot.

Later--

 

it's funny but when i was18, 19 years old we all went barefoot all the time, to stores and whatnot, then i joined the navy & they sent me to hawaii, and i thought great a barefoot paradise, but i was surprised that hardly anyone in hawaii went barefoot (except around the beach), they all wore flip-flops. but since i came back i've hardly seen anyone being barefoot (remember this is about 30 years), i really do think its the athletic shoe industry & all the different styles of shoes to buy.

 

Yup... gotta wear shoes... they're a necessity... Here I am in Florida... it's been a sunny and warm winter so far.... you rarely see anybody barefooting it. My neighbors think I'm crazy for walking the dog that way. Then again, I do live in a place modeled after Disney World - and being barefoot doesn't really fit in with that image.

 

That's so sad---

 

I've often thought that my seniority works for me, some of the time, even though I'm a young 50. It may look odder than it would for a young person, but I know people think twice before hassling me. (Except the really huge managers who seem to thrive on acting the Vogon role, they'll take me on, and I'm not small myself)

But remember, barefooting isn't the only thing I do. I'm in shorts year round in a cold climate (less comment on this in recent years for whatever reason!) and in summer, I shorten things up a bit. Many folks here have commented on the idea of getting away with bf by wearing long pants---something I'll NEVER do. But the shorts-bf combination could be causing me some of my trouble (not that I have a lot of trouble, but still) The shorts-bf combo seems to be some sort of SIN in our culture. But that's the way I've been all my life and I can't change it, or can't see a reason for changing it.

 

Oh yeah, they cant get all the lil kiddies and the parents to go out and buy all those lil Mickey Mouse shoes if everybody is walking around barefoot so they gotta do their darnest to make barefooting look bad and indecent so they dont lose money. With Disney when they say its the "happiest place on earth", you really have to ask, happy for who?

 

I'm a teenager, and I love being barefoot, even if it's a little...unusual these days.
I can't do it much, with school and whatnot, but as often as I can, I'm generally barefoot.
I just felt like adding on to this thread.
Haha.

 

Going barefoot is both cool and sensuous.

It does wonders for your self-esteem and your feet.

It puts you in touch with yourself and your surroundings.

It symbolizes the freedom of spirit and lack of fear of being vulnerable or being seen or considered vulnerable.

It's one of the most feminine things a girl can do ALL THE TIME, and one of the most endearing things a guy can do for a girl.

Going barefoot is... wonderful.

 

Alexandra, we need more people like you!

Going barefoot for a girl is sooooo sexy.

Keep 'em bare!

 

I agree.

I like you.

 

I agree with everything she said...
so of course i agree with you.

i love being barefoot.

 

I totally agree 100% about how going barefoot is a sign that a person has no fear about being seen as vulnerable or anything else. One time these two guys driving a pickup truck slowed down just to tell me that going barefoot makes me look vulnerable. I told them I didn't care what some people think, and know that it isn't always true. I for one think that bare feet are a sign of good health, vigor, and confidence.

 

As a young tot, I used to throw my shoes and socks off all the bloody time.
And now, as soon as I get home from where ever, I HAVE to take off my shoes.

In the summer I walk my dog to the park bare foot. I get some odd looks, but whatever...

 

Aw thanks you guys *blush* I'd go on a barefoot stroll with any one of you or all of you anytime

(Or to a nude beach if you are into that sort of thing).

 

It's weird how some people think it's a sign of being vulnerable; for most of the time what I get is 'doesn't that hurt?' and 'aren't you afraid you'll step in something?' and of course 'aren't you cold?' I also think of my feet as tough and strong, and indeed you have to be confident as well to stand up to all the comments. So that really does not fit with the vulnerability!
Sometimes when people make comments about me being crazy going out in the cold barefoot, I make them out for chilly-willies

 

its funny the barefoot=vulnerable arguement; don't get me wrong, i'm peaceful, but in karate class we're all kicking ass....in bare feet.

 

Thanks Barefootkid!! I'm getting there but have nice feet. You have nice feet also ...keep them looking good!! love your toe ring!