Are any of you barefoot people ever gun shy about going into new places (especially bars) if you are meeting friends and you have never been to the place before? I was invited out to this bar last night with friends. I had never been there before so I was hoping they weren't going to be hostile toward bare feet. But luckily I had no problems. I don't mind getting yelled at as much if I am alone, but I don't want someone coming up to me when I am with friends, especially a new group of friends that is just getting to know me.
That's veeeeery tricky. If I am alone, I usually can't care less. I just take my money somewhere else! But my friends tend to be frankly PO if we just have to go to another place because I am not wearing shoes. The other point is that, depending on my mood and the circumstances, I might feel gun shy. Let's say I only have half an hour for lunch, or I need to take that plane, or I just had an aweful day and I don't feel like fighting some moron, then I may put on my flip flops instead of risking being hassled and delayed. That's why I prefer to go to places where they already know me. Yeah, wish I had more stamina.
The last time I tried to walk into a bar barefoot it caused quite a commotion. Fortunately I had flip flops with me, so I put them on before the manager got to me. I've been at other establishments where I noticed women were able to get by the doormen by wearing long jeans over their unshod feet. On another occasion I saw a woman walk into a bar barefoot and go unnoticed because she walked in with a group of friends that were coming from a wedding reception. I think you are truly blessed that you are able to walk into a bar barefoot without being hassled. Unfortunately I know too many of the bartenders in the area and feel like it would almost impossible for me to pull it off. What was the weather like the other night when you met up with your friends?
I particularly enjoy going to new places barefoot. It's never a problem in the UK, no one bothers about bare feet. Comments are rare, and always either positive, or just curious.
Some of my colleagues didn't want to eat lunch at a restaurant with me because they didn't want to test the waters with me. They're so lame.
If the neighborhood tends toward "upscale" (without being aristocratic), bare feet tend not to be a problem (stores, restaurants, libraries). Blue-collar areas tend to be nontolerant. I wouldn't think about attempting a "fine restaurant" in the middle of a city, but have been successful at suburban ones, especially during barefoot season. It's pretty much "as you go."
Tho not restaurants, in my childhood, entering redneck gas stations/grocerys should have gotten me killed. But being barefoot in them was not a problem. I suspect it was how one dressed and behaved.
