Just went shopping barefoot for the 1st time!

Hi all, somewhat aprehensive as a new poster, but I decided to take the step and hit my local bank, dollar store and grocery store barefoot.

No looks, no questions. It felt quite natural, and for me a little sexy/erotic.

The cold area in the freezer dept was a shock. But it was nice to know the floors were clean in the early afternoon.

I really liked the idea of no one asking questions. Kept me really at ease.

Wish I found out about you guys earlier in the summer...bummer!

 

Deeeeeelicious! I love barefooting on chilly floors!

 

Did you see someone barefoot somewhere's else and decided to go bare too, or is it because you wanted to try something new?

 

Great! It is always awesome and would be hard to stop. The positive experiences far out way the occasional negative comment - which ultimately happens but should not deter you. Since all of the positive press about barefoot running - I have not received any comments!

 

Barefoot shopping is fun...different surfaces make for a varied experience. Being barefoot really does open up whole avenues of sensation....don't let the occasional stupid comment stop you.

 

England seems surprisingly tolerant for a nation traditionally viewed as being quite prim and proper.

Whether it's the English reserve that stops people commenting, I know not. Yes whilst shopping I regularly get The Look (more of a befuddled stare), occasional stifled giggles and bemused children seemingly fascinated by my feet, but so far have only had one idiot shout out at the top of his voice making everyone turn around and look - that was unwanted attention, esp. in my early days of barefooting. Some people are fascinated though and stop and chat to me and I'm happy to oblige, but 95% of people say nothing, which suits me.

My neighbour revealed he used to be barefoot all the time when living abroad (not sure which country), the security bloke at the supermarket always asks me how it's going, a wheelchair user said me going barefoot was superb and that more people should do it and I've lost count of how many people tell me to be careful because of broken glass. Bless them - I reassure them my soles have the consistency of leather these days and that seems to put their minds at rest !

One off-kilter bloke spent 5 minutes talking about a bloke in Manchester who folds himself into a cardboard box - not sure why he felt I needed to know that, aside from assuming he thought I was some sort of freak show

 

I go shopping for shoes barefoot all the time too...

 

Just wanted to try it new. You all seem like a good hearted bunch.

 

Right on! That's the one thing I look forward to whenever I go grocery shopping barefoot, especially when it's hot outside.

 

I think that would be crossing the line. I think as barefooters we'd be respectful of others as well

 

Basically, being barefoot is going to result in dirty soles and whether you put them up on a table, sit cross legged or even walking you're gonna be displaying your dirty soles and toes. It just happens so it's not really crossing a line.

 

Ahahaha! Priceless.

I think next summer I'm going to make the plunge into going barefoot ALL the time...

 

Each Spring when I start out barefooting in stores and banks I get the same feeling. Partially, for me, it's kinda hot to be barefoot in public doing something that a lot of people can't or won't do. And I get a "sexy/erotic" feeling wondering and anticipating whether I'm gonna get called out on it and sent out of the store in barefoot humiliation. Even after a Spring, Summer, and now Fall of pretty much constant barefooting I get that feeling when I come upon a place I've not yet tried. And this year I got chased down and thrown out of a mall, much to my surprise.

 

What!? That's crazy! Why is it so taboo? I don't understand. It's not like you're going to affect anyone. LET US GO BAREFOOT DAMNIT! lol

 

What I had meant was that if one would want us to be accepted, I would think that putting dirty soles onto an area where others eat would be a little rude.

Hey, I'm all for questioning authority and getting my soles all black, but I have to be mindful of putting them on a table

 

I don't think that putting your feet, whether shod or not, on to other people's/public tables unnecessarily is really appropriate TBH.
I never really understood why some people like to brag about how dirty their feet get either.

 

I don't think he was talking about tables people eat at. Bookstores around here have coffee tables in front of stuffed armchairs. It may be a subtle difference but its not much different from me sitting cross legged on a bookstore floor. Everyone who wants to will see my dirty soles and toes. Maybe thats rude but it seems to me to be sort of likely to happen if you're walking everywhere barefoot. Clean soles are a bit hard to maintain. Am I purposely showing off? No. Do I appreciate seeing someone else barefoot? Yes. With dirty feet? Even more so yes.

 

Well, it might be a male thing to say "My soles are dirtier than yours" in the same competitive sense of "Mine's bigger than yours!".
(Just kidding! )

We had discussions of that already, when people state that dirty soles are a token of barefoot pride, so to speak. I take it in stride (pun intended), that my soles get dark from barefooting, depending on the weather and surface conditions. It just happens, and just as hillman observed, clean soles are sometimes hard to maintain... I can think of only one way to keep my soles clean and naturally skin-colored: walk barefoot in wet conditions and avoid malls and subway stations. I had very clean soles yesterday before work as it was raining.

As for shopping: those places (indoor malls and supermarket floors) are sure to get my soles quite black from that fine dust gathering on tiled floors. And so far, I've never encountered any shop employee or even manager who barred me from shopping. Then again, Germany has no tradition of "NSNSNS" signs, either. Only once did I encounter an enraged manager at a supermarket, about ten years ago, when I was living in an alternative commune, and was accompanying a friend on a rainy and muddy day to shop there... since the grounds we lived on, had turned into a mudhole, she was wearing pink wellingtons, I was barefoot, as usual (which I was 24/7, all year round during that time... barefoot paradise, it was). On walking to the supermarket, rain and puddles had washed away all mud from my feet, but my friend's wellingtons were still covered liberally with it, and she was leaving a muddy trail on the floor, too. Shortly after entering, the manager of that store cam after us, yelling "you can't walk around in here like that!!!" and I though "uh-oh, here goes... I'm about to receive my first anti-barefoot treatment in a supermarket..." - but no... he was yelling a her for her dirty boots, totally disregarding my clean, bare feet.

Other than that, I never again encountered any shop personnel with anti-barefoot sentiments - some curious or worrying whether I might step on something, but never negative.

Wiggling toes of a barefoot shopper,

~*Ganesha*~

 

I never prop up my feet on tables, chairs etc except at home and I think it's not a good thing to do so. Bare or shod makes no difference. Tables are basically meant for food, drinks, other things you want to keep relatively clean & wouldn't just dump on the floor. Even coffee tables -not called 'coffee' tables for nothing, people put snacks and drinks and such on them. When you put your soles up there, unless you come straight out of the shower, chances are you'll put some floor dirt onto the table. That, I think, is rude. The sight of the feet or shoes is not the point, I do sometimes put my feet up in a way that I don't touch the surface with my soles, for example by putting my legs on another chair having the feet stick out, or resting one leg with the ankle on the other knee with the sole clearly visible. Or on the train sometimes I put one of those free newspapers on the seat and then prop up my feet. Not too often though because they do have a rule against propping up your feet (even with a paper...) and they do actually give pretty hefty fines sometimes. Bare feet are not against the rules as long as you keep them on the floor, same as any other footwear!