Flip-flops: are we done with them yet?
 

I don't write too many rant posts, but I've had it with these goddam flip-flops everyone is wearing. Since when did a whole nation of white guys decide they were going to the beach? It's the end of friggin' December and people are still walking around in these creepy toenail-exposing foot-thongs.

For the guys: nobody wants to see your nasty feet; there's hair on the toe knuckles and usually some sort of gunk under the nails. Furthermore, wearing them with a dress shirt and jeans makes it look like you lost your shoes on the short bus. Invest in some socks and closed shoes for the love of Christ.

For the girls: there are plenty of open-toed sandals and shoes you look cute in. Rubber pads under your feet with a piece of plastic rammed between your big and second toe do not make you more attractive. Even if you have a sundress or tank and mini on with it. I'll let you get away with them sometimes, and I guess here in Los Angeles a chick can wear flip-flops if really dressed down -- but don't go to the f*cking White House in them like that volleyball team did.

If you just got out of the shower, take a minute to tie some laces before you walk out of the house. If you're in my office, you should be in a pair of socks. I've seen dudes in sweaters and slacks show up with black flip-flops and actually expect to get respect around their workplace. No respect for you and your hangnail, beach bum. Why don't you just wear cotton bath slippers while you're at it? How about a Speedo and a towel around your neck too?

Goddammit. Stop with the flip-flops unless there's sand or carpet beneath them. You look like a jackass and I certainly don't need to hear the sound of them scraping the ground everywhere you walk. Even moccasins would be better.

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Re: Flip-flops: are we done with them yet?
 

I just hate the goddamn sound they make.

Re: Flip-flops: are we done with them yet?
 

excellent post. i agree.

Re: Flip-flops: are we done with them yet?
 

I wore them pretty much all summer while I was in Santa Cruz. I agree that if you're going to work or any place where you're making an impression that matters they are inappropriate, but since I don't have to do that for months at a time they're actually pretty useful/comfortable.

Re: Flip-flops: are we done with them yet?
 

They're standard throughout Asia and the Pacific -- Micronesia, Polynesia. They're perfect for places too hot and humid to feel comfortable wearing shoes and socks(yep, plenty of places are just that hot), but where nobody wants you to leave your foot sweat and gunk on their floors, and even the truly leather-footed locals like a little protection sometimes.

I don't mind seeing people's feet and did so all my growing up years in the Pacific. I don't get the erotic charge out of it some people do, though, maybe because I'm so used to seeing them. Feet are just feet. Hair on toes? About as startling or repulsive as hair on the back of someone's hands. I'm going to reach a little farther than that to find things to get repulsed about.

As for awful looking toenails, wearing shoes is approximately infinitely more likely to result in toenail and other foot problems, as you don't get any air and your feet are crammed into a tight space with pressure put on the sides with every step, and your sweat-soaked socks breeding whatever those things breed crammed in there with you for hours. You can even tell "haole feet" if you're from the pacific because people often have crushed together, misshapen toes from growing up having them in shoes. Not healthy and not good. Plus, having your toes in shoes means you're less likely to watch their appearance, because nobody can see them.

I agree with you that flip-flops are not preferred footwear for visiting the Whitehouse. They are not appropriate for some other places too.

As far as them being basically banished, that's silly. Believe me, if you live in hot places, they're a godsend, and if you didn't wear them too, you'd be the sucker, not the rest of the population. One thing people who are professionals love about Hawaii is that much of the professional and business culture there finds it perfectly acceptable to not wear idiotic things Americans burden themselves with like neckties, and long-sleeved shirts and jackets no matter how brutally hot it is and how much you're roasting alive in your own stink inside them.

See? It works both ways.

Re: Flip-flops: are we done with them yet?
 

Well I'm not talking about Malaysia. I'm talking about the United States. The dudes who are wearing flip-flops with their sweaters and jeans would not be wearing sweaters and jeans in tropical climates. They'd have tank tops and shorts on, and thus flip-flops would look a lot better. It's the dress shirt + jeans + flip-flops look I was really targeting, Blarg.

Re: Flip-flops: are we done with them yet?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I don't write too many rant posts, but I've had it with these goddam flip-flops everyone is wearing. Since when did a whole nation of white guys decide they were going to the beach? It's the end of friggin' December and people are still walking around in these creepy toenail-exposing foot-thongs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not a nation, just a state.

Re: Flip-flops: are we done with them yet?
 

Go down to California, and it should be standard (during summer time).

In winter time, yeah, flip-flops = jopke, but I agree with Blarg here on every point.

Shoes are good, but flip-flops = +EV in hot weather, massive +EV.

Re: Flip-flops: are we done with them yet?
 

I like my flip-flops...And I like wearing them with jeans sometimes too!

Re: Flip-flops: are we done with them yet?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I like my flip-flops...And I like wearing them with jeans sometimes too!

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If I didnt live in Boston where is is 20 out right now I would be wearing my flip-flops.

I love mine in the summer because of one thing, they have a bottle opener on the bottom of each shoe. Best thing when you are sailing!
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