You betcha! It is all about the socks. ;-)
Posted on 12/21/2007 2:41:35 PM PST by doesnt suffer fools gladly
You're welcome -- but not your shoes A little understanding can avoid dust-ups at the door By Heidi Stevens Tribune staff reporter December 9, 2007 FORGET THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES. Rudy versus Mitt versus Hillary versus Barack? Mere child's play. You want a real debate? Ask your holiday guests to take their shoes off at the door. "People have really passionate views about this," said Noelle Howey, deputy editor at Real Simple magazine. "Some people feel very offended if they're asked to take off their shoes. Other people are equally offended if a guest balks at the request. It's very much a hot-button etiquette issue." Perhaps at no other time of year is this dispute more impassioned: The holidays provide endless opportunities for entertaining guests, and the weather provides endless amounts of crud on your shoes. Where you come down on the question may depend on a number of factors--social, cultural and geographic, among others. How to deal with the issue is a universal quandary. As a Chinese-American, David Chan grew up surrounded by friends and relatives who removed their shoes. "It just never made sense to me to wear shoes in the house," Chan said. "When do you eventually take them off ?" Chan's fiance, Tiffany Simon, grew up in a shoes-on household. But the couple have adopted a no-shoes policy for the Lake View home they now share. "When people come over, we just say, 'I'll take your coat, you can just leave your shoes here,' " Chan said. "One of our friends doesn't like it because she wears tall shoes--she says it makes her feel short. But most people don't make a big deal." For Lisa Mariscal, it's a matter of health.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
All I have to say on the subject is "My house, my rules. Take off your shoes unless you're elderly or you have a medical reason to wear them."
I bet Dick Morris is happy to take his shoes off, wherever he goes.
So it doesn't make her short, it makes her feel short? WTF? Call the ACLU!
Dang...what kinda places do you hang out in?!?
To me, when you are a guest in my home, that is a privilege. Yet for some reason taking shoes off seems so casual. If it is a close friend or relative thats one thing, but I don't know, otherwise it is just weird. If they are big heavy snow boots, or something uncomfortable to wear in a warm house then that obviously is different.
Besides that, I never know if my socks match, or have any holes in them!
I take my shoes off at the door of my house and I do it when I enter somebody else’s house too. They don’t have to ask. I’ve had some funny looks a few times when the host realized that I was sitting in their livingroom in my socks. It’s just my habit. I even did it in the lobby of the dentist office once because it was raining outside and my shoes were wet. I left my shoes in the entry hall under the coat rack and went padding down the hallway to the examination room in my socks. :-)
I don’t go into those places anymore.
Taking off one’s shoes in someone’s house is the same as laying around on their couch in your whitey tighties. It’s just not good manners, imo. If their value their carpet more than their friend’s shoed feet then they don’t deserve my friendship. You are hospitable to your guest, not the other way around.
Seems pretty simple to me. If I'm a guest, I follow the house rules.
Well prepared hosts provide slippers.
Yeh, maybe I will go down to my local hospital and steal some of those blue scrub shoe covers that they have. I will get a dispenser right next to my front door and tell my guests to use them. I will also keep a few in my coat pocket for when I walk into someone elses house.
Time for a new socks thread. :-)
There you go! And you get to take the slippers home when you leave.
Dear Helena, Many people require you to take your shoes off when you enter their house. I have a big problem with this. I have really freakishly short legs, and when I go to a party, I always wear heels. I don’t feel pretty unless I’m wearing them. I’m sure I’m not the only one with these insecurities. Why can’t people just relax and get a little dirt on their floor for the sake of their friends’ comfort and sanity? —Shoe Fly
Dear Shoe Fly,
Just as restaurants can refuse service if you come in shoeless, people have the right to ask you to remove your footwear in their homes (particularly, of course, if your shoes are muddy or wet). In many Asian cultures, guests are expected to remove their shoes. Masahiko Minami, professor of Japanese at San Francisco State University, explains how the custom originated in Japan: “In traditional homes, you sit and sleep on the floor, on tatami mats or cushions, so it’s very important to keep the floor clean.
Also, historically, Japanese people wore slippers or clogs, and it’s much easier to just slip those off than to unlace your shoes.” Today, many Westerners have adopted the custom of asking visitors to remove their shoes.
Bad idea, in my opinion. Shoes do bring dirt into the house, but cleaning the floor is just one of the chores you have to do after entertaining, like collecting empty beer bottles. When your guests arrive, they want you, the host, to take their coats and offer them a refreshing drink. They don’t want to fumble with their footwear like they’re in line for an airport security checkpoint. For many people, particularly ones with ugly feet or smelly socks, going shoeless can seem too intimate. “Some people feel exposed. It feels like taking off some of your clothes,” says Whitney Van Nouhuys, a Berkeley, California, psychologist who maintains a “shoes off” household.
If you’re going to host a gathering and request that people take their shoes off, at least give them a heads-up. Recently I went to a dinner where the hosts asked me to remove my red boots, explaining: “The floors are bamboo laminate, and we don’t want to diminish the resale value of our house.” Not only was I instantly depressed by the mention of real estate; I also had to sacrifice an essential part of my outfit and expose my shabby socks.
But let’s face it: There’s no such thing as sexy socks. This doesn’t matter if you’re hosting a family gathering, but in my view, it’s something to consider if you’re throwing a cocktail party. Slip on a pair of stilettos, and you’re immediately in the mood to drink and flirt. Strip to your socks, and you’ll be craving cocoa and board games.
Those wishing to establish a shoeless home might consider stocking up on inexpensive pretty slippers. They’re not as provocative as stilettos, but they’re a lot hotter than socks.
I cannot be held responsible for the aroma that will emanate from my socks if you make me take my shoes off in your house.
My late dog used to roll in my socks like they were a dead frog or something.
You betcha! It is all about the socks. ;-)
I'll bet you have a good collection of some very nice socks.
Even shoes which are obviously dirty still have dirt on them unless it's the first time you ever wore them outside and you track that stuff all over someone else's house.
I usually bring slippers with me so I can take off my shoes yet keep my socks covered.
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