I don't like those Nikes. Was planning to go and try on the FiveFingers shoes on Sunday (the nearest real life stockist seems to be John Lewis in Oxford St, if anyone but me is interested), but ended up going for cocktails instead ...
The individual toe shoes are less objectionable than the nike frees?
You're dating an odd lady.
Hey, I think the bpl's got great taste! (In shoes, obviously, not boyfriends.)
Either you did something cruel, and bpl hates you, or bpl really likes you, and wants to make sure no other woman would ever be interested in you. So which is it?
The individual toe shoes are less objectionable than the nike frees?
My incredulous question, exactly.
And I do not understand how any of those top 3 can be barefoot-a-like when the toes are off the floor. My toes are not floating in mid-air when I'm barefoot. The toes of the FiveFingers are not off the ground either.
#4 I find highly objectionable. You'd have to squeeze your toes into those toe pockets. Shoes should be like mittens, not like gloves.
Oh c'mon, those Nike Frees look like grandad shoes.
can be barefoot-a-like when the toes are off the floor
I think that's an artifact of marketing photography. See here.
You need a pair of these:
http://www.swissmasaius.com/
||
This morning, Rory was telling me a story and said, "The reason is because..."
I corrected her: "The reason is that, honey."
I blame w-lfs-n if she winds up in theory because her mother was hypercritical of her developing grammar.
|>
I like the velcro ones in 9 the best of all.
if she winds up in theory
At first she seemed like such a practical child.
These are awesome, and totally barefoot-y.
In fact, I should start wearing my Pine Trees more. So comfortable, and they say "don't fuck with me" in Chinese on them.
I think the fact that they have Chinese characters on the tongue is a reason to avoid being seen in them, actually, honky.
Why do the shoes in 9 have a zipper around the perimeter? Interchangeable uppers?
the green ones would look nice with any pair of jeans, what hobbits
additionally, just look at your shoes from time to time and get calm
the toes thing i wouldn't want for free
Why do the shoes in 9 have a zipper around the perimeter?
I think the idea is that if the sole wears out (it's super-thin), you can just replace it.
The bpl is clearly fucking with you. Your consideration of the Nike Frees has encouraged her to test the limits of your absurdity.
Lately walking on cement has been making my back ache, (I think I jammed my lower back slightly playing soccer), and it makes me highly skeptical that this walking barefoot business has worked out the implications for cement. Cement is really murder on your joints.
17: got something against the Chinese language, guai lo?
re: 22
I think the claim is that thin/flat soled shoes encourage a gait with a less heavy heel-strike. The less heavy heel-strike compensates for the lack of padding and is supposed to make for less rather than more discomfort.
I'm not sure I'm convinced. I have a pair of very thin soled, very flat trainers, and while they are very comfortable, long walks on paved surfaces can be a bit hard on the body.
Has anyone tried those MBT thingies? Are they worth the cost and the toolishness of the gigantic soles?
I get the sense that the individual toe shoes (#4) are this year's version of the over the head sunglasses. Which is to say, a goofy and utterly useless novelty which will show up in yuppie magazines (i.e., Outside) and then quietly disappear.
26: sweet christ those are toolish. Combine them with the toe shoes and you could get cast as an extra in some dynamite direct-to-dvd sci-fi pictures, though.
Oh god the sunglasses in 26 are so ridiculous i don't think i could see someone in them without bursting out laughing.
More soberly, MC gets it exactly right in 7.
28: on the right head they're quite dignified.
I've been wearing a pair of five-fingers (#4) at the gym for about two weeks. They're very light (when I got on the scale at the gym, I thought I'd lost weight until I realized it was just the lack of sneakers). They're very comfortable. They flex while you run or exercise. And they fit like a glove.
They're very comfortable. They flex while you run or exercise. And they fit like a glove.
Yeah, people tend to rave about all the shoes in the post. I tried on the Nike Free a week or two ago and they were ridiculously comfortable. They do, however, look like old man shoes.
I thought you liked old man shoes, ogged?
Tweety: those Pine Tree shoes look nice. Some of my sparring partners wear 'em [or something very similar]. Easier on the head than proper Rivats.
I thought you liked old man shoes, ogged?
Why did you think that, Tweets?
25: A friend has a pair and seems to like them quite a bit.
Can't you just wait for shoe #1 to become available again? What does "all gone" mean?
Can't you just wait for shoe #1 to become available again? What does "all gone" mean?
I was told that there might be another batch made, but more likely there'll be a new series of fall/winter shoes in September.
34: I... don't know.
33: they are very nice. If the wearing-chinese-characters thing bothers you, there are other options along the same lines.
Wilt Chamberlain just went barefoot all the time. Why can't you do that? More conviction!
32- Funny, I'm 48 and thought those were old man shoes. Like 60. They look like Sauconys to me. You know Mandarin, Master Sifu?
41- He spends so much time sexing the women, so it saves him time to keep the shoes off.
They look like Sauconys to me.
Yeah, exactly. A pair of which I had and wore until a couple of years ago when they fell apart, which was for the best given that I *knew* I should abandon them, and yet, and yet, there they were! Worked fine, good, comfortable shoe!
42: not very much. I can tell people I like beer, and that my Chinese is bad. So presumably I'll be set if I ever visit China.
I used to go barefoot a lot outside. When I was at College, and would be mostly in College, but not in my room all day, I spent the whole time barefoot. I hate wearing shoes all day. Once I decided to go home and see my parents and didn't realise until I was stepping off the coach in London that I was still barefoot. Which is fine except then I had to get on a train and the road between my parents' station and their house was unadopted, i.e. dirt and stones. That wasn't so good.
I think that's one of the reasons I like camping - you can spend a lot of time barefoot even though you're outside without anyone looking at you funny.
you can spend a lot of time barefoot even though you're outside without anyone looking at you funny
It seems that once you free your feet, you really, really notice how cumbersome shoes are. Ever since I tried on the Nike Frees, I've been thinking about getting near-barefoot shoes.
I can tell people I like beer, and that my Chinese is bad. So presumably I'll be set if I ever visit China.
If you ever visit Qingdao, at least.
I've been thinking about getting near-barefoot shoes.
But fashion anxiety turns out to be more constricting than the shoes?
He spends so much time sexing the women laydeez, so it saves him time to keep the shoes off.
Please, Asilon.
But fashion anxiety turns out to be more constricting than the shoes?
Uncharitable! I do work in an office, and the fivefingers would definitely get comments, and the Nike Free will earn the enmity of bpl.
Uncharitable!
True, true.
the fivefingers would definitely get comments
It does seem they would make you look like you have bizarrely prehensile toes.
the Nike Free will earn the enmity of bpl
I was surprised she called the "fruity", though. Maybe AARP fruity.
the Nike Free will earn the enmity of bpl
Not at the "You can't tell me what shoes to wear!" stage of the relationship yet, huh? Good for you!
I'm having trouble reconciling "fruity" with "something my mother would wear" (another of her descriptions) myself.
In a really good way, Asilon reminds me of some girls I knew from my Grateful Dead concert days. I'd have to check her pits to be certain though.
Not at the "You can't tell me what shoes to wear!" stage of the relationship yet, huh? Good for you!
Fleur first noticed me because of the slightly unusual shoes I was wearing. She was looking at the floor and I walked into her line of sight. I didn't really like the shoes, and was only wearing them out of want of alternatives at that moment. I tried for years to throw them away, but she won't let me.
I've seen nicer Nike Free. A couple of years ago when they first came out, I'm sure. One of our local shops had loads of them on sale.
55: I wasn't completely kidding about martial arts shoes (I realize you probably wouldn't wear pine trees). Adidas makes some really nice ones, and they all are super light with super thin soles.
I have an obsession with keen shoes and smart wool socks. I can admit it.
I've seen nicer Nike Free.
Yeah, they even have a tool that lets you customize the colors online, but nothing for the newer versions, which apparently solve the "falls apart immediately" problem the older versions had.
I wasn't completely kidding about martial arts shoes
Yeah, I'm looking at some of those. Outside the box, baby, that's me.
re: 60
There are also cool looking high-top ones.
While we are on the topic of goofy looking things, I will confess that I recently purchased an old man hat to protect me from the sun and rain.
I got a Tilley's hat. The sad thing is that I really, really wanted it.
Knecht was a clown!
Actually, I was wearing poulaines.
My objection to the Nike Frees pictured is just that I tend to prefer shoes that aren't patterned: solid colors, please. And no logos. Personal preference, except for the fact that patterned shoes below solid-color pants and shirt just make the shoes stand out. And those shoes look like sneakers. Sneakers to work? Okay, but.
Anyway, the ones pictures look like Sauconys, which are old-fashioned. There's nothing wrong with that.
Alison's completely right--the best solution is just to go barefoot. And to walk on dirt or grass or other natural surfaces--not pavement.
Seems like anyone wearing those things is asking for a good toe-stubbing.
Asilon's completely right--the best solution is just to go barefoot
...and pregnant!
68: FTR, I was joking about the poulaines.
Haha! I went through the exact same process and got... Nothing! Well, except blisters from my old shoes.
I used to go barefoot a lot outside. When I was at College, and would be mostly in College, but not in my room all day, I spent the whole time barefoot.
I do love going barefoot, but I'm haunted by my mom's eternal warning that we'll get worms if we go barefoot. Whooo Florida!
I need another pair of Adidas martial arts shoes. I really tried to get sensible shoes this winter and ended up with Dansko clogs and Merrell boots, both of which are hosing my feet. It's back to martial arts shoes and saltwater sandals for me. After a day of wearing either of those, I can feel the workout in my arches.
Thank you Asilon and Tweety. Ogged, I'm not trying to be cruel to you. It's just, that it's nice to be attracted to and stay attracted to the person that I'm dating.
You can be cruel to him, it's okay.
I think the obvious answer here is a pair of Converse All Star high tops.
I got a Tilley's hat. The sad thing is that I really, really wanted it.
Just think of the melanomas the haterz will be getting in a few years, and chuckle to yourself.
57: The ultimate source of our food review gig is that my wife complimented the then-editor's Fleuvogs on the bus. Which was very unlike her, except that she really loves Fleuvogs.
Will really got the hat because he thinks I'm so cool.
"I think the obvious answer here is a pair of Converse All Star high tops."
Chucks would be SO much better. They'd still be a silly looking on him but not LAME like the Nike's. This blogging thing is a little addicting..... I think I should go work now.
78:
that is what I was worried about.
BPL:
What about plaid Chucks for Ogged?
Ogged putting on chucks would instantly cause the universe to come to an end.
Does Ogged own any skinny ties? How about vests?
I used to have a pretty sweet pair of American flag chucks. That might be the way to go. Stylish AND patriotic.
I'd be lucky to get him in black Chucks! But plaid.... you know, some of those combos are pretty cool. But only low tops. I have to start slowly with Ogged. And then the universe would come to an end.
How is his swimming, BPL?
We need a report.
Does Ogged own any skinny ties? How about vests?
Only if North Face has started making them.
Ogged's swimming- what can I say other than he's swimming right now and he's got a gorgeous breaststroke. I'm trying to encourage sets but it's been all in vain.
he's got a gorgeous breaststroke.
Heh. Indeed.
Eh, much as I love Chucks, they're not a thin or flexible sole. Actually, my couple pairs of Chucks are probably the clunkiest shoes I own even including my dress shoes.
Puma used to make fantastic shoes called the High Streets in leather or cloth that were little more than foot-hugging slippers, but they've been replaced by a new model with slightly thicker sole and upper. I'd highly recommend the High Streets if you find a pair around however (especially the special edition ones made for the Azzurri).
91: Ben remembers that wonderful night... How could one ever forget?
shoes are for attraction, i did not know
why is that the mercantile types always get all nice guys
The Patagonia Cardon shoes are almost identical to the ones you wanted, Ogged. Check those out.
The Nike Frees are the least attractive of the bunch, if you ask me. They do look like old man shoes. Only velcro straps could make them any uglier. I like the Five Fingers. I imagine they'd make good gym shoes.
the mercantile types
Prostitutes?
It's just, that it's nice to be attracted to and stay attracted to the person that I'm dating.
A nice thought, but the "I'd like it if you'd wear toe-sock shoes" message points more to the "bpl really likes you, and wants to make sure no other woman would ever be interested in you" explanation
I'd be lucky to get him in black Chucks
Very close to the shoes referenced in 57.
You can't throw out your checkered Vans, Knecht. Ska is a forever thing.
Patagonia Cardon shoes are almost identical to the ones you wanted
Looking at them from the street, yes, which I think was more or less why ogged wanted the ones he did--they look relatively normal. Wearing them is not even remotely similar.
BPL, it's nice to meet you.
I don't think that the Nike Free look like Granddad shoes, unless you're referring to the color scheme when you say that.
I corrected her:
The guy that I'm dating--let's call him John--doesn't have the greatest grammar. I warned him that it would be difficult for me to refrain from correcting him. He uses "such that" when he should say "so that."
The other day he didn't use the subjunctive when he should have, and I wound up correcting him. I apologized, and he said, "Don't apologize; I want to have better grammar."
As I read more and more Unfogged I find it harder and harder to resist correcting my girlfriend's "The problem is, is..."
Don't apologize; I want to have better grammar
my logic of unfogged peruse
96 you said the word, not me
the bourgeois, i meant, not the poor working girls
it was my welcome, perhaps, if the uncalled one
The other day he didn't use the subjunctive when he should have
Have I bragged that Iris (barely age 4, mind you) can already use the subjunctive beautifully?
"If I were to get married, I would want to wear a dress like that one."
I'm so proud.
The best thing I've got out of Unfogged is sharper knives.
but I'm haunted by my mom's eternal warning that we'll get worms if we go barefoot. Whooo Florida!
I don't know if any of you foreigners have ever watched Neighbours, but there was this hippy woman on it (Harold's daughter) who had a daughter called Skye (this was before Skye became a bit more mainstream) and her MIL was always telling her not to go barefoot or let the toddler go barefoot because it could be dangerous. And of course one day the little girl got bitten by a poisonous spider. Fortunately it was ok in the end, and the hippy vowed to wear shoes at all times from then on. Phew!
In a really good way, Asilon reminds me of some girls I knew from my Grateful Dead concert days. I'd have to check her pits to be certain though.
I imagine my pits are just about as hirsute as any self-respecting DeadHeadette's.
In further confirmation of my DFH status, I bought a SheWee at the weekend. (Well, actually, I bought 2. 3 daughters.)
The FiveFingers are great! My coworker, her father and uncle each have them, and I've tried them on. Comfy, and they give more support than one might imagine.
In further confirmation of my DFH status, I bought a SheWee at the weekend.
I think a true DFW would just lift up her sarong and go bare-arsed in the grass.
A SheWee only qualifies you as a DFH if you use it as an emergency bong.
I never should have told her about the blog.
107: Wait, 3 daughters, 2 SheWees? My math must be off, because that would seem to imply... ewww... sharing!
I never should have told her about the blog.
Just wait till she starts exploring the archives!
I am so totally not convinced about the SheWee.
I am so totally not convinced about the SheWee.
According to BitchPhD, they are superfluous. You can just teach yourself to pee in an arc.
I go in the grass, sure. My eldest digs holes and shits in the woods. The second one has no coordination and has pissed on herself too many times, and the third still requires my help.
I mostly bought it for festival-going this summer, for avoiding sitting on portaloos. I've been making them practice in the bath, but I haven't had a go yet myself. And yeah, sharing. But I get them to lick it clean between uses, so it's ok.
And BPL, it's great to meet you.
I once read about a workshop on men's room usage for FTMs. The leader recommended a Pringles can lid with the rim cut off on one side, bent a bit to form a spout. Just rinse and put in your back pocket when you're done.
Ogged's swimming- what can I say other than he's swimming right now and he's got a gorgeous breaststroke. I'm trying to encourage sets but it's been all in vain.
You should encourage him to sign up for the 100 free at the June meet.
I'm sure from what I've read - and B may have better instructions than me - that you need to use your hand a bit to get everything into the right position to pee standing up well. And you need to get really good at it to do it just by undoing a zip. And honestly, if you've got to pull your trousers down a bit anyway, you might as well just squat. At least that way I know where it's going. I have tried in the shower, but I couldn't be bothered to practise.
more and more, I love asilon.
Are you aware of her awesome surname?
Hey, is this BPL's first appearance! Welcome! It is a good day for newcomers! Fruit baskets all around.
You should encourage him to sign up for the 100 free at the June meet.
Hush.
fruit baskets all around
hopefully, for BMcM and JBS, too? nice, very good, i can retire with a clear conscience
I think a true DFW would just lift up her sarong and go bare-arsed in the grass.
It wouldn't surprise me to learn that David Foster Wallace wears a sarong.
Hello Unfoggedheads! It's nice to meet you all. Thanks for the welcome. I hesitated for a long time to comment- and I've already gone through some archives, heee heee. Yeah Ogged, why don't you sign up for the 100 free? You're going to be there all day anyway.
Or a triathlon, maybe. In those finger shoes.
It's going to be sad when I have to ban my own girlfriend.
I used to like Ogged before he started writing about his girlfriend all the time, but now he's just shrill.
Even sadder when she ends up commenting all day at apostropher.com as a result.
I've already gone through some archives, heee heee.
Shall we post some choice links to make it easier for you, BPL? I'm sure the Mineshaft would be more than happy to oblige.
BPL! Welcome! And don't let Apo lure you to his site.
I see where this is going. Knecht sees a money making opportunity in consulting Ogged out of the dog house.
105: but doesn't Iris read Greek fluently, or something? Little JS Mill you're raising over there.
I hope you're all enjoying yourselves over here.
I certainly enjoyed the first few minutes of I, Robot. That was all though.
The link in 141 makes me glad I missed the "Summarizing Drudge" era at unfogged.
And don't let Apo lure you to his site.
Don't listen to Mary Catherine. She's Canadian.
Don't listen to Mary Catherine. She's Canadian.
Sexist. Racist.
Hobbits, in point of fact, do not wear shoes.
The toe shoes are ugly and you're not enough of a hippie to pull it off. I have a mary jane version of the Nike frees which are very comfortable.
Cala's Rules for the shoes:
1. Be attractive
2. Do not be unattractive
3. Be good-looking
Thus, she disqualifies Ogged from the shoes.
The toe shoes are not hippie. Obviously I have no idea what hippie means.
148: and those shoes are too ugly for anybody to wear, therefore only a being that did not wear shoes would buy them. QED.
Hi, BPL. I knew when I saw you commenting at EotAW that you had to be reading the Unfogged archives. That'll teach Ogged to be complacent.
if you've got to pull your trousers down a bit anyway, you might as well just squat.
Nonsense. Squatting in the outdoors can lead to snakebites on the ass.
(The "fruity" = "old man" thing, I'm surmising, comes from some mental image of a dorky old queen wearing those shoes and high-waisted trousers.)
Squatting in the outdoors can lead to snakebites on the ass.
Those weren't snakes.
The toe shoes are not hippie.
These are hippie. Ogged would look good in them.
Rubber boots cannot be bone dry because your feet sweat in them. Denied.
Ogged claims not to sweat from his feet.
Ergo, ogged is a robot.
Philosophy is easy!
About the only thing that I use chest waders for is duck hunting, and even then I'll sometimes throw on a set of hip waders
I swear I read this and thought he meant he put them on over top of the chest waders, as a bit of high-spirited good fun.
While we are on the topic of goofy looking things, I will confess that I recently purchased an old man hat to protect me from the sun and rain.
I got a Tilley's hat.
Whitey needs protection. I've got a Filson bush hat for hiking, fishing, etc.
It's wader talk, teo. Gotta talk wader talk when you're talkin' about waders.
I seem to remember that *one* of the gentlemen here made quite a point out of buying a *non*-hideous sun protection hat recently.
This reminds me that I too have been thinking about getting a hat. (I really need to start taking more precautions about the sun.) My girlfriend has offered to go hat shopping with me to ensure minimal hideousness.
164: two! Two of the gentlemen here! Or at least, one of the gentlemen and then also me.
164: Impossible. Anything bought in the spirit of trying to be non-hideous is automatically hideous. The shallowness rubs off of the purchaser and on to the item.
Teo needs a bush hat. Sun protection along with the urge to shoot exotic animals.
Anything bought in the spirit of trying to be non-hideous is automatically hideous.
If this is what you believe about fashion, you're pretty much setting up your own self-fulfilling prophecy.
Those weren't snakes
That wasn't B's ass.
This is absurd. B's comment in 164, gentlemen here made quite a point out of buying a *non*-hideous sun protection hat was operating under the assumption that most sun protection hats would be hideous.
To make a foray into the world of clothing oneself in the assumption that most things will be hideous, so that the task is to find something non-hideous, is, as Stormcrow says, er, problematic. Doomed.
169: not necessarily; you could buy things in the spirit of being stylin'.
"in the spirit of" is an intensional context.
171: Hey! It was the "oh, I want to protect myself from the sun, so I bought a hideous hat" folks who were making the assumption that one must be hideous. I wear hats. I look awesome.
you could buy things in the spirit of being stylin'
Comity!
Nonsense. Squatting in the outdoors can lead to snakebites on the ass.
Not in this country (one species of adder - timid, most people have never seen one). There are only other species of adder in the rest of Europe too, and I don't think they're aggressive either.
re: 176
They used to sun themselves [adders] on the driveway of the place I used to live when I first moved to Oxford. Well, I saw one there twice, anyway.
The first time, I nearly stepped on it, I saw something move next to my foot as I was unlocking the gate and got a mild shock. It slithered off into the bushes chased by the caretaker's cat. I assume the cat didn't catch it, because the cat was still around. Adder bites might be quite mild, but I assume they'd be pretty nasty for something as small as a cat.
Not in this country
Do y'all have poison ivy or poison sumac? That's another potential hazard of squatting in the wilderness in North America, especially if you are foolish enough to wipe with it. "Leaflets three, let it be. Berries white, poisonous sight."
re: 178
Nettles. That's basically it.
It was the "oh, I want to protect myself from the sun, so I bought a hideous hat" folks who were making the assumption that one must be hideous. I wear hats. I look awesome.
My hat is very cool for an old man.
I knew I'd be sitting out in the parking lot all day, from before dawn, when I was a legal observer during the Indiana Primary a couple of weeks ago. The last time I got very sunburnt even though it was winter, so this time I got a big straw hat and it worked completely.
183 proves my point. Hats are for old people.
I realized that I was an old person when I wanted to buy a hat.
Why not just wear aqua socks? They appear to have as much of a shell as these shoes and as a bonus tend to cost around $10 at the low end and $30 at the high end. I'm wearing a pair right now and it's like being barefoot, which based on that article way back, seems to be the point.
You know, ogged, those swim shoes. Generally they have fairly decent tread, but along the lines of this and this
Ok, that's what I thought you meant. I looked at some of those recently, and I don't think they mimic being barefoot; they have pretty sturdy soles.
Yea Ogged. All the water aerobics ladies wear them!
I am putting on my old man hat and going to the Wolf Trap tonight to see Prairie Home Companion!
"Why not just wear aqua socks? They appear to have as much of a shell as these shoes"
No, the last one has, IIRC, a heel made of kevlar.
a heel made of kevlar
The Achilles model.
Teo I put a link you'll link randomly in one of the active threads. Try and find it!
Must be one of the ones I haven't been reading. I'll take a look.
Ah, found it. Pretty cool, though the interface is kind of confusing.
On the original topic of the thread, I remembered that when my brother was looking for light flexible shoes he ended up getting a pair of Puma driving shoes.
They aren't really a barefoot shoe, but they're made so that the sole is thin enough that you can really feel the pedal, and my brother has been walking in them and has said that they've held up well.
