sweasel.com

What’s different about these compared to normal shoes one size too large and/or wide? How’s the arch support (that pic makes it look like there is none)?

Aside: The photo at the wiki link looks like somebody simply dipped their feet in rubber tree sap and let it dry!

p.s. edit: Do they come in purple? 💜

Back in the good ol’ bad ol’ 70’s some company came up with these ugly, worse than crocs or those above things called Earth Shoes. The heel was lower than the toe, they were wide and a seriously ugly shade of dirt brown. I’d be willing to believe you got a free puke green Subaru Outback complete with golden retriever and a pod on top when you bought a pair. I never wore them, being perfectly happy in my beat up Converse All-stars. My best friend in high school however…….did.

Do they sorta feel like being barefoot, because I’m a barefoot person from the word go.

That or socks if the weather gets nippy.

And socks aren’t really meant to be worn out doors, though Mrs D will tell you someone around here does it all the time and then doesn’t take proper care of them.

@p2…I had a pair of those earth shoes. Ugliest shoes I’ve ever owned and probably one of the most comfortable pairs. I recall the most comfortable being the white leather, blue swoosh Nike court shoes I wore all thru my undergrad years in the early 80s. Like walking on pillows with this arch support that was just in the right place. I have dreams of those shoes to this day.

I have been wearing a pair of (different) minimalist shoes for the past couple years and yes they look stupid but I love them. You don’t need arch support, you need strong supple feet, which being barefoot or nearly barefoot will help get. Especially if you walk varied terrain in them. Hiking in them is really a different experience than in big clunky hiking boots.

Ligaments, bones, tendons, can be trained into weird configurations by applying a stricture. In regular pointed shoes your toe bones are forced over time to come to an unnatural point. Pushing your big toe over there creates bunions and leads to poor stability when we are old.

Big soft cushy soles that prevent the feet from doing any work at all cause foot muscles to atrophy, also leading to fall risk in old age.

We need to grip the ground, with our big toe having lots of mobility and space to work away from the others, not get crammed up and frozen against the next toe.

Alas, with my years of high heel wearing, it may be too late for me. But at least I can stop the damage and strengthen what I can.

Gawd, I remember earth shoes. They were supposedly developed after noting some primitive tribe had footprints on the beach with the heel lower than the toes.

I go barefoot a *lot* (Tennessee, remember). I went to see a doctor about plantar fasciitis a few years ago, and she was amazed at how supple my feet were for an old lady (she didn’t actually say the old lady bit, but I know that’s what she meant).

The sole of this shoe is intended to protect you from stones, etc., but there’s no actual support. There’s a sort of channel running down the middle to allow the two halves of your foot to flex longitudinally..

I go barefoot too, but when going to the store, these are ccomfortable (plus the house mice like to hide dog food in them when I’m not using them – always shake out before wear): https://www.muckbootcompany.com/collections/womens-mucksters/womens-muckster-ii-low-slip-on/M2LW300.html

Also saw these and thought of you:
https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Matching-Comfortable-Breathable-Training/dp/B0925YP21T?th=1

Did you ever have a pair of those shoes with individual toes?
Missus Mulroy bought a pair, but I don’t recall that she ever wore them out of the house.
I though they looked dumb.

I went to the barefoot German site, I’m surprised that they do not have many sizes available. They had a large variety, kind of neat.

Thanks for the Muck Boots link Joan, I had forgotten that brand somehow.

Fashion question – would these shoes go with the outfit Binaca Senseless West didn’t wear to the Grammys?

@Durnedyankee — Only if she hadn’t worn them. 🙄