Closed Toe Shoe Blues

O.K., what is the deal with businesses that impose closed toe shoe rules? I mean, it makes sense not to wear sandals if you work with heavy objects that succumb to gravity or with sharp objects like scalpels or butcher knives. It's all fun and games until someone loses a big toe. But, in those workplaces where the most deadly weapon is a co-worker's breath after a garlic-laden lunch, what's the harm in showing more than a little toe cleavage? I certainly don't buy the argument that somehow our innocent little piggies pose some sort of a public health risk. I have never heard of anyone catching anything from feet. If people were more concerned about contagious diseases, we would be required to wear gloves everywhere.



Here's another argument -- it's unprofessional to show your toes. Says who? Is it really as unprofessional as wearing sneakers or Crocs to the office? It's a peep toe, for Lord's sake, not a peep show!



I think the real reason is that some people just don't like feet. They think feet are gross and don't want to see them. And I can understand this a little bit -- I am all for laws requiring men to wear shirts in public. I dream of the day when I can walk outside without fear of seeing bouncing blobs of hairy flesh glistening with sweat. Bleech! But are other people's feet that gross? Not everyone has model quality peds, but even so, feet are not in your face, so to speak. If they are, then you better learn how to duck at those Kung Fu classes of yours. But really, feet are well below eye level. And unless you are wearing some fabulous shoes that you purchased at some fabulous little shoe boutique in Springfield, IL, very few people would look at them. Unless they had a fetish, and if that freaks you out then maybe you should cover up.

But for those who do not like others' toes, is it really other people's feet that bother you so
much? Or are you really unhappy with your own callous clodhoppers? How often is it that we don't like in others the very things we don't like about ourselves? And it's really not fair, now, is it? And there is a cure, you know, for those who loathe their own toes. It's called a pedi-cure!

So treat the feet of others as you would treat your own -- with lotion and a little polish. If you still can't stand looking at your toes, I've posted a few pictures of our shoes that will cover up your little piggies.