Question for "no shoes" households

[Anonymous]

Question: if you have a formal dinner/cocktail party where people come in nice high heels and dress shoes that are part of a dressy outfit do you still ask them to remove them? How strict are you with this rule?

I grew up in a house where we all wore shoes all the time and were a very outdoor focused family in a temperate climate, we were in and out all day long, gardening, taking walks, tinkering in a workshop in the backyard, etc. and taking them off every time would have just been a lot of times.
As an adult my husband and I generally don't wear shoes in the house and neither do our kids, out of comfort mostly and maybe a little bit that it helps us keep track of them if they are all by the door.
I don't really care if someone wears shoes in our house because when I'm hosting I mostly care about my guest's comfort and I'll probably clean the floors after an event anyway. But curious what others do. I'm not disgusted by the idea of someone wearing shoes indoors but it seems like a lot of people are.

[Anonymous]

I’m like you OP and if I hosted something fancier or with a large number of people I would assume most would keep shoes on.

[Anonymous]

It seems really weird to me to wear shoes in any house but I don’t think it’s that gross to do it. I think I would let guests choose their own comfort regardless of situation, but I’ve never actually hosted a really formal party and the only guests I have who don’t habitually take their shoes off are my elderly relatives for when doing so is painful.

[Anonymous]

We are a no shoes house and never ask any adult to take off shoes. We just clean afterwards. Fortunately, our main level is wood floors and adult visitors never go upstairs or to the basement, which have carpet, so the clean up isn’t too bad. Kids always seem to know to take off their shoes, so there isn’t the same need to clean the carpets after they visit.

[Anonymous]

I don’t host formal events in my house bc I’m that grossed out by shoes everywhere. I once did host many years ago and some woman had a nail coming out of her heel on an old shoe that left dings in every plank of hardwood that she stepped on. I was renting then but would be pretty pissed of that happened on my floors. Only informal gatherings for me and shoes off!

[Anonymous]

I've never hosted anything super formal, probably NYE would be the most formal. But I was raised to always remove my shoes, and 99% people I associate with also do this. So even at formal (or should I say "formal" since I stated I havent really hosted anything very formal) events, everyone removes their shoes, it's just habit, no one has to request.

The only person who has ever worn outdoor shoes inside my home was a floridian. It was quite a while ago, but she just strode right in when everyone else had clearly removed their shoes. It was definitely a bit weird, but she was only coming in quickly to grab something so I didnt say anything.

[Anonymous]

I come from a no shoes indoors culture. However, that does not apply to the dressy shoes that people bring with them and change as they come in. That’s what most people did for formal events inside someone’s home.

[Anonymous]

We're a shoes-off family. When we host we don't make guests take their shoes off. We used to do massive summer parties and no shoes were taken off.
It's funny though, when my DD first had high school friends come over, they must have asked her if they should take their shoes off, and I guess she said yes. So now when they visit, it's a habit, they greet us parents while simultaneously taking their shoes off and leaving them by the front door. I get a kick in seeing 10 pairs of shoes in all these sizes lined up in the foyer.
I do know one family that is middle eastern and are very strict about it. They hosted a corporate dinner, 10 guests, we were asked to take our shoes off. Thank god I had gotten a pedicure that week. One work friend was mortified bc she wasn't prepared and had worn sandals to work and didn't have socks to cover her unpedicured feet. If you're going to do shoes off give adequate notice so guests can be comfortable.

[Anonymous]

For an adult party or a dinner, we just accept that the floors will be dirty by the end of the night. We normally sweep after everyone's left, and our cleaning people come the next day and do a deeper clean on the floors.

When kids come over for playdates, my kids tell them to take their shoes off.

[Anonymous]

We are no shoes in that we don't wear them and DS' friends take them off. We don't ask adults to. And usually when we are hosting a more formal get together, DH and I will wear shoes. Floors are getting cleaned after anyways.

[Anonymous]

We don’t wear shoes inside. Close friends take off shows. We host fundraisers at home and would never ask or assume adults would take off shoes.

[Anonymous]

Ever see the bottom of a high heel with an exposed screw? They do a number on wood floors. Tile, too.

[Anonymous]

No shoe household here. We don't ask guests to remove shoes; 95% of the people we know automatically do. The one time I hosted a baby shower, I didn't know most of the guests, and many of them wore their shoes, which were clearly part of their outfits and no big deal.

I'm more worried about what pointy heels would do to my hardwood floors than the dirt.

[Anonymous]

We don't wear shoes in the house, but guests can do whatever makes them feel comfortable. I know that for some this is a cultural practice so they feel strongly about it, but personally I don't worry about it either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ever see the bottom of a high heel with an exposed screw? They do a number on wood floors. Tile, too.

I just posted about this above — floors were ruined by this!!