Question for "no shoes" households

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

I've never known anyone to bring dressy shoes that they change into as they come in (with perhaps the exception of during a snow or rainstorm where they wore boots).

We typically don't wear shoes just for comfort, but I would never ask visitors to take off their shoes, especially for a large or formal party.

[Anonymous]

Im indian american- shoes off is my strong preference. But my inlaws are not from the same background and insist on wearing shoes at all times. So we never kept my rule. I do remind my kids and husband at least jo shoes upstairs. We have a dog too, so i guess it was futile all along.

[Anonymous]

In most cultures where shoes are taken off at home, for fancier gatherings people either bring a pair separate, clean soled shoe to wear and change into that at the entrance, and/or guests are provided slippers or fancier indoor shoes to change into. My family had multiple pairs of bedazzled slippers to be worn by guests when I was growing up. Fun times.

[Anonymous]

We are a no-shoes house and I don’t expect or ask guests to remove their shoes. Most of DC friends do it automatically, probably following DC lead. But family and friends who come over don’t, and I would never ask them.

[Anonymous]

We're also a no-shoes household and grew up in a no-shoes household. Most close friends and family and DC's friends know to take their shoes off at our house. That said, if we are throwing a large gathering, we don't require/ask guests to take their shoes off.

[Anonymous]

I’ve never met a shoes off person/family that hosts formal parties. Not one.

[Anonymous]

We have mostly wooden flooring on the main floor and basement. All are stairs are wooden and only the bedrooms are carpeted. No shoes upstairs.

We are a no smoking, no pets Indian household.

Most people are shoes off at our place and we have weekly cleaning too. During our parties we let our guests know to NOT take off their shoes. The floors get vacuumed and steam mopped right after the guests leave. We hire our cleaners to help with serving drinks and cleaning up during the party. A tad expensive but we probably throw not more than two or three big parties a year.

[Anonymous]

I don't care about your outfit. No shoes means no exceptions.

[Anonymous]

We are a shoes off household, who entertain fairly frequently, although not formal attire (sometimes couples coming over after work are in business attire).

We never ask our guests to remove their shoes - that would be rude. If the floors get dirty, clean them.

[Anonymous]

I don't host formal events at my home, but I don't ask guests to take their shoes off even for a casual visit. Most still choose to, probably as they see us walking around barefoot or in socks.

On a side note, I absolutely don't understand why so many Americans seems to find feet disgusting, gross, something that needs to be hidden away. To me, [healthy] feet are not more gross than hands, ie not at all.

[Anonymous]

We ask our guests to remove their shoes and provide cubbies by our entrance. We would consider it rude if an adult would not remove their shoes coming into our house. We don’t care about non pedicured feet just respect of our rules.

We host many parties and our guests respect our wishes. Those that don’t either don’t come, get asked to leave or do not get asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

If she was wearing sandals, her nasty feet were already well in view. It doesnt seem like this would have made any difference.

[Anonymous]

In my household we don’t care. Keep them on if you want. Unless you hiked through mud to get to our house, your shoes are likely pretty clean. Your sweaty socks on my floor is just as nasty as any dirt you may track in.

[Anonymous]

I won’t lie, I find it weird when people ask adults to remove their shoes at a party. I will do it (without being asked if i know their preference) but it seems very anal. Especially when said people have a dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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!

You saw the nail coming out of her shoe and didn't say anything? That's weird.