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These are scary times for our feet. Yesterday, there were two alarming articles which can only mean that podiatrists are raking it in. The Daily News had an article about the woes to toes from flip-flops - and we've been experiencing some first hand as flip-flops are definitely the easiest thing to wear on the weekends. People (usually ladies) slip, there's tendinitis, and grime from a day's walking - and it's apparently bad to have an open foot wound exposed (putting your wounded foot in a tight, constricting shoe is better, it seems). Doctors' main concern is that people are wearing flip-flops for long distances, as there's clearly no support for your feet, ankles, and legs. Mamma mia, what do the docs say about Crocs?
And the NY Times had a piece about communal yoga mats being a hotbed of foot fungi and the like. That we could have guessed, as sticky mats always seem to be a little too sticky. While some yoga studios try to wipe down and wash the mats regularly, it's not always a sure thing. One woman in the article said she used communal mats because they were there, adding, “I don’t have a horse, either, and I ride," but if you're doing yoga, the $20 an investment is worth it.
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I have no idea how women (and men for that matter) wear sandals or open toed shoes in NYC, given the grime and whatever else can be found on the sidewalks...
www.forgotten-ny.com
I only use my sandals when I walk around the neighborhood, maybe 5-10 blocks at most. I never wear any open-toed shoes on the subway or walking in Manhattan. I wore flip-flops once and my feet were dirty when I got home.
BTW, the sandals I use have better support than those lousy flip-flops. Women of NYC, do yourself a favor and wear better shoes. Your feet will show their appreciation (at least until you wear your high-heels). I have a feeling New York women have some of the worst-looking feet in the country.
i'm with kevin and teddy.
the grime on your feet after wearing flip flops is just nasty.
Kevin,
How is this any worse than touching a subway pole, where inevitably a homeless person has rubbed his crotch? Or, rotting fish juice "splashback" from restaurant employees hauling carbage to the curb? Or, accidentally touching your hair to any surface in the city? Opening doors? How about the other melting pot of foul particles in this great city? Do you remove your shoes upon entering your home (and I know that some do)? Do you shower before sitting on the couch that evening? If you do wear your street shoes in the apartment, have you ever gone barefoot to the bathroom in the middle of the night?
At least you were consistent about the open-toed complaint, but these people who complain only about flip flops crack me up. Evidently it's OK to wear other flat heeled, exposed footwear as long as the straps are not technically constructed in the flip flop arrangement. They love when we appear in our "fuck me" heels, yet bitch when we have to give the blisters a break the next day.
I personally wash my feet before bed every night if I've been wearing any open toed shoes, and I imagine most of us do. But where do you draw the line? What about closed toe flats with no socks? What happens when you're caught in the rain with regular shoes and socks, and step into that lovely soupy mess on its way to the drain cellars? Unless you wash the shoes, those nasty bits and pieces from the streets are forever trapped within the layers of your shoes, not to mention mingle with your trapped foot sweat. MMMMMMM.
My point is, when you live in this city, you just have to let go of your germ phobias, at least to some extent. Think about this the next time your adorable dog is curled up in bed next to you, with crusty remnants of your neighbor's garbage between its toes. :)
http://cockspots.blogspot.com
I really am surprised at how many people use communal yoga mats. Considering I've seen mats for sale at places like Kmart and Marshalls for $10-15,you could but a mat for less than the cost of a class. If you can afford yoga then you can afford a mat. I mean do you really want to lie down or put your face near where someone else's feet have been? EWWWWWWW!
Jane Minty, that's the most eloquent rant against rants against flip flops ever. I don't give a fuck if a girl wears flip flops as long as she's hot. The nastiest shit is ugly people doing anything. I fucking hate poor ugly people.
Nothing turns the ladies on more then my beer bellly, my smelly farts and my old ratty Birenstocks!
FLIP FLOP NATION!!
YOU CANT STOP IT!!
ITS THE NEW YUPPIE DISEASE!!!
I read an article in a fitness magazine and in it, a doctor said that the proliferation of sneakers with all of the cushioning is bad for the feet.
His example was: take a healthy person and put a constricting brace around their neck for a 6 months. At the end of that period, there will be a 30% loss of muscle power and moving the head will cause neck pain and headaches.
Similarly, he said those fancy cushioned soles, cushioned arches, etc. stop your feet from developing the necessary muscles to carry your bulk properly. Logically it makes sense...why else would Nike sell those running shoe/socks?
Maybe sell a flip flop with a built in sock that looks like a foot? Available in various skin tones and inserts with velcro for faux toe nails?
I'm just sayin...
Cheap sleeping pads (for camping) make the best yoga pads because they're more comfy than the thin yoga-specific kind. For example, there's a $6.50 one at American Science & Surplus (sciplus dot com -- search for "Insulite").
The doctor quoted in the yoga mat article is my podiatrist (thankfully, I haven't had any foot funk problems). He is really awesome--highly recommended.
I don't wear sandals/Tevas/Birks in NYC -- I have, unfortunately, been one of those guys who wore Birks in the rain, and accidentally stepped ankle-deep in a puddle uptown.
Jane's right: one must lose the germ phobia in order to pull this off.
I now rock a pair of Crocs, which have kept my feet quite dry and look better (to me) than flip-flops. I can't even understand how someone can walk in them, period, but to each his (or her) own.
My bigger concern from an aesthetic standpoint is those "slipper shoes" which always look so unbelievably cruddy (and of shoddy construction) that I can't understand wearing them at all. Flip-flops are pretty high-end in comparison to those slippers.
Let's just put this out there:
Crocs are UGLY. There's no way they look better than flip flops. Plus, they don't completely protect your feet from the elements anyway.