I haven't written much in a while about toe shoes, barefoot-ness and minimalist footwear so I thought it would be nice for a little update on where my feet are regarding all this stuff. While I once was a toe shoe collector and barefoot quite often I now find myself with a pretty eclectic footwear collection and wearing them all pretty evenly. Here's a picture of what I've worn the last week...
From bottom up:
An average week sees me shod:
1-2 days toe shoes (Vibrams)
2-3 days minimalist shoes (New Balance)
2-3 days regular tennis shoes (Nike Free)
1-2 days sandals or huaraches
~1 day barefoot (if you add up time during the week)
Here's what the previous two weeks saw me wear along with a few repeats from above:
From top to bottom, left to right:
I'm also still occasionally wearing all the other shoes I covered a few years ago (Minimalist Shoes Are Everywhere) plus a few additional ones that I've collected or still have from a long time ago.
Takeaway #1 - I have a lot of shoes. This is what happens when you buy a new pair every six months and keep them 8-10 years.
Takeaway #2 - Variety is key.
That's biggest thing the last year or so has seen change in my personal foot philosophy: balance and variety in what's on my feet. Sometimes I'm more barefootish, sometimes hardly at all. I wear a collection of shoes from a number of families and have found it to be the best approach for my feet and my lifestyle. I like reconnecting with tennis shoes and have found them to be a better choice when I'm jumping around and putting a lot of impact on my feet. When I'm hanging out, standing around or working out, I keep it pretty minimal. Every day is different and nothing is set in stone. I wear what I feel like wearing whenever I want. I still try to be barefoot whenever I can, particularly at home, but I also let myself wear some nice bright orange running shoes once a week too.
Thanks for reading, have a great day!
