Three of the many notable house shoe examples that readers sent in. From left: Lime Birkenstocks with socks, tie-dye Crocs and fuzzy slippers.
IN A RECENT column, I explored how “house shoes” have become the golden retrievers of our self-isolation wardrobes: trusty, comforting and on occasion, quite cute. After the story went live, I wondered what type of house shoes, if any, our readers might be wearing these days. I posted a shot of my feet in my own indoor go-tos—rubbery Merrell mocs—to Instagram Stories and asked my followers to message me photos of theirs.
Within seconds, responses began pouring in and the onslaught didn’t stop for hours. Each time someone submitted a photo, I screenshot it and added it to my own Story, building an ever-expanding series of shoe-pics snapped from above. (As one friend pointed out, the series also inadvertently cataloged the diversity of rugs and floors in house-shoe-friendly homes.) Eventually, I’d reached the 100-photo limit for Instagram Stories, and, lest I smother my poor followers with shoes, curtailed the experiment. In all, 113 people had messaged me their shoes and since some overachievers sent in more than one pair, 122 pairs of house shoes in total had clomped into my inbox.
10 of the over 100 house shoe photos that were submitted.
Many of the submissions reaffirmed one of my article’s key points: House-shoe fans relish a sturdy sole. Twenty-nine of the entries documented firm-bottomed Birkenstocks. Seven entrants shuffle about their homes in sturdy Crocs and three wear actual lace-up Nike sneakers. (I should note that my follower base on Instagram skews heavily toward males in the 20-40ish age range.) My original column did not dwell much on socks, so I was surprised to see that a whopping 22 of the 29 Birk wearers paired the sandals with socks. Five Croc enthusiasts followed suit. Apparently, a lot of young men stomp around at home like 1980s German tourists.
Some of my column’s other declarations were only weakly supported or outright rejected. I had confidently declared that house-shoe fans generally eschew slippers for WFH, decreeing that slippers put one in an indolent mindset. Au contraire, said nine slipper fans. The photos of four other entrants showed them shod in hotel-style, terry-cloth slides, while Uggs were modeled by six men, including one bold soul who openly shared his taste for shin-high sherpa boots a la early-2000s Paris Hilton.
Lex Nemchenko’s Baffin booties
I underestimated just how much people prioritize toasty toes. Eleven folks documented their feet in poufy, insulated mules, mostly from North Face and Teva. If you’re unfamiliar with this type of shoe, imagine thrusting your foot into a throw pillow. Lex Nemchenko, 30, a customer-service specialist and part time visual artist in Brooklyn, took home the “Owner of the Most Alien Mules” title. On a call he explained that his four-year-old marshmallow booties are by Baffin, a Canadian outfit that’s apparently popular with professional dancers. He admitted the nylon shoes do get “really hot,” likening them to a puffer jacket for your feet. But his first priority is an arctic WFH environment: “I like to keep a chilly house--you have to get the air circulating.” He keeps his windows open and his podiatric parkas on his feet. Who am I to question such a careful calibration?
Dominic Montoia’s fleece-lined sandals
I have to give Dominic Montoia the award for “Most Conflicted House Shoes.” In his photo, he sports strappy open-toed sandals….lined with shaggy fleece. Over the phone, Mr. Montoia, 26, who works in construction engineering in New York, explained that his Frankenstein slides were from Japan’s Suicoke and he’s been gliding around in them for about a year. Back in those glorious days when he could still have friends over, he was subjected to jeers targeting his bulbous, white “hospital shoes.” Mr. Montoia assured me—as he had assured his friends—that they’re “unbelievably comfy and unbelievably warm.”
Gerardo Barrera’s breathable huaraches
The clearest alternative to all this insulation in my sample was Gerardo Barrera’s porous leather Mexican huaraches. Six fellows sent in proper loafers, but Mr. Barrera’s were peerless. Their net-like woven upper, he said, keeps his puppies breezy in balmy San Diego, Calif. Though Mr. Barrera, 30, who works at a brewery, initially restricted the huaraches to a narrow role as house shoes, in recent months, he started taking them on outside excursions. His friends responded favorably: “They were like ‘Yo, you’re really wearing those well.’” For now, the shoes are re-sequestered inside, but let’s all hope he has a chance to cross the threshold in them again.
Witeto Jacob Gallagher at Jacob.Gallagher@wsj.com
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We Asked Which House Shoes You Wear and Boy, Did You Answer - The Wall Street Journal
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