I used to have the goal of owning vegan, plastic-free shoes, but once I got into the barefoot shoe movement, I realized that vegan, plastic-free, and barefoot was not going to happen. So, my shoes are vegan and barefoot. Barefoot or minimalist shoes have the following properties:
1. Flat - No heel of any height, not even a half inch. Heeled shoes throw the body out of alignment and make it difficult to walk naturally.
2. Thin, flexible sole - The foot is complex and has lots of distinct bones. Our foot is designed to feel the ground underneath and make minor adjustments based on the terrain
3. Wide toe box - In natural walking, toes move a lot and actually grip the ground. Narrow toe boxes squish the toes together, making them almost like one toe. Hammertoes are the result of narrow toe boxes.
4. The body of the shoe sticks to the foot, but is flexible - The best counter-example to this is the flip-flop. The sole of the flip-flop moves away from the foot when one walks and the toes are required to grip in an unnatural way in order to keep the shoe on one's foot.
I currently own six pairs of shoes (yay minimalism!). Here they are together and individually:
Rain boots/Snow boots:
These are very flexible rain boots from Vivobarefoot. I convert them to snow boots in the winter by adding a thermal insole and lining them with boot socks. I put a boot sock on one of the boots in the picture to show what I mean. I also just ordered some traction cleats to add on, because I found myself slipping on the ice.
With all these add-ons, I wonder if it would have been better to just get a pair of snow boots, but I still think this is a more minimalist strategy. I wear the boot socks over my pants in the house sometimes for added warm in the winter.
Walking/Hiking/Casual Shoes:
These shoes also come from Vivobarefoot. Vivobarefoot shoes are pretty expensive, but they do offer pretty good sales. I got this pair at 40% off.
Dress Shoes:
This is the best I could find so far for dress shoes. They are made by Astral.
Indoor/Office Shoes:
I like to call these pajama shoes. It almost feels like nothing is on your feet at all. These shoes by PrimalEvo were supposed to be my walking/hiking/casual shoes, but they are just too minimalist. They hurt your feet on hard surfaces and are not very waterproof. I actually added insoles to these. I can get away with wearing these at work sometimes. I wear them at home sometimes too for extra warmth or cushioning.
Summer Sandals:
These summer sandals by Sanuk look like flip-flops, but they do not act like them. The sole is flexible and the two straps keeps the shoe attached to your foot at all times.
Odd-Jobs Shoes:
These are just some old New Balance shoes that are basically shoes that are okay to get messed up. I wear them when I volunteer at the animal shelter, because they come home smelling and covered in fur. I would also wear them for things like painting a room.
Toe Socks!
I love these organic cotton socks by Toesox. They help me keep my toes spread apart, and I wear them in the winter inside the house to keep my feet warm
In Part V of this series, I will be covering my casual clothes.
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