If the shoe fits...

There's a strange Canadian tradition that has been puzzling me for a while. People here do not like wearing shoes indoors. There seems to be a giant pile of shoes at the front door of pretty much every establishment we frequent. I thought at first it was just a Winter thing. This makes sense actually. When there's two feet of snow on the ground and everyone's wearing boots, of course you should take them off before you go inside. They're filthy. We pretty much take our shoes off everywhere we go - the gym, story time at the library, even the doctor's office, for cryin' out loud. I actually saw someone bring a pair of virgin crocs (never worn outside) to a party. He slipped off his shoes and added them to the pile, then wore his crocs around the party.

When Summer rolled around, I was surprised to find the practice continued. If you just slip on a nice pair of flats or even your flip flops and you're heading over to a friend's house, you're expected to take them off immediately upon entering their front door, then walk around their house barefoot. At the gym, you're asked to bring a clean pair of "non street shoes" to wear indoors. So, you have to carry a different pair of shoes in your gym bag and change once you arrive. At least they don't expect you to workout barefoot!

I'm getting used to the idea more and more, but it still bothers me at a party. Don't they know that your shoes are part of your outfit and should be viewed as an ensemble? Remember the Sex in the City episode where Carrie was required to take off her Manolo stilettos upon entering a party and they were later stolen, forcing her to walk home in a pair of white Keds circa 1987? Not to mention, you really get a sense of how clean people's houses are when you're barefoot. If the bottom of your feet are black after leaving someone's house, it's been a while since they've swiffered. Thankfully, we have carpet so my cleaning secrets are safe.

It's just my opinion, but I think the whole thing is a little strange. I actually discussed it with a couple of Canadians to get their take on it. One girl told me that she's from Ontario and she thinks it's crazy too. She said it's just a Western Canadian thing. Another person told they find it much more comfortable to be barefoot and think Amercians are strange for leaving their shoes on indoors, plus it keeps your carpet looking new. Good point. It's becoming such a habit for us now, we immediately take our shoes off upon entering our own house and we have a pile of shoes by the door leading to the garage. It's probably one of those things that will become habit and we'll do it from now on, no matter where we live.

I guess it's all what you're used to. Either way, if you're heading indoors, you better make sure you're wearing cute matching socks with no holes or that your feet have recently had a pedicure!