Can Barefoot Shoes be Stylish? (Part 2: The Looks)
From the best-looking barefoot shoe to the best for pounding the pavement, I made them all work (I think).
Hello! Between watching scoops videos on TikTok (if you don’t know what these are, you’re probably not depressed enough to) and freaking out about the never ending unemployment saga (and unemployment benefits that, on the contrary, will end any day now), I have been doing quite a bit of pacing around my neighborhood and occasionally on the treadmill in my non-air conditioned 24 Hour Fitness.
Therefore, I feel fairly qualified to tell you a bit more about the transition to barefoot shoes, what to expect, and how to style these buggers so they look like part of a balanced fashion diet instead of looking like a freakishly-shaped pill hastily shoved into a hunk of cheese—getting yourself to wear these shoes need not be like feeding Benadryl to a dog. Don’t forget to read part one for a full rundown of each shoe I’m wearing below if you haven’t already, then come back for the fits and thoughts and more below.
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Before we get to the shoes, I just want to shout out two scents that were… well, sent to me by two of my favorite brands of all time, Kismet Olfactive and Jorum Studios. One I love (and already knew I loved but now have a gloriously full-sized bottle of), the other not so much.
A long-time favorite of mine, being gifted the large size of Nostalgia has only made me revel in its androgynous grandeur more than ever. Hot, anise-dappled leather melds with rose and herbaceous notes to produce a perfume that smells cozy in cold weather or heady and narcotic in the heat. I could wear it every day and douse my partner in it every day and not get tired of it. The travel size lasted me for almost two years, so you get pretty good bang for your buck, longevity and sillage-wise. I’ve tried all of Kismet’s scents except their new vetiver, which I long to, but nothing compares to Nostalgia. Hell, nothing from almost any other brand does!
On the other hand, Risso’s longevity is off the charts, but in a way I’d rather it not be—I wanted to love Jorum’s latest (I love most of what they make, including my favorite scent of all time Spiritcask), but this springtime scent is so Jo Malone in its taut, buttery (or olive-y I guess, according to the written notes) neroli (orange blossom, essentially) that it just feels overwhelmingly conventional (I also get no pear, a crying shame), not to mention that butteriness strikes a discordant note in my nose—almost like stale cigarettes? I’m reminded of Salt and Stone’s neroli body products which have that same cigarette-like stuffiness and am thinking that maybe I’m just not in a neroli time in my life, though I have historically LOVED orange blossom… who knows. All I know is for me, this was a scrubber, but the very smart perfume people I’ve shown it to have loved it, so maybe my nose is just off-kilter right now. I wish I loved it, but I’m sure Jorum’s next release will knock me off my feet (though I do wish I could smell the line exclusive to their European store!).
Ok, onto the shoes!
With such a feminine shoe, I wanted the rest of the outfit to feel as sporty as possible while also introducing some compelling colors into the mix, so with my thin, warm weather-friendly green socks I added thrifted running shorts (with built-in bike shorts underneath), a V-neck cashmere sweater I inherited from my grandmother, my favorite 100% cotton Gap T-shirt, and my trusty thrifted leather jacket to add some volume and shine up top. I finished off the look with an old bandana tied around my neck, my favorite summer accessory for sweat wicking and wiping, and my Fallen Angels cap from Mature Needleworks, a hat bootlegger I swear by. His lineup currently includes Sade, Serial Experiments Lain, and Evangelion, but he’s always cycling in new jazz and rap musicians, animes, films, and more. I didn’t think I could wear a flat cap until I tried one of his—I think the key is having some flowing locks peeking out underneath, because I always feel like I look weird when I wear one with a ponytail.
I wore these techy, strapped-up sneakers with a skullcap (IYKYK), the same Gap T-shirt layered under an old COS blouse to chill it out a little bit (I feel like layering shirt layers under even shorter layers, as opposed to solely long under short, is coming to the collective’s attention right now), and a sheer lace skirt I got from an artisan in Argentina to try to lend the sneakers some sense of cheekiness. I tried the look with a choker, but the choker plus the skullcap looked costume-y, like an extra in Rent, so I decided to let my tattoos be my only accessories. I think the slightly more fitted, almost fishtail-like silhouette of the skirt is an underrated choice on the sheer skirt scene—most are slip style and cut straight down. Here’s a really cool one, randomly found in an online sex shop? You could easily thrift one like this Kohl’s number (I’ve seen dozens exactly like it) and then just cut out the lining.
