on footwear

i find that people use and abuse footwear in all sorts of bizarre ways. socks with sandals is perhaps the most common fashion faux pas. hiking boots with shorts are also dangerous territory. any sort of high heeled woman's shoe that still has a platform of some sort is not good, either.

but the worst offense of all, as far as i'm concerned, is the misuse of loafers. there is really only one way to wear loafers for both men and women: in business attire, and perhaps business casual. women can pull of a snazzy loafer either with pants and trousers socks or a skirt/dress and hose. men, with khakis, suit pants, and on very rare occasion, jeans. full length jeans, of course. one should not be wearing jean shorts ("jorts") to begin with, but especially not with loafers.

another important rule in loafer domain for men is that, with the exception of 'sperry's'/topsiders, socks must always be worn with said loafers. always! there is nothing more disgusting than a sweaty foot floating bare in a sleek loafer.

worst case scenario: early 90's silk 'track suit' (usually in pastels) with sockless loafers. i've seen it. david sedaris has noted this atrocity, too. stay away from that. protect friends and family from said error.

oh, and the socks with an individual groove for each toe -- commonly known as 'toe socks' -- should also be avoided.

that is all.