Flip-flops

Where are flip-flops appropriate, beyond one's back yard? The beach. That about covers it, in my opinion.

Flip flops just make me cringe. Every American jackass fratboy around here wears them with their crusty toes all hanging out. Keep it to the beach please.

When are flip-flops appropriate? Clearly at a summer wedding with your linen suit Actually, I agree that flip-flops are becoming overdone and I do dislike it when people actually wear them to work on casual days - however, I have to admit that I have a pair and wear them with shorts and sometimes with jeans in the summer when I'm not at work. Just make sure you've had a pedicure recently Bradford

For me, neoprene on heel is the new fingernail on chalk board. I work at a California university and there are people that I've worked with for four years that I've never seen in shoes. I'm starting to hope someone dies, just to see what the sandal people wear to the funeral.

Wearing them at college is one thing (though it wasn't mine), but how guys and girls wear them all day in the city is beyond me.

It's a sadly prevalent look here in Boston. Flip-flops framing unkempt toes, male and female, emerged from their winter hibernation around the first of April and will probably be with us till nearly Thanksgiving. Ugh. I'm sure flip-flops have their time and place, but in my opinion are never appropriate (and hence cannot be "cool" or "hip") for business wear in a North American city.

if your feet look presentable (not all are), then i think its fine for a lazy weekend afternoon.

flipflops are a weekend daytime staple item for me. i do live by the in australia though.

In So Cal, Texas, Louisiana and certain parts of Florida they seem to be acceptable anywhere. When you live in a city where the thermometer routinely hits 100 degrees guys in shorts and flip flops are more common than guys decked out in suits and formal wear. Quite frankly, unless we are talking about a charity event at some posh french restaurant that involves impressing someone on a first date I'd much rather see people dressed lightly and weather-coordinated than encountering folks with sweat running down their forehead, obviously damp feet and dark sweaty circles under shirts and jackets armpits. Clothing has to be functional after all, primarily.

They are quintessential frat-jackass here, which means that about 50% of high schoolers wear them with startling frequency. As far as men wearing them goes, I don't have a problem with it as a propriety issue, generally, but I just don't want to see sick man-feet everywhere. *shudders*

in the battle of sick man-feet vs sweaty socks and ugg-like footwear in heat I vote exposed man-feet even if it means catching a glimpse of yellow fingernails and odd hair clusters on the toes. better to wear flip flops and t-shirt than to eminate that sweaty signal of dress-to-success insecurity. I say that if you have the confidence you can pull it off in the right climate.

To answer your question, "When are they appropriate?"...On women.

Here's a few situations that tell me that flip-flops are out of control: It's 40 deg F and raining. It was raining the day before. It will be raining the next day. Yet people walk into the clasrooms and there is this sqush-lop, sqush-lop. Ugh. Later that day, the same people are curled up, barefoot, on the couches in the libraries, wet flip-flops on the floor, damp feet on the couches. <shudders> Guy sits in the front row of a large class in an auditorium. Takes his feet out of the filp-flops, which are duct-taped, puts now-naked feet up on raised stage, and proceeds to take notes on PDA equipped with cute little collapsible keyboard. This occurs for 15 weeks in a row. Classmates show up to take a tour of a foundry think tons of molten metal, heavy duty machinery, really hardcore manufacturing. Several are wearinmg flip-flops -- I mean, come on, not only is that dumb, you know we're going to be in hard hats, and anyway, if a company is good enough to invite one, can't one make an effort? I guess I could move to a colder clime.... Regards, Huntsman

No it doesn't change. First sunny day here in Canada, maybe slightly above freezing, the flip flop guys come out. Canadian people cannot wait to get into their flip flop and shorts. The thing is, it's not even a matter of functionality then, so explain it to me.