Knock your socks off!
Free your feet from stinky socks: If Hollywood stars can do it on Cannes' red carpet, so can you! Here's a celebration of bare feet for No Socks Day on May 8.
Vacation envy
An Instagram and Facebook classic, photos of bare feet on a beach have turned into the symbol of relaxing holidays away from everyday stress. No Socks Day, celebrated on May 8, is perhaps a way to incite everyone to unwind a bit, even without the seaside setting. Take your socks offs — and see what happens.
Feet-friendly paths
Especially in colder countries, feet rarely get out of their shoes in public. But there are official options out there to do so: Barefoot paths, which are in trend in Germany, allow visitors to walk without shoes on a specially conceived trail to directly experience the sensation of various materials. Some of them are just a few meters long, while other hikes cover several kilometers.
Cheating
"Barefoot shoes" is an oxymoron, but it's still a term used for a minimalist, really flexible version of conventional shoes. The first models were introduced on the market in 2004. They allow feet to be protected while letting them experience the sensory contact of the ground. The debate about whether or not they are actually healthy is ongoing.
A star's statement
A member of Cannes film festival's jury in 2018, US actress Kristen Stewart walked barefoot on the red carpet and caused a scandal: "She broke the golden rule!" wrote tabloids in reaction. Some interpreted the move as a protest against the festival's dress code — even though there is no requirement to wear high heels on the red carpet.
Religious ritual
In a refugee camp near Rome, Pope Francis symbolically showed solidarity with the plight of migrants by washing and kissing the feet of people of different religions in 2016. The Washing of the Feet is a Christian religious rite that recounts how Jesus washed the feet of his apostles during the Last Supper. In ancient civilizations, it was a custom that was a sign of hospitality.
Not completely bare
Mehndi is the name of this body art that originated in ancient India and Persia and is still popular in India, North Africa and the Middle East, particularly among women, but for men as well. The temporary tattoos are created with a paste made from henna.
Reasons to free the toes
Most people have probably experienced something similar: You take off your shoes before entering an important person's house, and an embarrassing hole in your sock has your big toe sticking out. That's why US actor Thomas Roy, initiator of No Socks Day, feels you'd be better off without them. He also points out that fewer socks means less laundry — which is good for the environment.
Freedom of movement
Parents only want the best for their beloved offspring. But what are the optimal shoes for baby's first steps? Slippers with rubber soles or leather shoes? The fact is that most people are born with healthy feet and only end up with problems later on in life — often due to wearing the wrong shoes. The best solution might be to start walking barefoot from the beginning.
From head to toe
Have you ever noticed how many idioms refer to feet? Here is a small selection: To get cold feet. To have itchy feet. To have two left feet. To shoot oneself in the foot. Have a foot in the door. Or catch someone on the wrong foot. And the one pictured above doesn't have a leg to stand on: It's left over from a statue of Emperor Constantine, which was once 12 meters high and can be seen in Rome.
Eyecatcher
And here's a reverse version of Day Without Socks: everything bare except the feet. The picture by star photographer David LaChapelle, an ad for the brand Happy Socks, demonstrates that the clothing item can also be a celebrated fashion accessory.