This guy is wearing flipflops to work

FUTAB ~ Happy Friday the 13th!
Originally uploaded by Turb♀Spaz

Watching reality tv in the background rooting for the anti-hero? Do they log in from work or stay up until the wee hours at night? Writing of work, I wonder do they wear flipflops at work….?

This topic has been brought up a few times in the past few weeks. I personally do not wear cheap flip flops to work.

I have worn a thong sandal wedge or high heel to work. The major difference between my thong shoes and flipflops is that my thong sandals do not “fwap fwap” when I walk.

I personally do not think that one should wear flipflops to work unless the job is lifeguard. Seriously, if you make more enough money to file a tax return, invest in the company retirement plan, or can keep more than $20 comfortably in your wallet then you should buy some real shoes. And Lector says that you should not wear shoes cheaper than your purse.


I recently purchased FitFlops from Bath and Body works. I excitedly told a friend of mine that I had to find a way to create an outfit around the shoes so that I could wear them to work. She was appalled at the idea of wearing flipflops to work. I knew it was a stretch but not a huge one. The FitFlops were $55 with shipping and handling and I wanted to make my co-worker jealous. More importantly, Friday is Spirit Day at work. We can wear jeans or khaki's without disapproval as long as it is paired with a logo shirt or top. I had to find a logo top that matched my shoes and long pants - long enough to hide the fact that my shoes were, by definition, flipflops. I was breaking my personal rule for this.


If you are wondering what FitFlops are --- they are overpriced flipflops that claim to give your legs a workout. I have had them two weeks and my legs are wondering why I didn’t use the $55 to buy a pair of really nice shoes at 50% off from Dillards Department Store.


So am I. …. I could have bought so much more with the money.

The shoes are stupid. I wore them just to make my work friend jealous but now my corporate friend thinks I am some kind of hippy administrator. She works for an international company at a local plant and must have lost a year of her life with the gasping and carrying on that she did when it told her that I have seen staff members around campus wearing flipflops.


She demanded to know how we were demonstrating a good example to the college students by showing our feet like that.


Now, if she wears flipflops to work she risks car parts falling on her feet or worse, some factory guy ogling her for her French manicure. I asked a friend that is an administrator at another college, vice-president level. She too became very distressed at the idea of someone wearing flipflops to work in academia. She seemed only to backdown slightly at the idea of wearing a thong sandal.


I guess the president of the university might not like looking at someone’s flipflops at work. But President Bush did not seem to mind….http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2005/07/19/image709953g.jpg

Later all three of us: the mid-level corporate manager; mid-level higher education staff; and higher administration staff began to discuss the finer points of shoewear in the office.

Well anyway. The episode has sparked my interest. Flat flipflops aren’t good for your feet. My FitFlops are thick and cushioned but still a stupid marketing stunt that cost me a good pair of shoes. But surefooted I am not. I wore them to hustle class and kept coming out of them. For $55 they should stay on my feet and not make the stupid “frawp frawp” sound.

Which do you prefer thong sandals or flipflops? What do people feel about flipflops in the office? At an office not near a beachfront, that is…..

What are your thoughts on thong sandals? When are they never okay?
To quote another blogger “when do you cross the line between hip and unkept?”