I always wear cute flats - comfy and chic in one - I recently hosted a party where I wore red patent flats - loads of compliments and i was comfortable

I never wear shoes in the house and none of my family and friends do either so it's always assumed when you go to a party that unless it's hosted in the basement with concrete floors that you take your shoes off when you come inside. I would expect my host to either be barefooted or in slippers.

Are shoes worn in the house an American thing?

I feel uncomfortable wearing shoes in any house and most certainly entertain barefoot!

I always wear my house slippers when I'm in my apartment, regardless of whether or not I'm hosting a party. I have never had any guests feel the need to remove their shoes simply because I'm not wearing any. But then again, my slippers are not particularly fuzzy or slipper-like, and my apartment floors are all hardwood or brick, which does not exactly invite people to go shoeless... Part of the reason I love to host so much is that I get to wear my slippers.

My apartment is strictly no shoes allowed.

Additionally, high heels destroy wood floors. My apartment had former tenants that allowed shoes. There are awful gouges and scrapes in the finish.

I love hiring eastern european contractors. They always take off their shoes!

My living quarters have always been and will always be a no-shoe zone which is why I always a keep a look out for awesome slippers. I have a pair that are like the bejeweled Indian slippers, but I'm dying for a pair of heeled bedroom slippers from the 30's. So chic!

I don't understand how one entertains in a no-shoe environment. So when you throw a cocktail party, all the ladies come in their pretty dresses, then remove their shoes and walk around in stockings?

And while the hostess may have, as zimmerwoman does, cute bedroom slippers -- why would one expect one's guests to tote along bedroom slippers?

It just seems like a very foreign concept to me and I can't envision how it would be executed for entertaining that is even the tiniest bit more formal.

I would not dream of wandering around in my bare feet in front of anyone but my closest friends and family. That'd be akin to me to wearing pajamas. And I'd find it more than a little weird if I showed up to the house of someone who I don't know well and they were entertaining in their bare feet.

Also, I really dislike Ina Garten so it doesn't help the shoeless cause that this suggestion is coming from her. But I realize how popular she is on the blogosphere.

Here in chilly Minnesota, people do indeed bring slippers to parties at people's homes -- I bring Halflinger boiled wool clog-style slippers for casual evenings or black velvet slip-ons for dressier occasions. (I've always assumed this practice derives from the prevalence of Scandinavians in this part of the world.)

@ArchDarling
Yes, the shoes come off. Even if they're pretty and match their dress or handbag.

But then again, I don't host cocktail parties at my home. I reserve that for restaurants, bars and lounges.

I don't want to spend hours steam cleaning my rugs and scrubbing my floors after 30 pairs of shoes have trampled their way through my home.

So the shoes come off.

I'd be shocked if people took their shoes off in my house. Even I don't always do it when I come home. It’s silly, when you host a party, even if it’s not very formal, you expect people to wear rather formal clothing (no tennis shoes, no sweatpants, etc), so why would you want to turn the thing into a casual day at the beach?

There’s a lot a disadvantages to the thing. First, floors are *never* as clean as you’d like, so your feet end up all black. Then tiled floors are cold and in winter that can be really bad for some people. Third, there can be something wrong with your socks, tights or even your feet: smelly, bad-looking, with medical condition that makes walking barefoot painful, etc. And the list goes on.

As for the question of the respect, it goes both ways: you shouldn’t force your guests to remove their shoes and wear slippers that have already been worn a thousand times or make them feel guilty if they refuse to. They’re your *guests*: you’re supposed to entertain them, not make them miserable for a whole evening.

And finally, if you don’t want your floors to be ruined by the high heels of your guests, then don’t invite anyone anymore. My guess is, people who are so uptight don’t make very good hosts anyway…

Not thing topic again . . .

I don't really care either way. My husband and I are almost exclusively casual entertainers, so shoes are usually removed at some point.

However, it totally grosses me out when one of his friends (same offender every time) takes his shoes off and props his feet up on our ottoman. Yes, I know that's what an ottoman is for, but I don't want to stare at his bare tootsies in the middle of our get-together.

I think this is more important up north with the snow and sleet and gook on the ground that gets tracked in with boots.

this***

So . . . No, I wouldn't host a party barefoot. Yes, a barefoot host would gross me out (has grossed me out). No, I don't think it's cute and playful. I find it lazy and half-assed.

I hate formal parties -- never host them, never attend. (Pretentious! NOT fun!) So when we have people over (rarely a "party") I am usually barefoot or in socks, as per usual, and I don't much care whether my friends do likewise or not. (If they track mud on my hardwood we might have an issue, but so far that hasn't happened.) A fair number choose to dump their shoes near mine. Others keep theirs on. It's all good.

(Oh, and since I have birth defects that cause my feet to be several shoe sizes apart in size, and have had four orthopedic surgeries on them, including the amputation of one baby toe, I sure as heck don't care what other people's feet look like! I'd hope they would stay shod if they have a contagious condition, but otherwise, no problem.)

We never wear outside shoes in our house and when we go to others, we bring our "inside shoes" and our friends do the same with us. The large parties we have tend to be in winter, and in WI, that means snow and muck and no shoes in the house, so people bring indoor shoes.

I guess those of us who are off the coasts may not dress up enough to worry about the shoes that match the outfit?!?

Floors are never as clean as you'd like and your feet end up all black? Umm... ironically enough, if you do have the habit of removing shoes at the door, that ceases to become an issue. ;)

I let my guests do whatever makes them feel more comfortable. Unless it's really nasty and muddy outside. But living on the third floor of an apartment, there usually isn't much gunk left on people's shoes by the time they reach my door. When I'm going to someone's house, I usually ask if they'd like me to take mine off (unless I see a huge pile of shoes by the door).

I don't get why one would wear shoes in the home.. you wouldn't walk around outside without shoes, then walk back into your home, right? Shoes bring in the same kind of dirt.

Then again, I don't have cocktail parties. When our friends come over, we have dinner, watch movies, and play board games. I suppose this means we're unsophisticated, barefooted (or baresocked) hobos.

We always wear slippers, shoes come of at the door. I wear tasteful slippers and hubby wears leather slippers, and kids being kids like to wear bright slippers. Our dinner parties are casual affairs and guests tend to bring their slippers.

I don't think the issue here is one of cleanliness, but of formality. Personally, it depends on the occasion. I would consider going barefoot or slippered if hosting an informal, impromptu party (which is normally the case). I understand Ina's point, and it's a valid one. However, if guests make an effort to dress up with pretty shoes, then I would not go barefoot in case I made them feel uncomfortable in their footwear. I've pointed this out before in other discussions on this subject that in some countries, guests just wouldn't consider taking their shoes off.

I like to have two distinct areas in our home: ground floor is for entertaining and shoes are allowed, but upstairs is where the bedrooms and home office are, so no shoes allowed there.

I don't like either 100% pros and 100% against shoes in the house. In the summer, I'm the first one to walk barefooted, and guests can follow if they feel like it. On the other hand, I'd never ask anyone to remove their shoes on, say, a Christmas party where everyone is dressed up. As long as you are not Japanese, and taking off your shoes is not an education thing, I like to do what feel right and good, and not have a rule.

Unless, of course, you try to go upstairs; but since this is the intimate, family area, people understand why shoes should stay at the bottom of the stairs.

When shoes aren't worn in the house, the floors are surprisingly clean.

Even if it's your daily standard to remove shoes, it's rude and presumptuous to make people remove their shoes if they're coming by for a cocktail party. Just consider it a part of the cleaning that comes with throwing a party.

If you insist, at least warn people that that's the household policy. I once arrived at a party in a dress and slip-on, knee-high boots that I can't take off without sitting on the floor in a very unladylike position. When (surprise!) I was asked to take them off, the host put me in an awkward position -- literally. I've turned down her party invitations ever since.

I always wear heels at my own parties. It's a chance for my legs to look great without that ache you get once you've walked to the corner to get a cab and climbed a couple of flights of stairs. What's not to love about that?

I get that people worry about germs and mess, but when you invite a crowd of people into your home, what do you expect? There will be mess. There will be germs. Let them wear their fancy party shoes and just do some extra clean-up tomorrow.

People already take their shoes off when the come into my house, as do I.

Maybe it's an American thing, I don't know. I never thought about this until repeatedly reading about it here on AT. There are indoors and outdoors utilitarian door mats at each entrance, and a terry bath mat by a tub. Other than that, the indoors flooring is all bare terrazzo and tile in my home. I take off my shoes to sleep and to shower, otherwise I'm usually wearing shoes both indoors and outdoors. It would be painful not to do so. No guests ever have removed their shoes, and I'd be very surprised if any were to do so, although it would be different if I had a pool.

shoes in the home is just dirty. & as much as i like to wear cute shoes, if someone won't take their shoes off inside, all i think about is what must their feet look / smell like for them to be that weird about not taking them off?!?!?!? so, all around, if you are going to someone's house, get a pedicure & don't worry about it.

& may i just say as someone who recently moved from america to se asia, everyone manages to remove their shoes indoors here just fine. i recently had 50 people over for dinner & everyone was happy. & i don't think it gets any MORE formal than a geisha & they most certainly don't wear shoes inside. nobody considers it rude to have a shoe shelf at the front door here. it's just common sense.

I always take off my shoes, just because they bug me! I hope I've never grossed anyone out.