Footies

There are several fashion statements that Japanese women embrace that haven't quite made it to the mainstream in the States. Knee socks with sandals is one example (check out an example here). Now that the warm weather has reappeared, I am reminded of one of my favorite looks for summer - the footie.

Japanese women are loath to wear shoes with no socks. Any shoes. Not only do they wear open-toed shoes with sheer pantyhose, they will wear dark tights with open toes too. When the weather gets warmer, and hose or tights would be too hot, the smart Japanese woman switches to footies.

To me, footies are a practicality that you do your utmost to hide inside your shoe. They should be low-profile and ideally invisible. In Japan, you can get footies in plain white, black or nude, but you can also get decorative footies that are meant to be noticed. All colors, lacy patterns, sparkles, ankle straps. You name it, you can find that footie. I have included some examples:

The classic nude footie.

Here, we have a twofer - the woman in the foreground has the classic "dark-footie-sticking-out-of-light-shoes" look going on, and the woman sitting has the ever-popular strapped footie with the slip-on shoe.

Footies are not just for closed-toe shoes! Spice up your peep-toes with some white lace footies.

Here's an example of how to add some versatility to your old sandals - add a colored footie. I particularly like how this girl added footless tights to her look (footless tights plus footies = footed tights!).

My confession: I totally have footies too! I got mine at the 100 Yen Shop, and you would be surprised how much more comfortable my dress shoes are with them. I did do my best to get low profile footies, but if they sneak out while I am commuting I just deal - comfort trumps style during rush hour!