Hacker News Reader

Comment by kleiba | Hacker News Reader

Why does anyone need six pairs of white sneakers? I have two pairs of shoes: one for the warm half of the year, and one for the cold/rainy half of the year (with a flexible definition of "half"). Then I have a pair of flip-flops and my "good Sunday shoes" which get dusted off very rarely when I have to wear a suit.

View on HN

I will preface this by saying that the author probably owns that many sneakers because he considers them fashion and chooses the ones that fit the rest of their clothes better.

Having said that, I ended up owning way more shoes than I wanted simply by being active: I started owning trekking shoes (1) and a pair of regular sneakers for casual sport only (2) until I started going to a gym that required exclusively indoor shoes (3). I later added running to my routine, so I bought a set of good, expensive running shoes to keep my knees in good shape (4). In addition to that, my new job requires dress shoes, so I now own two pairs of those (5, 6) in case I get mud in one of them and I don't feel like cleaning them right after work (which is a thing that happens). Add flip-flops (7) and comfy indoor shoes at home (8), and here we are.

This is a mostly unrelated comment, but the concept of "Indoor shoes" is just so foreign to my part of the world (unless you are referring to something like a slipper). It still absolutely flabbergasts me that large parts of American society wears shoes inside the house. *Canadian Speaking

What kind of shoes are you allowed to wear in a gym in Canada?

Obviously people wear shoes indoors outside of the home. (The norm for a gym would presumably be a pair of sneakers.)

In the US, my experience is that people will sometimes/often take off shoes when they come into a home especially if they're going to track in snow, mud, etc. But it's certainly nothing like a universal rule and probably isn't even the norm.

I think it's an language thing. Shoes I would wear for indoor activities like the gym I'd generally refer to as "gym shoes". Any other form of indoor shoes I'd just refer to as shoes. Indoor shoes to me immediately brings up inside the house, especially because that's how OP used "Indoor shoes" in context

We NEVER wear shoes inside our homes in Macedonia, but going to the gym I was required to bring "indoor shoes/sneakers". Ie. ones that I will use exclusively there or indoor environments. Helps keep the gym cleaner.

I guess what I'm saying is, it's not an American thing, it's a gym thing.

Concept of indoor sport shoes is universal, because it is stupid to wear outdoor shoes for sporting indoors.

For me besides the variety of fashion, I also found that if I wear the same shoes every day they can get pretty smelly and degrade faster. If I switch between a few pairs then so long as they were fundamentally good quality their individual lifetimes will still be at least the same, but I wear them for a longer period and they consistently don’t smell bad or get super weather damaged.

He doesn't own 6 pairs of white sneakers. He has owned 6 pairs of white sneakers over the life of the study, 3 pairs of which he has since "divested" Ie scrapped, and 3 pairs that he currently owns in various stages of their lifecycle.

No need to look down on people who have multiples or similar items. Some people enjoy dressing well or appreciate detailed coordination.

< No need to look down on people who have multiples or similar items. Some people enjoy dressing well or appreciate detailed coordination.

Well it is wasteful in terms of money, materials, and environmental impact. And many people that didn’t grow up with the resources to do this will resent or envy your display of excess. And to some it may come off as trying too hard to be liked and fashion conforming - as in truly wealthy people don’t need to impress you with fashion.

It might not be, if you have 4 shoes they will last longer then one pair, maybe not 4 times, but still.

Tired of this rhetoric. People will consume, no need to shame them.

Personal preference on what you want to wear that day and what the rest of your clothes looks like?

I have at least 8 pairs of sneakers now in the shoe closet in the hallway + 4 or 5 "good Sunday shoes" and 2 pairs of cold weather / walking shoes.

Sneakers don't really age and your size doesn't change, they only get old when worn. So there is no reason not to buy several color combinations you like and wear whichever you think looks nice today. I would call I think half of mine "white" but in more detail they have different stripes and styles.

Dress shoes the same, they last forever and I have them in more or less formal looking as well as colors that match different suits/belts combinations.

Sneakers do age in my case. The sole plastic turns brittle over time. I’ve noticed that orange rubber seems to degrade the quickest. Not sure if that is due to the color or what. Doesn’t help I love on the equator of course.

Shoes are very unique, for me the shoes tend to become worn quickly because I have pronation. They start to slant inwards very quickly, and the inner cushion cracks because of same reason. Also if you do any outdoor sports like running, hiking or orienteering, you need a more shoes. I wouldn't be able to do with two pair of shoes.

What I find odd in this article is the amount of T-Shirts that gets worn off. Maybe because I tend to wear "technical" T-Shirts they don't .

Look at getting orthopedic inserts to “fix” your pronation both your legs and your shoes will be grateful.

No one needs six pairs of the same type of shoe IMO. But I’ve noticed if you wear only one pair they are more prone to developing odor than if you rotate them with a second pair, so there’s maybe a practical reason for more than one. Not to mention our culture sometimes(unfortunately!) looks down on people that don’t vary their outfit, maybe because lack of variety is a signal that it can’t be afforded, so it’s a marker of status.

I have a fair number of pairs of shoes but they're mostly specialty boots for outdoor activities and that sort of thing. To your point, I definitely don't have a bunch of more or less interchangeable casual shoes lying around. (I did used to have quite a few dress shoes but I got rid of most of them at one point given I rarely wore them any longer.)

Shoes last longer if they are not worn everyday.

I find that wearing a rotation of shoes helps them dry out between usages, but then again I have particularly sweaty feet!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com