Can't wear toe shoes to work anymore

[skye97]

After being ambivalent about them for the last nine or ten months, my boss has finally outlawed toe shoes...meaning my shoes, since no one else wears them.  I work in a corporate environment but we all dress casually.  According to her, corporate is "buttoning down" (total BS - black Jaya LRs look much nicer that traditional running shoes, which are still going to be allowed).  When I asked her what in the dress code specifically ruled out toe shoes, she started to say that they required closed-toed shoes, then stopped, presumably because they ARE close-toed.  Then someone else came in to talk to her and she left the room in the middle of conversation.

I'm grateful to have a job, but this just pisses me off.  I know others have gone through this as well, but it's not even company-wide ban, it's just my boss being irrational.  We have a corporate visit coming up in a couple of weeks and I offered to wear something other than VFFs that day.  Unless they plan on spying on us, they couldn't possibly know about them.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant.  I'm lucky that we're at a point where there are lots of other minimalist shoe options, but I really don't like being discriminated against.

[BearFooted]

Luckily I work for myself so I make the rules.  I have thought about that if I had a job that would not allow me to wear FiveFingers.  I would probably go to my doctor and have them write a letter of medical necessity stating I need to wear the shoe for health reason.  If sneakers are still allowed I would consider going out and buying the most bright and obnoxious pair I could find and wearing those to work. 

[skye97]

Unfortunately our shoes have to be black, so I don't think those are going to pass.  Thanks for the suggestion, though.

The doctor's note is an interesting idea...I wonder if it's possible to find a doctor who would do such a thing.  I've also been wanting to get a pair of Soft Stars for a while, though, so this might be a good excuse.  It doesn't make the situation any less frustrating, but new shoes are always good.

[BearFooted]

Check out the Oetzi3300 brand.  I have been testing a shoe out of their for a week or so now.  I was so impressed with the Troop Boot I ordered the low leather.  They have some styles there that should be appropriate for you.  They have large toe boxes and pretty minimal.

http://shop.oetzi3300.com/

The Madlib Leather might be a good choice:

http://shop.oetzi3300.com/otz-madlib-leather/otz-madlib-leather-black.html

They have a code minimalist that should give you %25 off. 

[jmijares]

Sorry that your VFFs have been outlawed at work skye97.  I feel your pain.  I can't wear mine to work either so I've settled on using the VivoBarefoot RAs...

[pooch]

I'm in a situation at work as well where I cannot wear vffs. So I wear all minimalist.

A shame Stems don't come in a nice standard black, or else I recommend those hands down. I switch between those, Vivobarefoot Neo (black w/yellow sole), Saucony Hattori (used to have the black w/pink sole, but now I have the teal/purple...these are like wearing bedroom slippers!), New Balance Minimus Trail (black w/blue highlights) and Merrell Pace Glove (lavender). I tried the Zem's at work and they are the most minimalist of them all...but until they improve the sole design to wrap it up the heel, I can't recommend them because I found I walked on the stitching where the sole meets the shoe fabric - and that was not comfy - constant adjustments all day.

Try the Hattori on - its very very light and in black, inconspicuous.

Good luck!

[Litening]

Have you tried the Merrell Trail Gloves? I ahve a pair of them and they are awesome. They give you enough room for your toes to splay out like a VFF, but it's close toed. Very nice and comfortable. The sole is about as thick as a komodosport. They have shoes that are all black or black with a hint of some other colors.

That could be  good alternative for your minimalist wear.

[bohicawill]

 I am in my second week of wearing my VFF's (Black Leather KSO Treks) to work, I have had some teasing from friends but nothing really negative. Today I had a coworker ask about them, he feels they would help his foot problems. I was all to happy to give him information to help him find and order them. My boss other than giving me permission to wear them has said nothing else to me about them, he is a fair minded person. I am sorry to hear that you cannot wear them anymore, there are days I count my blessings and give thanks. I hope your situation improves because it sounds to me like a case of shoe discrimination!

[acc]

You said black Jaya LR so I'm going to assume you're female.

In addition to Oetzi3000 (which I have never seen anywhere but that site), I would try Vivobarefoot Mary Jane/Kali/Ra (a pain to find in stock) or Merrell Barefoot Pure leather glove (also kind of pricey unless you can find it on sale).

If you look on http://birthdayshoes.com/forum/buy-sell-or-trade/authorized-vff-reseller-discount-thread/msg52890/#msg52890 I made a section for non-VFF stuff but unfortunately they (Merrell/VivoBarefoot) are rarely on sale.

Best thing I can find at the moment is

$41 Vivobarefoot Venus http://www.planetshoes.com/item/vivobarefoot-venus/13941/bw8

$30 off anything over $100 (Kali), til 11:59 pm PST Tuesday, November 29, 2011 , http://www.onlineshoes.com/womens-vivobarefoot-kali-black-nappa-leather-p_id234418 or http://www.onlineshoes.com/womens-vivobarefoot-mary-jane-black-nappa-leather-p_id234783

20% off Pure glove http://www.shoes.com/en-US/Product/EC1240725-5143007/MERRELL/Black/Women's+Barefoot+Pure+Glove.aspx?icid=undefined

[skye97]

Thanks for all the suggestions!   I'm still leaning towards the RunAmoc DASH (they seem so simple and the company is somewhat local to me, which I always like) but will definitely check out some alternatives.  Sadly, the Merrells are too narrow for me...otherwise that would be a good choice, since I prefer for my shoes to be multipurpose.

[BearFooted]

Where are you located?  I really can't recommend the Oetzi3300 enough.  I getting another pair in the mail Thursday.  These boots I am wearing are great.  I can fit my feet in them with correct toes on!

These are the ones I am getting in the mail:



I ordered a Size 43 which should be true to size.  The boot I have is a size 44 so it could be a little bit big but I like my boots bigger.  I plan on having a review up for both the Troop Boot and the Low Leather. 

[pooch]

What exactly is Oetzi? They a minimalist shoe company? I can't find an "About Us" section to read more about them.

[verity]

@bearfooted
would love to hear your review on those oetzi's you have.  I've been interested in both models but haven't pulled the trigger.

[skye97]

Where are you located?  I really can't recommend the Oetzi3300 enough.  I getting another pair in the mail Thursday.  These boots I am wearing are great.  I can fit my feet in them with correct toes on!

I'm in Seattle, so I could theoretically drive to the Soft Star factory and back in a day (though I'm not crazy enough to actually do that).  The Oetzis seem like a great shoe, but honestly, I prefer the look of the Soft Stars...maybe that makes me weird, but so be it.   But I second Verity's request - a review on the Oetzis would be great!  If I knew more about them I would be more inclined to consider them.

[Kyrah]

Because I'm me, if I were in your toe shoes, I would tell my boss that unless they could give me a legitimate safety reason or a reason stated in the published company facts that I would continue to wear my toe shoes.  I would also go on to point out that my work productivity would go down by switching to something that was no longer comfortable to me.

Hehe.  But that's just me as I can be a rather.....challenging.....individual

On that note however, I really like the Vivo's that I have and would strongly recommend Stem's if they came in black if someone else said