Saturday, April 23, 2016

T is for Toes

William and Kate touring the museum housed in Old Birla House Delhi and paying their respects at the place where Mahatma Gandhi was killed
Photo source
I was talking with Miss Landers recently about the royal visit of William and Kate to India and Bhutan, and she filled me in on the hoopla about Kate's toes. Apparently, Kate took her shoes off at one point and the photographers zoomed in on her feet. Now the world is abuzz because Kate did not have a pedicure. I'm guessing that her plain toes generated so much talk because, let's face it, just about everything else is perfect with her.

The nude of her sheer tights slightly masked her toes 
Photo source
And all of this toe talk reminded me of something I was wondering about last summer. Does every other woman but me get a pedicure in the summer? I painted my toenails a few times in my younger days, but haven't for years. It's just not something that makes it to the top of my list of things to do. While I do wear sandals in the summer, I mostly wear running shoes which work best for my feet.

At some point last summer, I noticed that everyone around me had a pedicure. I was surprised about this, so I spent the next several weeks making a note about how many women had pedicures. I looked at people's feet everywhere I went. (Sounds a little strange, now that I write that.) And the result of that was I saw only one person that had unadorned toes. However, there were many that did not have a manicure.

So is this a regional thing? Do most people have a pedicure in the summer where you live? Do you always have a pedicure when your feet emerge from winter wear? And do you think that this should be the year that I join the rest of the world with a pedicure, or do I march to my own drummer and remain with Kate and her plain toes?



20 comments:

  1. I do not "have" a pedicure but I give myself one regularly during the summer. I would get one but I can't stand for anyone to touch my feet. I am not sure if it is regional or not, but I am pretty sure if you go out wearing sandals prior to having one here the fashion police will put you in jail. I honestly cannot remember not having my toes done. Even as a little kid Mom put light light pink on our toes.

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    1. Sounds like in the Deep South a pedicure is required. Good to know.

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    2. I have heard (with my own ears) women being talked about because they were in flip flops with bare toes. I have better things to worry about than whether someone has a pedicure or not, but I am not going to give anyone the option of talking about me for that. They are just going to have to find something much more irritating about me than polish or not.

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    3. If they're talking about people without polish, something tells me they will find something else to mention even if your toes are properly adorned.

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  2. I have never paid for a pedicure. Like Anne, I'm not thrilled about people touching my feet. My frugal side has a hard time parting with money for a pedi. I've only had 3 or 4 manicures in my life. I do apply nail polish once sandal season gets under way, mostly to camouflage ugly toenails. I use a very neutral color. I would say about 50% of the women in my area get pedicures, but that's a guesstimate.

    I'm not sure I know the official definition of a pedicure--it looks to me like Kate's toenails are neatly shaped and the skin on her feet has been treated to stay soft--can you have a pedi without having actual nail polish applied? Personally, I like a more subtle look. I've never been a fan of the crazy dark colors that have been popular in recent years. I enjoy other fashion trends but that one is jarring to me.

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    1. If I were young and cute, I might like the crazy colors. Since I am neither I prefer neutrals also, but still I do make sure they are polished and neat.

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    2. Apparently Kate wears neutral polish on her fingernails, so neutral is her style (at least in public). But opinions gathered from podiatrists and others, say she has not had a pedicure and her feet are misshapen from wearing heals. Oh, if my misshapen feet only looked that good.

      I'm starting to get used to it, but the dark colors are not my favorite either. Although I like them on the toes better than the fingers.

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    3. I'm starting to think I'm glad I live in the midwest, since paying attention to the appearance of my feet isn't high on my radar. I suspect that people who live in areas where their feet are more likely to be exposed (the south and the PNW included) are more aware of this because the weather allows for more sandal footwear than in other places.

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    4. I think you may be right about warmer places may pay attention to their feet more because they are exposed more. Also, if the air is not so dry because of bitter cold, their feet and nails are likely to be in better shape. I know both my feet and nails do better in the summer than in the winter.

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  3. There is a down-side to doing toe or fingernails in colored polish. It chips off, and then you have to use a remover (which the smell of gives me a headache) to get the rest of it off, before you can redo your nails. I think Kate's toes look pretty, just as they are. She has young-looking skin and her nails look neat and trim. Silly the things about a person that the news/photographers are concerned about.

    All that said, I do like to put pink polish on my toenails in summer. Because I like my tootsies to look bright and cheery. It's one of those fun things to do in summer.

    I've never had a professional manicure or pedicure, though. I do my own grooming. And for my fingernails, because of the chipping thing, I stick with clear nail polish. If it chips, no one can tell, from normal distances. Yet my nails look shiny and youthful, which I feel is doing great at my age.

    Where I live (PNW)-- basically, you don't want to look like an Old Testament Israelite who's been wandering through the desert for 40 years, in sandals. Neat, trimmed, pumiced and lotioned feet seem to matter more, here, than whether or not you have color on your nails.

    What do you think you'll do this coming summer?

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    1. If I'm going to give full disclosure, my feet are not my best feature. I have hyper lax joints which cause various problems for me including a bunion. Shoes take forever to break in and I've never found a pair that have felt good after very much walking. I've worked with a couple of different podiatrists for years looking for a solution which still alludes me. That's one reason a pedicure has not made it to the top of my list. But, I think the toes may get some more attention this summer.

      I'm just remembering one time I went to a friends house for a foot party. We all brought a pan to soak our feet in and used special salts in the water and lotions afterwards. It felt very good and was a lot of fun.

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  4. I've never had a pedicure in my life. I don't notice other people's toes much. but then again, I cut my own hair too and haven't been to a salon to have it cut in three decades. Too expensive for me on my budget.

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    1. If I thought I could get away with it, I would cut my own hair. But besides having no skill, my hair is a challenge for most people to cut. Luckily I have enough money in my budget to afford a cut. I think I've seen your hair a couple of times on your blog and it looked good to me. Looks like you found a cut that suits you that you can maintain.

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  5. OK, well this ought to make you feel better. I'm not even sure what a pedicure is! Does it just mean wearing nail polish on your toe nails? Is there some other sort of definition? Come to think of it, I'm not exactly sure what a manicure is either - I always assumed it meant false nails or something.

    Well anyway, suffice it to say I've never had any of the above! At the moment I'm just trying to deal with the damage that years of kitty "issues" and the frequent hand washing that comes with them have done to my nails. Seriously, if I could just have nails that were functional - like would allow me to wash my hair and put on clothes without snagging something and tearing it down into the quick, I'd be happy!

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    1. OK... I just read through these comments and I'm totally shocked. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that not having polish on ones toe nails was some sort of a fashion faux pas. Seriously? Of course, my "foot fashion" consists of wearing Birkenstocks year round. Personally I have always thought that nail polish of any variety (on finger nails or toes) looks garish and bizarre. Shaking my head in disbelief...

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    2. I have a lot of the same problems you're talking about with my fingernails in the winter. I try to wear gloves when I'm doing the dishes and that helps a little. My mother had a lot of problems with her nails splitting, etc. for years and she tried everything imaginable from diet and supplements to different things painted on top to no avail. Then a couple of years ago, they cleared up and she has good nails now. Not sure what changed.

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  6. I live in Florida so most everyone down here wears flip flops or sandals most of the year but I couldn't tell you the proportion of people who have pedicures or not. I don't care to look at people's feet or judge them based on whether or not they painted their toe nails or not. Also, I don't like feet.

    Once in a while in the summer I'll put on nail polish on my toes because I always forget when I do so when I happen to look at my feet, it's a little surprise each time. But it's becoming rarer and rarer as I mostly wear sneakers when I go out for comfort reasons... and I go out less and less!

    I'm rather like Strayer although I did go to Great Clips maybe 4 times in the past 20 years to get a haircut and donate my hair to a charity for cancer patients. Otherwise, I don't like strangers touching me so no mani, no pedi, no make-up and no style for me, lol.

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    1. I know what you mean about shoes. I wear sneakers most of the time for comfort reasons. Maybe I'll paint my toes this summer for when I do wear sandals and have a fun surprise when I notice them. Just like you did. :)

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  7. I am definitely in the minority when it comes to pedicures and painting toe nails. I don't do it. I go barefooted any time I can and sandals are on hand when shoes are required but I like things natural. I don't do perfumes either. I feel for Kate being in the spotlight where something as ridiculous as whether or not she has pedicures will be discussed for weeks on end.

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    1. I don't do perfumes either. I don't like my smells to mix. For example, if I'm eating spaghetti, I don't want the smell of oregano to mix with a floral scent I might be wearing.

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What do you think?