Day 7: Dressing Up in My KSOs
Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 8:42PM Most of the activities that I've done in my Vibrams have taken little courage to undertake. Running, playing, even walking in the snow have not been big leaps for me. Wearing my FiveFingers to work, however, was just shy of anxiety ridden, not because of the physical demands but because of the emotional ones. Today was even more difficult.
I was raised with the understanding that you go to church wearing your formal clothes. You act your best and wear your best. I believe it was my parents echoing in the back of my head that had me questioning whether or not I should be wearing my KSOs below my shirt, tie, and dress slacks. Like a teenager, I wrestled with the decision then did what I wanted anyway. And guess what? It wasn't as big of a deal as I made it out to be.
Yeah, I worry about what others think about me far too often, something I'm working on getting over. KSOs at church was a great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and work on this weakness. The truth is not very many people even noticed the footwear, and those who did either eyed them for a moment before turning their heads or were sincere in their questions regarding them. Only one person challenged that they were not appropriate for church, so I countered that I was checking to see if church members would be able to accept me for who I was on the inside. My ecclesiastical leader was listening in on the conversation and shared his opinion through a chuckle.
I will admit that I look forward to getting a pair of black KSO treks, a somewhat more formal FiveFinger shoe, to wear to church. There aren't many more places on this planet that are more sacred than the tops of mountains. Then why wouldn't the shoe that takes me there be appropriate for church?
Reader Comments (6)
I wore mine to church yesterday, too. They were definitely a hit at the Super Bowl party later that night, which ended in conversation about barefoot, "Born to Run" and VFF's.
I was going to suggest the all black for this... I think they wouldn't get noticed much at all.
I had the same hesitation. I have black Classics - the dark color helped but the naked tops of my feet sort of distracted people. After one Sunday I opted to start wearing some low profile lace less chino's. People were pretty nice about it - no real comments from folks but I figured I better not press my luck. :)
At my Church's superbowl Party, everyone who noticed said that they look like alien feet...
I just got a pair of KSO Treks last week, and LOVE them! I've been wearing my green and blue "froggy" KSOs since October and love them to death, but I wanted a pair of more dressy looking VFFs, as well as something to give me just a teeny bit more insulation from the cold ground when I visit Colorado.
They are *fantastic*!
My wife and I are training for a half-marathon (having started in January as completely non-runners!) with Team In Training, and we're both going to run our race in our VFFs! (We're blogging about it at http://featforfourfeet.com if you're interested in our experiences.)
Love the blog, and I'll drop a link to you in our sidebar!
-Rick
Thank goodness that aliens are welcome at my Church :-)