I got this very long question in Curious Cat (or questions) and the answer is also pretty long (sorry about that), which made it impossible to reply directly on Curious Cat, so I am going to make use of this journal to address the questions this Anon asked in a single post.

Andy, if you don't mind my asking, and unless you've already explained this somewhere, I'm wondering if you could explain your history with "seasoning". What thought went through your head when you realized this was something you were into?
When did you start this, and have you ever had any "close-calls" with it? Has anyone ever questioned your socklessness, and how did you handle it? You've inspired me to try similar stuff with a pair of house-shoes of mine, though, at a certain point, I inevitably end up chickening-out, and implement the use of baking soda and aftershave, lol.

Hello Anon, I will never mind getting questions from curious cats ;)

The thing is that I really never got smelly feet back when I wore socks, so in an effort to make them musky, I tried going sockless and it still didn't make them smelly; however, I enjoyed the way it felt to wear my sneakers without socks and I also liked being able to see my naked ankles coming out of them.

Add to this that I eventually got to HATE socks because I kept receiving WHITE SOCKS as presents. Seriously, if you are the kind of person who gifts WHITE SOCKS, let me tell you that you are a sub human piece of shit, and that it's way better to not give anything at all (sorry, I needed to let that rant out :P).

I eventually ended up having 150 pairs of white socks, and I am not exaggerating, I counted them. So from that day, in an act of frustration, I gave ALL of them away (consider at least 100 pairs were practically new) and started going sockless. It was when I learned the importance of picking the right kind of sneakers to wear without socks, since not all of them felt nice, and some even felt terrible. I mainly stuck with converse because I like the way they look when worn sockless, they are colorful and the newer models feel so soft and nice. Then after a LONG time of wearing my wine-colored converse (the ones I normally draw myself with) I started noticing a "nice" scent coming from them, even though my feet would still not absorb most of it. So that's when I seriously kept doing it and realized it was the only way of making my feet smell at all XD

So in summary, assuming I picked the right type of sneakers, I love how it feels like, I love how it looks like, I love how it makes my feet smell and feel (since they end up being very smooth and shiny when I remove the sneakers), so all good excuses to keep wearing them that without socks.

Going to the next question, if by "close-calls" you mean having to take them off and risking killing people with the smell, yes I have... when I visited some friends, they had a no-shoes-in-the-apartment policy... so I had to remove them... However, they didn't complain at all, and even when I asked them directly if my feet were smelly, they said they weren't ><;

Honestly you'd have to kneel down and sniff them or bring them close to your nose to catch the smell from my feet. Of course the sneakers do smell, but since they are left near the entrance, it wasn't much of an issue. I've also gone to massage therapies, wearing other converse (not the wine-colored ones) without socks, and never have had any problem. But keep in mind that I have a few pairs of sneakers that I know I will be "seasoning" for musk while I keep others that I would only wear casually whenever I could be in the need of removing them in the presence of others.

Of course people have questioned my socklessness (you are one of those people after all, aren't you? :P ) The way I handle it depends on how they approach it. Most of them (mainly my RL friends) are just curious as to how I am able to do it since it "feels nasty" to them, for which I simply reply that I enjoy the way it feels because my toes are more free and the insoles feel so comfortable and soft. They have also asked if my feet don't get smelly from that, to which I reply that they get as smelly as anybody else's feet regardless of socks or no socks (which is a lie, but they don't know that :P). My mom has questioned my decision mainly when it is winter or whenever I have a cold. I only wear socks when it is very cold outside (or there is snow) or whenever I am sick, but for that I have a different pair of sneakers. Keep in mind that you shouldn't wear sockless sneakers that don't fit comfortably around your feet ideally there shouldn't be much room left in your shoes. All of my converse fit perfectly, which means they don't fit if I put socks on. So I have a pair of bigger converse or a pair of Adidas for whenever I need to wear socks due to the reasons mentioned above. People in general haven't given me a hard time about it, only one guy at work wanted to be a smart ass and teased me a lot when he first saw I was going sockless; however, that time I was wearing espadrilles, and if you don't know what those are, then let me tell you that the PROPER way of wearing those is WITHOUT SOCKS. So I basically educated the guy about it and then he left me alone, lol. Oh yes, I also only wear socks whenever I am going to travel through airplane, since they make you take your shoes off at the security checkpoint and there is NO WAY I am stepping on unknown grounds with my bare feet!!! You must be very careful not to catch any foot fungus, otherwise all your plans will be ruined, since you would need to kill it not only on your feet but on absolutely every single piece of footwear you own (and had worn since the infection).

Going to your final statement, why do you chicken out? You think people are going to care too much about it? The reality is that most people won't even notice. Do you think they will believe you're filthy or have poor hygiene? Well, if the rest of "YOU" looks clean and well-groomed, then it would make no sense for them to think such thing, and you could point that out. Also be mindful of not wearing them whenever you know you will be going to a place where you need to remove them and risking having smelly feet and bothering others.

Since you are going to be doing this (and for anybody else who's curious about trying it) have the following things in mind: (most of you can ignore the section below)

1. Pick the RIGHT kind of sneakers. ALWAYS feel the insoles, they must be soft and cushioned, preferably should provide support for your arches (yes converse kind of do that), they should also fit comfortably around your bare feet and be made of a good quality material, otherwise they will stink really bad. An example of good sneakers to be worn like this are: Converse All Stars or Adidas Superstar. An example of BAD sneakers to be worn like this are: VANS (most of them don't have nice insoles and arch support is non-existent), however there are some Vans for skaters that are very comfortable to be worn sockless.

2. Keep a GOOD FOOT HYGIENE. Seasoning your sneakers is about wearing them for a while and slowly building up your own "substance" into them, rather than having all of that going into your socks, which means that you must keep good foot hygiene. Always wash your feet thoroughly when you shower (WITH SOAP) and don't walk barefoot on surfaces that could get your feet dusty, if you plan on wearing your sneakers.

3. Be careful where you walk barefoot on. You must be very careful not to catch any foot fungi (and don't worry, it won't spontaneously appear in your sneakers if you wear them sockless, there's no such thing as spontaneous generation of life. This could only happen if the skin on your feet gets infected somewhere and then you put on your footwear. This can even happen if you wear socks, so regardless of what you do, be careful. Always wear flip flops or sandals in the gym lockers or public showers. If you were to catch fungi, not only it is hard as fuck to get rid of it, but it will also end your seasoning, as you will have to wash your footwear and disinfect it with sunlight and holy divine spells. So basically you'd need to start over again.

4. Treasure them. If you still live with your parents, HIDE YOUR SNEAKERS. HIDE THEM like they are a dangerous weapon of mass destruction! Not because they will stink, but because your mom will grab them while you're not looking, and she will wash them (thinking she's being a nice mom) and there goes all your hard work!

5. Regardless of whether or not you wear sockless footwear, if you are a foot-lover, do yourself and the world a favor and keep your feet SMOOTH and SOFT. If you don't know how, shoot me another question and I can write a guide on how to do this. It is amazing how many humans (who live in the city) have feet worse than dead crocodile scales! Feel free to ignore this point if that's what you're into, though, dry and rough sand-paperly soles.

6. RAIN is your ENEMY! Do your best to not get your sneakers wet from the rain (or from anything actually). The humidity will turn your scent into a moldy mess (but maybe you'd like that?) I don't really enjoy such odor and many guys who are into smelly feet that I've spoken with, all tend to dislike that odor as well. If they had gotten wet, try your best to leave them under the sunlight and pray for it to keep mold from growing XD Otherwise you'll have to wash them and start over!

7. If you put any lotion on your feet, do not wear the shoes you are seasoning. Remember, the whole point is to get your NATURAL substances into them.

8. DON'T WEAR NEW SNEAKERS. If you bought a new pair, don't try to go out, wearing them without socks. Instead try to twist them, push them, bend them, "massage the material" and wear them without socks inside your house for a while. This is because new sneakers tend to be stiff and they will hurt your feet if you don't wear socks, until you've "tamed" the material and it has gotten more in alignment with your feet. So if you wear them in your house, you'll have the chance of removing them once they start feeling uncomfortable.

That's it. Hope this satisfies your curiosity! ^^;;;;;