Recently, I have been noticing a disturbing trend, and it reminded me of an old episode of a little show called Sex and the City. The lead character, Carrie, owned an expensive pair of Manolo Blahnik stiletto shoes (she actually owned many). Carrie was off to a party at a friend’s home wearing said shoes. Upon arrival to the home, the homeowner asked that Carrie remove her shoes at the door. Carrie didn’t want to remove her shoes, as she claimed they were “part of her outfit”. After much resistance, she removes her heels and enjoys her host’s dinner party. At the end of the night, Carrie’s shoes were nowhere to be found…stolen at that party. The episode is about Carrie asking the host to compensate her for the stolen shoes since she insisted on her removal of them. This made for a comical, ingenious episode, but it made me wonder: |
Is it ever okay to leave your shoes on in someone ’s home?
(see what I did there?)
Dirt: Streets are filthy! Just because you can’t see caseloads of mud being tracked through your home, does not mean that the bottom of your shoes are clean. Aside from typical dirt from the street, you are also exposed to fluids from others, like vomit, spit, or food.
Damage: If your host has hardwood flooring or tile, they don’t need your heels creating a dent or a scratch.
However, I also entirely get Carrie’s point of view, and would have ultimately agreed she were able to keep them on, if she had carried them to my home instead of wearing them. There was no way those shoes were remotely comfortable for walking New York streets but… Beauty over Pain!
Alternatively, there are several reasons for asking someone to keep their shoes on, typically reserved for convenience, like furniture movers or a person’s physical concern with their feet.
For all others however, unless the owner specifically insists that you keep your shoes on, pretend in that moment that you were born in the era of politeness and respect and remove your shoes.
Don’t even ask.
Now the only question is...
Was Carrie correct in demanding compensation from the homeowner?