PLEASE DON"T DO IT!!! UGHHHHHHH! It just looks SO tacky!! Like another poster said - if you need to wear socks - DON'T wear sandals. And if you DO wear sandals - make sure your feet are clean and well taken care of - nothing looks worse than ugly, dry, crakced feet hanging out of sandals for the whole world to see. Nothing's worse, except socks AND sandals, that is.

And as far as it being a "look" in Oregon, Berkeley or anywhere else - it's a lousy, yucky , tacky look and those who indulge it need to lose the look. I totally agree with missjanna - it looks like something an old, old grandpa would wear!

Methinks I detect a split here, but I'm not sure how to describe it...urban vs. outdoorsy? I see folks wearing tan cotton socks and Tevas or Birkies and the like in Minnesota all the time; I used to see it often in AZ and CA and KS too, but rarely in VA, southern and northern, or in DC. So maybe it's a no-no only on the right coast? Don't know. What I do know is that regardless of what some of us may think of them, people wear socks with sandals all the time, and the world continues to turn.

I can't imagine ever doing socks & sandals ... but so what if I do?

Look the other way. I'm on vacation for MY enjoyment, not anyone elses.

And as if this is even about travel ... some of these threads are getting way out of hand: "name my dog" "name my baby" "tacky tourist sitings" ..... why all the yip yak on a travel forum? There's plenty of chatty message boards out there for that crap.

ONLY if they are striped socks. And preferably toe socks. I get comments all the time when I wear mine. People just point and STARE. Jealous.

What do sandals have to do with travel? Well, let's see......... I start planning my trip, what to pack............... oh, yes, my sandals!!! Can't travel without my sandals!!! OKAY, now do I have the nerve to leave all my husband's socks out of the suitcase so he WON'T wear them with his sandals????????;-)

Apparently, lots of us travelers like to discuss these "fringe-y" issues..... ignore my thread if YOU find it irrelevant!

I love this thread, and want to thank you, bonniebroad, for bringing a smile to my face today!

As for what the State Footwear of Oregon is worn with, that would be fleece, not a windbreaker. Fleece is cozy and the perpetual sprinkles bead up on the surface.

As for the reason for the socks, they keep your feet warm, of course! Why not close toed shoes, you may ask? Anyone who has ever broken in a pair of Birks will understand. They are a sandal for all seasons in the PNW.

Birkenstock doesn't rhyme with Birks and socks for nothing, by the way.

rb, why have you been so cranky lately?

The replies to this thread are SO funny! Thanks for the laugh, while I wait for the a/c guys to come visit!

My sighting ) Most recently, in Little Italy, NYC, there were some elderly gentlemen, with dark shorts, white button down shirts and black socks with their sandals, standing on their doorstep having a visit..yep, even in good ole NYC.

Bonnie, if you leave your husband's socks behind, take lots and lots of band-aids for corns and blisters!

I wear my striped toe-socks with my birks all the time in the winter. Difference being....I do not leave the house in them. I just do it to drive my hubby nuts, plus they are very warm and comfy that way. But ONLY at home....

Faina, I wouldn't dare!;-) There'd be hell to pay!

peterboy - don't worry about this "look" becoming popular in Mass. This has been a west coast "look" for decades rather than a new trend. Well, unless Cameron Diaz starts sporting the "look", then, like uggs which have also been popular on the west coast for decades, it may become popular in the mainstream.

I assume all those who abominate socks with sandals have equal contempt for yellow patent leather loafers seen at Florida resorts? Anything made of lime spandex? And I know fancy leather loafers without socks is just so very in a la Eurotrash, but I just look at them and know what they smell like. And what I would give if they'd outlaw baseball caps worn backwards!!!

I think it looks dorky, as opposed to downright ugly, and I've certainly never left the house wearing this combo. However, I will confess that very occasionally when there was no other choice I have put on a pair of thin black socks with black sandals and black pants, in the hope of warming my freezing tootsies and no one noticing that the all-black area at the bottom of my legs was really 2 separate pieces of apparel.

I don't prefer the look at all, but know of two millionaires in town that DO. Two lovely, older, generous and gracious gentlemen who many say have kept our town alive.

Brings me back to what someone else said earlier on another thread: Money does not equal class.

Audra, I saw that you mentioned that on another thread, forgive me, but where is the money part in this topic?

Orcas--obviously we are both true PNW residents since we understand the reasoning of the socks and the fleece to go with, lol!

I don't understand the "wear it if you want to" mentality, sorry. I was raised by mother to be neat and presentable when I went out into public and to dress for the occasion. That means not going to the theatre in Levis, not wearing shorts to church, and not wearing yoga pants and tennies to a business appointment. I am pretty sure that socks with sandals fits in here too. Sure, this still a somewhat fee country and you can do it if you want to, but why do you want to?

And please, I hope no one here is inferring that this a look throughout all of CA. I am a native Angeleno and would never be caught dead in public in socks and sandals. I suppose there are still some pockets of fashion sanity in the Golden State.

And, in an attempt to make this a travel-related post, let me say there is no reason to look like a cocky American redneck on your way to a NASCAR event when visiting Sacre Couer, or to walk around Times Square dressed like you just got through doing yard work. And don't come down to the beach wearing a Speedo, an open sport shirt, fanny pack, black socks and slippers. Seriously. I will send you back to your room to change into something more appropriate. Sheesh.

To the poster who said he wears socks with sandals "to keep his feet warm", here's what I don't understand.

Most of us wear sandals when it gets warm, so that our feet can breathe and feel cool. Then you throw on socks in the fall and winter to keep your feet warm. Now if my theory is correct, isn't the socks with sandals thing a contradiction in this case?

BTW most people here in NYC wear their Birkenstocks WITHOUT socks.

I have German acquaintances who come to the states every year for a month. They wear good sandals, everywhere, all the time. And if they're chilly, they just put socks on with them. (I've never seen them "dressed up"..... assume they'd wear other shoes with a suit!) Now I'm wondering how Europeans, in general, view this habit....... hmmmmmmmmm......