When I was younger (& thinner), my boyfriend & I went to a concert one evening. I wore an outfit involving red, so I wore some red pumps with it; as heels go, they were on the low side, but they were about as "high" a heel as I ever wore. We spent the night at his place, & went to a movie the next day. I had brought a change of clothing, but forgotten to pack my everyday footgear (flat sandals), so I wore the (bright) red pumps with my jeans & sweater. To my amazement, the boyfriend (very PC, not to mention feminist) was intensely embarrassed by this sartorial statement, and wanted to get back to the car as soon as possible – he was afraid someone he knew might see him with a woman wearing jeans and bright red heels – what would they think? (OF course, this was the same (BTW, now ex-) boyfriend who felt that it wasn't appropriate to hold hands in public – sort of in solidarity with gays, who are likely to feel constrained to do so... but that's another thread completely!). I guess he was afraid it would look like he was keeping company with a tart (or even worse – a bimbo!). I thought it was pretty funny.

Anyway, here's my personal take on footgear:

I like my shoes simple, and comfy to wear
Them spike heels and ribbons just don't get me there
Give me old leather sandals that ain't from a mall
The only thing better is no shoes at all!