Thing is.... feet were never designed to wear shoes and certainly not the shoes designers think we ought to wear! They're also different shapes
depending on your pre-historic origins.

Feet don't like being cooped up in nasty nylon socks or sweat-inducing synthetic shoes - and don't get me started on high heels! They evolved to carry us for miles a day over rough terrain and so tend to keep getting tougher the more we use them 'au naturel'. Good, healthy feet will naturally have several tougher, thicker skinned spots, but shouldn't have cracked skin. You need to go to a chiropodist or podiatrist to get it checked out for fungal or yeast infections. Cutting down on the sugar in your diet will help, especially if you have a furry tongue most days. Use a Ph neutral cream or emolliant such as E45cream and use it often. Let your feet breathe often during the day, avoid wearing your socks or shoes for longer than 12 hours and try to walk barefooted around the house.

I'm still convinced that having "deformed" and soft, tender feet is a fashion statement that we can live without. It all goes back to the days when having soft, delicate feet proved you were a member of the aristocracy and didn't need to walk around - you had servants to do that for you! The more deformed your feet from inappropriate footwear, the less walking you had to do, so the more important you were. The old Chinese custom of foot-binding has its origins in this social class distinction.

Having foot shaped feet with tough, hardened soles pointed out your humble working origins and inability to afford shoes. Mine point out my inability to conform to stupid fashion statements and my working origins in occupations where high heels were just plain stupid! (I wasn't always a desk jockey, I waitressed/cooked for 8 years in all - VERY hard on the feet!)

LTS