PIECING together an outfit, Brittany Balinkski picks out her perfect accessories before touching up her makeup.
But there is one accessory that she won’t be seen dead in – a pair of shoes.
While some women might shun heels this mum refuses to wear any footwear whatsoever and lets her kids run barefoot claiming it’s not “dirty” and “shoes are a social construct”.
Brittany, 35, says she has been going barefoot all her life and believes that shoes are “unnatural” and “unsafe” – causing wearers to suffer with posture and sensory issues, she claims.
She says her four children – nine, seven, five, and three – have “rejected” shoes, and now go on family walks in the woods barefoot – even stopping at KFC for a bite or taking the train without footwear.
Her husband, who always liked the idea, felt more comfortable on his barefoot journey with Brittany by his side, and now the couple walk barefoot together.
Brittany also believes that children naturally repel the idea of shoes, due to their strong natural senses of what is good for them.
The content creator from North Warwickshire, Midlands, protests that she is a “very normal person, who tends to like walking without shoes”, and that people don’t think twice when seeing her barefoot.
She says she often drives without her shoes, and even leaves the house without a thought if she is barefoot or not.
If Brittany wears footwear she wears barefoot shoes – a form of flat shoes that mimic the natural shape of the foot, and allow feeling underneath.
Brittany says: “I started going barefoot the day I was born, humans come out of the womb without shoes, we all started barefoot.
“Shoes aren’t naturally shaped like your foot – which makes no sense to me.
“You wouldn’t have a cone on your head as a helmet – and you wouldn’t put on mittens if you were doing something intricate – it just doesn’t make sense.
“So why put shoes on?”
“I don’t wear them when we are out. I go on walks with the family around our town and into the woods, people look down at my feet – yes – but they then smile as if they respect it.”
Brittainy claims if you are barefoot, you maintain a better posture due to your shoes displacing your toes, resulting in a change in gait.
She says: “If you walk barefoot, you can move easier.
“We ignore our needs as women when it comes to shoes as we are shoving our feet into shoes that make our feet smaller, because small feet being attractive is a social construct.
“Shoes are shaped nothing like your feet, the way your body moves changes drastically even with the smallest heel rise.”
The mum also says she isn’t concerned about her children stepping on anything.
“No I don’t worry, that’s what skin is for,” she says.
“People don’t worry about dogs feet.
“We all have a risk assessment.
“What I have noticed online is there is a really indoctrinated fear of sharp things – and that sharp things mean death.
“I don’t think my children are going to die [if they get some sharp in their foot].
“On Saturday we were walking through a city centre and my eldest – nine said I’m going to take my shoes off.
“My seven year old decided to take them off too.
“It’s nothing I have done to project it on to them.
“They all continued to walk barefoot – even I wasn’t.
“It’s a non-issue.
“People think shoes are a necessity but actually they are an accessory.”
Brittainy also says that “ground feedback” is something we are missing, where the nerve endings in the feet can process information about what they are stepping on.
The strict shoe rule all royal women follow
WE notice lots of things about royal women, from their impeccable outfits and glossy hair, but there is a strict rule when it comes to shoes too.
For official engagements or outings when representing the royal family it’s considered bad etiquette to wear open shoes as they’re seen to be too informal.
And this is a rule all of the women in the royal family have to abide by.
Taking a look back at Kate Middleton’s outfits, she’s always one to wear a court style and it turns out it’s not by choice (even though they do always look great).
Female guests at the royal wedding were also told to avoid flashing their toes. That wasn’t the only dress-code instruction either, they were advised to wear dresses that covered their shoulders and that were midi length or longer.
She says: “Shoes have hard rubber soles and people’s feet are unable to detect senses.
“There are so many nerve endings in our feet and when we cover them with card and foam footwear we desensitise the feeling between the floor and our feet.”
She also believes children reject the idea of shoes because they are getting to know their senses.
Brittany claims: “So many people’s children don’t like wearing shoes and it is no wonder – they are crying out to feel from their hands and feet because that is how they make sense of the world.
“They also change the child’s feet in all different ways – it is unnatural.
“My children and I do not wear shoes out of choice, and if we do we wear barefoot shoes – and people online say it’s dirty.
“There is literally no difference between my shoes and my feet. I wash my feet far more than anyone washes shoes.
“In the height of August you see people in sandals and flip flops – you can see 90% of the soles of their feet – how does that make mine gross?
“I could wear a piece of yarn around my toe and no one would notice that I am barefoot so how is that an issue.
“I have never been one to care about it – you have to not care – walking barefoot is a thing of self confidence.”
