It would be a strong statement to say that I hate flip-flops.

I actually even own a pair of them. Or two, if you count the one that I should have thrown away long ago.

Whereas you'll never see a pair of Ugg boots or leggings in my closet. (Low-rise pants, however, though evil, have become a part in my wardrobe in those dark years when it was the only things you could buy in the stores. Now Maggie Gyllenhaal is wearing pants so high-waisted in The Dark Knight that they double as a bra, and mid-rise to high-rise pants have come back to the stores and there is hope again.)

But I'm not very found of them.

The first problem is the little thingie between your toes. One, it does not suit my toes very well (as my big toes are rather distorted, anything that attract attention upon them is unwelcome). Two, it hurts them. Whether it's cheap plastic or expensive leather, the thingie between the toes (I am sure it has a name, but is it known outside of the closed world of shoe making?) is painful to my delicate little feet appendages. This is why I only wear my flip-flops around the house, where the amount of walking to do is usually rather limited.

The second problem is that 95% of flip-flop wearers wear them sloppily. Flip-flops, somehow, make most people look like they're headed to the beach. How a pair of sandals makes the difference between looking professional enough (I have rather low expectations in terms of professional looks. Remember I am an academic person, not a corporate lawyer) and like you just hopped out of bed is beyond me, but the fact is, it very often does. I've seen people in old jumpsuits and sneakers looking more awake, caring and dressed up than others in neat skirts and flip-flops.

But the worst is without doubt the noise. Oh, the noise. You've heard high-heels on wooden staircases. You've heard wooden clogs in hospital corridors. You've heard metallic heels on an echoing surface. You think you've heard it all. And then come some of the flip-flop wearers, dragging their feet in the most unflattering way – tiny Asian girls are especially good at making more noise with a pair of flip-flops than Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire together with a pair of tap-shoes (each), I noted.

And it just makes me cringe. More, it actually makes me want to walk to the offender, slap them a few times across the face, and ask them if they've ever heard of manners. A bit irrational, maybe. But flip-flops do that to me. No one should be allowed to drag their feet in such a way that you hear them from a block away.