There is nothing worse than smelly feet.  I can tolerate a lot from a guy, but a man with smelly feet is not someone I want to get close to.  You might be asking yourself, “How do guys feet end up smelling so bad?”.  The answer is, more often than not, because they make the choice to skip the socks for comfort or style. But there is a hard and fast rule that all men should commit to memory: Sweaty feet combined with no socks, always results in bad news.

 So what can a man do to avoid stinking up a room?  

Skipping Socks

First off, let’s talk about why so many guys are opting out of wearing socks.  Many men like to skip the socks when wearing casual canvas shoes, like Vans or Converse, because they prefer the aesthetic of showing their bare ankles off to the world. While others prefer to wear athletic performance sneakers from Nike or Adidas and forego cotton socks because they like the way it feels with a barefoot laced up inside a lightweight trainer. Then there is the more recent trend of more fashionable gentlemen choosing to opt out of expensive business style socks when sporting a pair of leather loafers or even oxford lace up dress shoes.  This trend, straight from the pages of GQ magazine, has gained significant momentum as the look of cropped suit pants and bare ankles has become more and more desirable among wannabe stylish businessmen.

But every attempt to look more stylish and fashionable, always comes with a drawback.  Nevermind the fact that some men’s shoes can cause serious ankle and foot irritation, the biggest problem with going sockless is the smell that will undoubtedly occur when a man sweats inside his shoe and there is no sock to absorb the odor.

What can a man do to alleviate an olfactory disaster in public?  

Tips for Banishing Foot Odor

1. First off, try to keep your shoes on at all times.  The moment you remove the shoe from the foot, any odors that had built up inside will undoubtedly make their way into the nostrils of any innocent bystanders in the vicinity.

2. Another helpful hint is to try using a foot powder that contains talcum and baking soda, two key ingredients in absorbing sweat and deodorizing. Gold Bond makes a great product for this very purpose.  Remember, if you use deodorant on your underarms, why wouldn’t you use it on your feet?

3. Another piece of advice that seems simple and obvious, but many men just simply neglect: keep the inside of your shoes clean! Some canvas shoes can actually be washed in the washing machine on a low cycle. Some more fancy shoes can be sprayed on the inside with a antibacterial spray in between wearings.

4. Weather typically plays a huge role in how much a man sweats, especially in his feet.  Just because its warm outside, doesn’t mean you must immediately ditch the socks. Remember if the temperature is up and you know you will be moving around a lot, your feet are very likely to perspire.

Other Options 

If you really want to keep the sockless look but can’t kick the smell, try wearing a super low cut sock, that protects your foot but is invisible to everyone else.  They come in many different sizes and thicknesses and are very popular among men who want to show some ankle but not stink up the office, bedroom or restaurant.

So remember, there are lots of ways to look and feel your best without ending up as the smelly feet guy.  If you keep your feet cool and clean, you be worry free and have great smelling feet all day long. Have questions about keeping your feet smelling good? Tweet at me @pursuitofshoes.