We're your hosts -- sparkle_flips and nosocksforme -- and we're going to celebrate summer by getting everyone here even more excited about our favorite fashionable item -- the flip-flop.

feetwantout is a place for you to post pictures of your feet acting naturally -- trying to get away from socks and shoes! Every day, we'll post a challenge for a new photo subject -- from the newest flip-flops in your collection to your most creatively painted toes -- and the best response wins a $5 LJ gift certificate.*

Anyone can be a member of feetwantout, and all members can post their pictures (we just have to approve them, but we promise to be quick about it). Post in comments or make your own post (but please use a cut-tag to spare those on slow connections!).

*Read the official rules here, okay?

sparkle_flipsnosocksforme and I are happy to announce last week's winners:

azsisters
cheesefries25
xdamagedrosesx
origami_agent
erotic_dralion
leftcleftdo
busyme

Someone from LJ will be in touch with your prizes.

And we want to thank you all for participating, posting pictures and telling your favorite flip-flop stories. We've both had a huge amount of fun hearing new tips & tricks for foot and footwear care, plus seeing all your beautiful and bejeweled toes and toenails.

This is the end of our happy feet ride (at least for now), but you can always visit our sponsor, Havianas, at their all flip-flops, all the time website, feetwantout.com.

Keep your feet happy and free forever!!

nosocksformesparkle_flips totally caught me buying shoes yesterday! (I bought a pair of Tommy Hilfiger orange espadrille sandals that have a simple tie around the ankle. I did not buy the $50 Steve Madden crystally flip-flops because I just couldn't justify them. I loved them, but I'll wear these more. And mostly, because I was swayed by the lure of the orange shoes that matched a dress I just bought).

So, in talking about all of the fabulous elements of summer and summer shoes, we've neglected one of the biggest issues?

Why flipflops?

What's the appeal? Why are we so devoted to something that started out as a way to keep the skin from burning off your feet on the dash from sand (or concrete) to water? (Aside from that obvious appeal!!)

How did you make the transition from these as practical footwear to serious fashion accessory?

For me, I totally remember the first time they were a necessity. On the first big vacation my family took (from Colorado to California), my mother and I stopped at a grocery store right on the California border and ran in to buy seriously old school flip flops (matching no less) to celebrate the prospect of seeing the ocean.

For me, living in Southern California, I realized that I wanted the freedom of shoes that could come on and off, while still showing off my pretty painted toenails, and here, as opposed to other places I'd lived, flipflops were pretty - they were multi-colored, they came with platforms, they came with heels, they came with jewels and glitter, and yet still did exactly what I wanted from them!

Plus, they always make me think of those first moments of giddy anticipation before I saw the ocean!

So, tell us your own story! Most creative wins the prize.*

*Read the official rules here, okay?

sparkle_flipsnosocksforme is actually shoe-shopping at this very second, in case you were wondering what we do in our spare time.

Since moderating this comm, but of us have become even more obsessed with feet and what people do with them than we were to start off with. I find myself looking at strangers from the feet up, checking their footwear and then trying to guess what the rest of them might look like -- what kind of clothes they'll be wearing, or how they'll do their hair.

What I've learned is that a lot of people -- especially where I live -- really love to have sparkly flip flops and toe rings, no matter how else they look from the ankles up. And of course that made me wonder --

Which pair of flip flops is most representative of you? Which is the kind of shoe that one of your closest friends could look at and just know is the one you'll pull off the rack? Which is the most telling of your personality?

For me I'm going to have to go with this one:





It's got both silver metal and insole, has a little bit of a heel (what one woman I know calls a "kitty heel," though I don't know why!) and that sexy circle right in the middle. I get more compliments on these shoes than anything else I've owned in years.

The most creative answer (bonus points for pictures) will win a $5 LJ gift certificate.

*Read the official rules here, okay?

nosocksformeSo, on the other side of sparkle_flips request for the biggest shoe splurge (my own being the endless cycle of pointe shoes that I bought when I went back on pointe as an adult. I spent more than $100 bucks for a pair of Gaynor-Minden's):



which, I'm the only dancer on the planet for whom these shoes (specially designed to not hurt!!) actually killed my feet. Turns out, a $40 pair of Sansha's (an absolute bargain) were the perfect shoes for me.

So, the challenge of the day:

Best shoe bargain ever!?!?

The Sansha's were not the best shoe bargain ever for me. That would be the three pairs of KILLER platform shoes I got from Nine & Co for $40 total in the late 1990's during the brief upswing in platform popularity (this is particulary funny if you bear in mind that I'm 5'10 on a slouchy day, and one of the pairs resembled these:



in height. I wore most of them only a few times, and would love to get a display case or something for them because they're totally works of art.

As always, most creative response wins the prize!*

*Read the official rules here, okay?

sparkle_flips

It's almost Friday. Got your almost-paycheck burning a hole in your pocket?

This diamond and gold flip-flop charm made me wonder just how far I would go to pamper my feet. (I'm kinda cheap to start off with!)

So -- what's your biggest foot indulgent splurge? It could be a pair of shoes (that's almost too easy) or some other high-end ticket. Even if you never coughed up the cash, what did you wish you could afford?

The most creative answer (bonus points for pictures) will win a $5 LJ gift certificate.


*Read the official rules here, okay?

nosocksformeAll right, this is a killer week for me - lots of running around, and a lot of dancing, and I, unexpectedly, got a foot rub that totally made my week. (Mostly getting my feet rubbed makes me stupid with melty glee. Fortunately, when I get a pedicure, I'm often trying not to giggle instead of making embarrassing noises of joy).

So, my question for all of you:

What's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for your feet?

Foot massage? Paraffin bath? Pedicure? Snazzy new shoes? A trip to the beach? Handed you a pair of slippers after a killer heel day?

Be creative, and show us what you're talkin' about. Best example wins the prize.*

*Read the official rules here, okay?

sparkle_flips

Apparently I'm stuck in a rut of questions that I'm way too ashamed to illustrate with personal photos.

But this is a really important question!

How do you clean your flip flops? Throw them in the washer? Wipe down with a fancy solution? Chuck them and start over?

The best tips and tricks for making sure your shoes are as pretty as your feet will win a $5 LJ gift certificate.


*Read the official rules here, okay?

sparkle_flipsI can't at all complain about spending a week on the beach -- but I will say that I'm glad the salon where I'd planned to get a fresh pedicure upon arriving (too squished for time on the way out!) was overbooked, because 10 minutes in the hot sand and it would have been ruined.

I finally gave in and applied touch-ups myself, but every time I stepped back out into the ocean I lost another toe -- well, another toenail's polish, anyway.

Which made me wonder...

What's the fastest way to ruin a good pedicure? Got any tips on how to make it last longer that seems humanly possible?

(Believe me when I say you don't want to see a picture of this one.)

Most creative and/or helpful answer wins the prize, a $5 LJ certificate.

*Read the official rules here, okay?

nosocksformeSo, first of all, sparkle_flips sent everyone a postcard from her vacation:




Apparently the flip flop is not only fashion accessory, but decorating choice in Hawaii!

The winners of last week's challenges are as follows:

15_characters
nuja
jorjioarmoni
floodwarning

Congratulations to all of the winners so far, past and present!

nosocksformeOkay, it is an utterly gorgeous Saturday and I had to drive along the PCH on my way back from my Saturday morning writer's group and all along the coast there were surfers. All of these beautiful, beautiful surfers - men and women, boys and girls - and just people decked for this weather that's all about sand and surf.

So, it made me immediately think of some of my favorite images - men with bare feet. Whether it's surfers or celebrities or the boyfriend du jour, there's something really delectable vulnerable about men with bare feet.

So, today's challenge is totally visual.

What's your favorite image- from your own life or from the big bad outside web - of anyone with bare feet?

I'm particularly looking for situations where the person is dressed normally, just lacks shoes, but I'll take anything that fits the category. (You know those celeb photos, men with levis and white shirts and bare feet...)

Prettiest picture wins the prize.* (And by prettiest, I just mean the won that has that zing of appeal for us, the totally unbiased mods here at feetwantout!

*Read the official rules here, okay?