@rightwingsjw @cassidyclown Traditionally made leather shoes will stretch and conform to your feet as you wear them. Pointed and narrow shoes are, of course, going to mess up your feet; there's no substitute for a shoe that fits properly.

What these "barefoot" shoes are a return to is the unheeled shoes and sandals of the middle ages, and before that, they were free from padding and other modern materials, although before rubber was available, so they are a lot grippier than their ancestors, a reason why heeled shoes caught on, because a heeled leather soled shoe has more traction than a flat outsole, as well as the use of stirrups.