FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are barefoot shoes ?

Barefoot or minimalist shoes try to mimic the feeling of walking barefoot. The elements of a barefoot shoe are –zero drop (flat) from heel to toe, flexible and thin sole and a wide toe box. A barefoot shoe can be stylish, that’s why we started paidal.

Wearing barefoot shoes can improve posture, balance and stability. It can also relieve pain by redistributing pressure and strengthening under-used muscles. It’s like the princess and the pea, a small change leads to massive benefits.

  • A flexible sole strengthens feet and reduces stiffness.
  • The flat shoe improves posture and redistributes uneven pressure by properly distributing your weight across the length your foot.
  • A wide toe box allows your toes to splay naturally and improves balance and stability. 
  • A thin sole increases sensitivity and reactivity to the ground while you walk.
We recommend transitioning slowly and listening to your body. If this is the first time that you are trying barefoot shoes, we recommend buying paidal’s padded range (coming very soon). It will take your entire body time to adjust to the new way that you are moving. Think of it like a new exercise, you might find your feet and calves are a bit achy and fatigued like they’ve had a good workout. If any pain persists or feels wrong, we recommend consulting your doctor.

Our leather comes from tanneries that are certified by LWG where possible and as mentioned on individual product pages. LWG or Leather Working Group is a global not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder initiative that sets ethics and sustainability standards for leather manufacturers and traders.

We order the best quality, minimally processed leathers. When we design our shoes, we take care to pick a leather that works with the style and purpose of the shoe, to give you the best experience possible. We have tried to represent the colors of our leathers accurately, however variations may be seen in real life.

While the jury is out on what is actually better for the planet, we decided to go the time tested route with leather. It is breathable, hard wearing and long lasting. And nothing else can give the natural texture and color of leather.

Behind the scenes we are constantly working on developing more styles and adding more types and colors of leather. To give you a flavor – we are working on releasing our current styles with padding and in more colors and leathers. We are also working on making shoes for men and children (we didn’t forget!). For updates, you can follow us on Instagram or sign up to our mailing list or both!