“I went on a date with a doctor last year,” says Teresa Allen, a 32-year-old from Washington, D.C. “He was wearing flat-front trousers and flip-flops. He told me that he had just come from the gym. I thought it was ridiculous that someone would want their first impression to include a full view of their toes.”

And if vulgarity—on par with exposing chest fur or, Gunn says, a midriff—and affectedness aren’t enough of an argument for Gucci loafers, consider the hazards.

“These queens trying to be all Abercrombie wear flip-flops to bars,” says Brian Moylan, an editor at the Washington Blade in D.C. “And then they’re like, ‘Oh my God! That guy stepped on my foot!’ No kidding, asshole.”