American etiquette expert Tom Julian chatted about whether fashion conscious men should wear sandals during the summer this week and came up with a qualified ‘yes’ as long as certain rules are followed.

“There are a lot of men who feel a woman’s foot should be exposed and a man’s should not and that is fair, especially if one does not take care of one’s feet,” Mr Julian, the author of Nordstrom Guide to Men’s Style’, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “If a man is to wear a sandal, a pedicure is required,” he decreed.

The newspaper also suggested wearing Birkenstock sandals is acceptable with a ‘nice pair of pants, a crisp shirt and a blazer’ though Julian suggested only certain men are able to pull off the look.

“Someone who knows clothes. One who has a good mix of labels in his closet,” he suggested, “A contemporary guy.”

Chatting to Skrufff about the issue, Way Out West star Jody Wisternoff immediately outed himself as asn ‘extremely enthusiastic’ sandal man, confessing ‘I wear my Birkenstocks pretty much everyday during the summer.”

“I’ve just got the one pair, I’ve had them for years and they are showing no sign of dying,” Jody said proudly, “They are a nice neutral brown/black so pretty much go with everything.”

London electro-tech type producer Grayson Deepgroove was more secretive, claiming he’s been ‘irrevocably scarred’ after dabbling with open-toed footwear as a teenager.

“Sandals are so not my thing, I had a flirtation with them in my youth when I was a rather more innocent than I am now and I forever associate them with being boring, sedate and off to bed far too early,” said Grayson, “I think they are the Bon Jovi of the footwear world.”

“I know if I ever wore them today (Deepgroove partner) Lee would rip me to pieces, as he still does about the fact I used to wear them,” he continued, “And as for him; the thought of his nail polish covered toes popping out of a pair makes me feel rather queasy.”

Jody from Way Out West also balked at foot painting (‘Id rather not have manky (dirty) toenails, so yeah you’ve gotta keep them trim but there’s no need for pedicures’, he said) though stressed naked flesh remains essential.

“Socks and sandals = Massive NO NO,” he insisted, “Especially white socks, a cardinal sin.”