I wear them on the boat for fishing and such. But on land, I wear shoes. I was mainly referring to people living in USA proper.
If I'm going to a nice dinner or something, I will wear something nice. If I'm just going to the store, usually it's jeans and a shirt. If I'm going to the movies, it's most likely the same. But I don't match my shoes to my outfits or anything like that. Hell, I have a pair of athletic shoes that I need to replace, some boat shoes (slip-ons) that I wear when I want to look nice, and two pairs of boots for the winter. Otherwise, it's flip flops most of the summer, as I live near the beach.
Sure, any guy can say fashion doesn't matter to them. It's their right. In America it's even macho to say that. But remember that a lot more people are judging you for what you are wearing. That hot girl at the party/bar has definitely noticed what you are wearing the minute you walked in. Same thing with employers. If you are looking like a slob and show up at the mall, dinner or grocery and run into clients or boss it definitely leaves a poor impression. If you can't even pay attention to the small details like clothing how can you pay attention to bigger things like multi million dollar work projects.
I would say as long as your jeans and shirt fit property and aren't too tight or too baggy then you're OK here.
This. Your appearance is the first (and sometimes only) impression you can make about yourself. Nobody's saying you should go out and spend a lot of money or anything, but I'm just trying to flip around the easy jokes. Everybody likes to laugh at the People of Walmart website and stuff like that, but how often do you actually think about what you're wearing yourself?
Have everything tailored to your body. Quality always before quantity: think of the minimalist 5-piece French wardrobe. Buy very expensive clothes once, and learn how to maintain them. These limitations will make you invested in your wardrobe so you'll want to stay in shape. Wear balmorals when wearing a suit to work. Don't skip the tie when wearing a suit; instead do that with a sport jacket and casual trousers. Wear your clothes with confidence, realize there are no hard and fat rules, and aspire to be someone others look up to in your career. Fashion rules are made the famous and/or rich powerful figures in history like the Duke of Windsor. Just because he had great style doesn't mean we can't wear something different than he did i.e. lounge suits instead of morning suits or whatever.
Agreed, but I promise you, you can pull chicks regardless of what you're wearing. They might notice. But ultimately... it doesn't matter. One thing I don't like personally... blazers with jeans. Not a fan. I know it's common and acceptable but I don't like it. Wear chinos or something.
This. It's occasionally OK if you're wearing shorts. But sandals with jeans or trousers are usually something that should be left in south Asia (sure sign of fob)