Men Of The Jersey Shore: Why The Sandal Stigma?

Spending so many summers in Ocean County, I've seen probably hundreds of thousands of men wearing sandals.  Whether locals or tourists, they know that sandals are what people wear at the Shore.  Men and women.

But if you believe some of what you read online, there's a whole lot of people who say men should NEVER wear open toed shoes.  Huh?  I really don't get it.  They say things like sandals were okay only on gladiators and Jesus.  I haven't seen any good reason why 21st century men shouldn't wear them.

The only actual legitimate reason might be if a guy has really gnarly untrimmed toenails, in my opinion.  But on most men, this isn't a problem so I'm 100% in favor of guys wearing whatever open toed shoes they're comfortable in.

Sandals, or "Mandals" if you will, look great with shorts.  Shoe stores have a wide variety to cater to different tastes.  Some are athletic, some are more preppy, and some simply work with anything a guy might wear in the summer.

So let me ask, what's with the weird sandal stigma?  Guys, please comment and let us know what type of sandals you rock during the summer.  Ladies, what are YOUR thoughts about "Mandals?"