Thank you to those of you who looked and commented! I was a bit perturbed because the shoes are *not* dirty - that grey area is simply the coloration of the top. The sides are scuffed slightly, yes, but certainly the shoes are not as dirty as they seem to appear to some. I do have some sense of dignity! :)
I can understand you don't want to buy new shoes for a dpc challenge, but some cleaning would have been nice. The grey areas make the shoes much less appealing. i like your choice of blue background here.