The society's attitude to the dressing is not really a matter of concern, especially with a name like "Church. However, late Pope Francis had rather unusual taste in fashion—he certainly did not like the cinched Balenciaga-like white puffer jacket—and preferred simple beige cassocks plus sensible black leather shoes.
It said in The New York Times: "From his first day as pope in 2013, those black shoes that have become primarily associated with Pope Francesco and which are said to be a gift from a friend in Buenos Aires became an absolute retouch of the papacy."
Berlinger said that this had been one of the best-read stories for many months, and he found himself being invited to comment on several morning shows because of the publication's controversial pronouncement.
For some people, the style of Francis could be considered a sign of humility or asceticism. According to Carol Richardson, ecclesiastical and art historian from the University of Edinburgh, "the very oppositions between the two popes make it a representation of the different ways through which they each understand their role as heads of the Catholic Church."
He was asserting the historical continuity of the papacy with Benedict XVI playing with different periods of time through what he was wearing. Touches of simplicity yet profound, as much as even the most simply clad all-white outfit of Francis spoke volumes. Pure white would mean purity and charity, and red would mean compassion and sacrifice.
Papism, as such, has no color for shoes, while the socks are typically white or red, but here, it has none at all. Black is just uninteresting regarding any official symbolism. However, Richardson pointed out that the shoes were black because they follow Franciscan friars who preach poverty and charity even in the sandals on which they wear their shoes.
Supposedly blasphemous in the pit of Rome's best-cast streetwear image of Francis, that would have found some inappropriate for a holy father, let alone such an immodest one. There is some truth to why that hoax photo resonated with Internet users as completely," Richardson noted.