It sounds bizarre, but by far the best thing I ever did in this direction was to start wearing Vibram Five Fingers in public. They look like crazy monkey shoes,

It sounds bizarre, but by far the best thing I ever did in this direction was to start wearing Vibram Five Fingers in public. They look like crazy monkey shoes, and initially I was mortified at drawing such attention to myself, but within a few months I had completely adjusted. Moreover, they are an incredible ice-breaker: I've had more conversations with strangers in the last 1.5 years than in the previous rest of my life combined.