A bit late on the reply but I just happened on this thread. I haven't worn shorts for years - one of my legs can't get hot as it is made of metal and the other is very skinny from post polio syndrome. But as my shop is in my bedroom I'm not worried about bringing the wood chips into the house, they are already in it <g>. My shoes are Duluth Trading heavy leather "slip-ons" and they are winter boots and summer sneakers and dress shoes - changing the shoe on a prosthetic leg is a real project (the foot doesn't bend much).
Good thread, and I'd try the "shoe bibs" if it weren't quicker to hit my shoe toes with a quick suck from my shop vac that is next to my lathe before returning to the living room. BTW, the above is not a complaint - it is a boast and a statement that one does not have to give up the pleasures of wood working as one ages and loses some capabilities. I can stand to the lathe for a maximum of about ten minutes, but I have a nice high stool next to it and do my tool grinding and honing and other things like changing chuck jaws or marking centers sitting down. I had to give up making musical instruments and other forms of wood working as I had to be on my feet too much, but the lathe is a blessing with infinite ways to innovate.
Pardon the personal bits, but the thoughts came to me as I read the thread and realized how much wood turning means to me. It is a craft and an art, and one that one can continue as long as one has one good hand and a bit of determination and inventiveness.
Best, Jon