Even if made of gold, shoes are still for the feet.
What it means
This proverb is about roles. We need to recognize and play our roles correctly, however humbling they may be.
If you have carpentry skills and are assigned the role of a carpenter in a project, for example, you won’t automatically become the project manager by dressing up in business attire. You’ll still need to do the manual labor of working with wood in your good clothes. Just as shoes are meant for the feet even if made of gold, a person with carpentry skills is meant for working in a carpenter shop even if dressed like a CEO. Unless they learn the skills the bigger role needs, they should accept their role as a well-dressed carpenter.
