Gloves aren't for protecting your hands from drumming.
They are for people who experience sweaty hands when playing.
Shoes are a personal choice, as Billy said, play in what shoes you're comfortable in.
Ha! Finally an endorsement for gloves! My hands sweat a lot, even when I'm not drumming.
Forgive the long response OP, but you asked for it!
Regarding gloves. I only used gloves when I played out a lot. It was when I played with the highest frequency of my life. I was in three or four bands (a lot of cross over in members), one of which gigged very regularly. I used gloves on the gigs and at some of the rehearsals. They get nasty quick, and I found they would get stiff, so I'd have to wet them slightly with water at the beginning of every gig. Hand sweat is one component. I've also learned the hard way to stay away from Oak sticks. I don't know what it is, but when my hands start to sweat with an Oak stick in them, my skin and the stick get really tacky, and I'd get massive calluses and blisters. The comments pertaining to technique are true to a large extent. I've since reworked my hand technique, switched to Hickory, and have had no problems with calluses nor blisters in the past five years. However, I'm not playing at the crazy frequency I did back then. If I was a touring drummer, I could see me using gloves again. I never liked the separation, but when you're playing to make your money, you have to make sure you can play the next gig!
So, wood type and technique are two things to experiment with to reduce hand pain. Smashing a knuckle on a drum rim or catching the edge of a cymbal during a cymbal choke will happen, and I suppose gloves will help, but if I can play without gloves I would prefer that.
On to shoes. I've mainly played in whatever I was walking around in (sneakers from Airwalks to Nike running shoes). In the winter when I wore boots, I'd bring some sneakers to rehearsal or the show to switch into as I found if the sole was too stiff I didn't feel like I was getting the tactile feedback from the pedal I wanted. However, I never played barefoot as I felt I didn't generate enough power, and when those metal backed, balanced beaters on my Iron Cobras came back and smacked the top of my foot, it hurt! However, now that I'm a bit older and don't use those metal backed mallets, I don't mind playing barefoot. If I'm playing metal or more aggressive music though, I do prefer having a shoe on.
One last thing regarding shoes. When I first started I remember playing in a pair of split-soled wrestling shoes. If I was to ever get a pair of dedicated drumming shoes, those would probably be them. They were light and flexible enough to feel freeing on the feet, but had enough support to give me the feeling of developing a little more power with the pedals when needed.
I'd experiment more, and definitely look into your hand mechanics, as I think that is 95% of blister prevention. However, if you're playing A LOT and your hands sweat as much as mine do, (and if you can become a gorilla behind the kit from time to time) then gloves are an alternative I suppose.
Is there any other big name drummer out there besides Carter Beauford that regularly wears gloves?