Systems for securing a foot in a housing such as a piece of athletic footwear, include: (a) a foot-housing member that at least partially defines a chamber for receiving the foot (e.g., a shoe upper and/or insole and/or outsole and/or midsole); and (b) a closure system for holding the foot in the foot-housing member. The closure system may include a mesh or braided panel that at least partially holds the foot-receiving device on the foot. The mesh or braided panel may conform to foot shape or position changes while still maintaining adequate pressure on the foot and/or adequately closing the chamber opening to hold the foot in the housing member. This closure system may operate in conjunction with a secondary closure system, such as a shoelace arrangement, a strap arrangement, a hook-and-loop fastener arrangement, a hook-and-eyelet fastener arrangement, an elastic band arrangement, a zipper arrangement, or the like.