Found: The "simple" sandals for feet of substance.

And let me tell you, it took some legwork.

Warning: My feet are great feet. They support me and I thank them. But they may be triggering.

Summer is historically, for me, the hardest season for dressing. And if you’re reading this, maybe you too. It’s not a climate thing, either, I realize, because I’m now in a summer climate all year long. The problem is specific to the idea of the summer season’s “casualness.” For me, casual has always been the hardest challenge (ironically and therefore even more frustratingly!) On a recent IG live on summer dressing with my friends Nicole and Nicole (you can listen; it’s a podcast!), I called it “the tyranny of casual.”

As in my work, I go back to my DNA to figure it out. But in this case my style DNA: Approachable, Modern, Heritage, Miami. Summer is all about this “approachable” pillar (and I swear, I’m getting to the sandals, give me one sec). The ease, chill, relaxed. T shirts, denim, etc. And in New England, like many coastal summer areas, it’s also about Heritage (the classic styles and traditional fabrications: white canvas sneakers, chinos, etc.) So where do I put my Miami and Modern yearnings, the parts of myself that want to be colorful, bold, street-y, citified, part of what’s happening, always a “twist on”? I end up feeling not myself.

Shoes, and sandals specifically, can feel like the easiest means to give that self a nod. and each year I keep most of my summer go-tos in play but also go looking for a sandal that will make me feel like I belong to this season.

A couple summers ago, actually, it wasn’t a sandal but a sandal-adjacent clog/mule, the JW Anderson chain link (if I were doing it right now, I’d definitely go for the “gourmet chain” version, with it’s man’s ID bracelet gravitas.)The reason why these worked is their adjacency to Birkenstocks. (The same reason these grandpa sandals have worked for me or a while.) The cork-y molded footbed made them relatable and tied to heritage, and the slip-on ease made them approachable. Yet they were curiously modern and that oversized chunk chain gave me all the Miami I needed.

Last summer was less about the sandals and more about the socks with sandals. And especially out at night, where the sock not only gave me that modern unexpectedness, even a dose of Miami (orchid colored socks!), but helpfully assisted in blocking mosquitoes and seaside chill. A sock-friendly sandal isn’t as easy as you’d think! My Tibi Brooks are no longer available. You need a chunky heel that stands up to the sock, no thong/toe ring, and a cagey strap structure that gives good peekaboo and is enough of a foil for the socks to be interesting. My current rec are these, on sale in tan and black.

My orchid socks above say “not from Paris Madame” (a rec via Lisa Ing Marinelli). I love socks with French words. Ok any words. And also orchid color!

Ok, so here we are, summer 2023. And I’ve been waiting for THAT SANDAL. Like what’s the vibe that will give me that fresh, modern, right-now feeling, even when my “outfit” is nothing more than khaki shorts and a white tee? And then also … there’s the fact that I refuse to buy a sandal I can’t walk in. Or to get lemon drop* surgery.

So my friend Rose (@thecreativeclassicist) is very attuned to all things modern style. And recently I saw her post about the return of the minimalist sandal. And she even mentioned the Oran, that old Hermes standard, still a frequent-flyer on IG (I once had them, and replaced them with the Takara, which is much more wearable IMO.)

And it just makes sense. The grandpa sandal has been here for a while, and in fashion everything goes to where it hasn’t been before. So after all this sporty/platformy, after all the bells and whistles of double straps, velcro, treads, of course the eye craves simple.

But also: yikes.

I sold my Orans long ago (they were the Medor style, so not everywhere and not that minimal) because I just felt they were only verrrrrryyy minimally walkable with no support whatsoever. But the bigger reason is that I don’t like the proportional contrast of this (very flimsy, near paper-like) sandal my body (circular, with substance, etc.) On the Nicoles’ podcast I mentioned it felt like putting a snowman on a single children’s ski.

But I do like the thought of the newness of something minimal. It does feel fresh to my eye. I am tired of the constancy of my grandpas and actually sold the Chanel ones recently.

And this minimal thing is real. I knew it when I even saw minimal sandals in the window at Louboutin of all places. Actually, they’re quite a chic and surprisingly less fussy alternative to Orans if that’s your (toe; couldn’t resist) jam.

Still, I wondered: could there be a minimal sandal with maximal real-life usage potential?

As I mused, I got lots of fraught DMs on my IG from wide-feeted, comfort-seeking, fashion-loving walkers (who knew?). So I realized, this is indeed a thing. Here are my findings.

First, with my criteria above, there’s hardly anything out there. There was NOTHING in any store in the Design District, which might have to do with the buys in these stores; the customer here now is mostly a resident and we are not known to be much of minimalist crew.

So I took to Matches Fashion, which has always been a standby for good selection and easy returns. And I culled and ordered anything I thought looked at all minimal or with minimal potential but also at least had a little walking potential.

There was hardly anything that complied. Here goes (almost) nothing:

Ok, I’ve never wanted to buy Birkenstocks because I associate them with pot-smoking, patchouli scented, natural deodorant babysitters of my 70s youth. But this felt important enough to give them a chance.

Not minimal. And very painful. Look at that rogue lemon drop.

Onward. Is Isabel Marant who you think of when you think of “minimal”? Nope. But the pickings, as I’ve mentioned, were slim. I guess I thought that in spite of what seemed like a very non-minimal detail, the basic shape of the shoe looked minimal and wide foot accommodating.

Just not minimal. Cute, flattering, stiff. Felt comfy-ish, but see where my foot spills out on the right? Worried that would quickly start to hurt.

I won’t mention the rogue Jil Sander silver pair that were just cute and on sale and not minimal at all. Also hurt.

Irene Kim of In Moda Veritas always looks so chic and effortless in her Ancient Greek Celia sandals. Why not give that brand a try? The problem? Once you deploy a walkable (i.e. not a flat nothing-on-the-ground) sole, the options are … different.

OMG. And these weren’t comfortable, either.

And then … cue some harps…

These were the last pair in the Matches box, and they literally had me doing a happy dance. Linking to the camel pair (on sale!) here.

And here they are on.

The thing that works so well with these is that you have a very minimal outsole that’s so graceful, clean and different for me. But you have the support of a back strap to hold you in (at least better than with a slide-on thong), and more importantly, the cork wedge sole makes them much more walkable than something flat without losing the minimalism. It also adds just a bit of substance to counter the snowman-on-ski effect.

They’re so much more flattering (at least on me) than something like an Oran, because of the way they frame the foot with lots of graceful openness, rather than covering so much that you get more rubbing, more pain, and also a stubbier effect. Also more coverage in front and a slide-in, backless style really makes the heel a focal point. My heels aren’t a part of me that gets so much TLC.

I was very happy with this find and almost stopped there. But no! I’m a journalist. (Lolz.)

I wanted to be thorough. Was I missing something? So I also took the issue to my fashion-y friends, one of whom rec’d the Australian brand A. Emery. I ordered their Jalen Sandal in black croc, but honestly it wasn’t minimal. Yes, the brand has a minimalist vibe, but when I looked down at my feet in this shoe, it was much more like a dad sandal with a lightly more hippie chic feeling. It was also stiff, especially the toe ring, and I worried about comfort.

Rose suggested I try the Anushka style - which I love, is definitely more minimal and has a padded footbed. Am considering! Still feeling burned by the stiffness of the Jalen, and that worries me re. between my toes. But if I try it I’ll report back. Also: better to order from a US site; I ordered direct and there’s no return label so I have to mail back to Australia! Am dreading.

I then took a spin through some or the stores I don’t usually go to in the District (Tory, RL, etc.)

The Loro Piana offering looks great.

If you wanted to try, I’d order from Nordstrom (linked here) because the returns are so easy. But the thing is, while it’s better than an Oran or other simple slide for me, it’s is totally flat.

And then, I thought —- could there be a “minimalist rubber sandal”? Or is that an oxymoron? Melissa Shoes (full disclosure, an HCC client) was the first maker of the Jelly shoe. The company is Brazilian and the MO is around joy and exuberance, so I kinda thought not. BUT, my jelly fisherman sandals have been the most comfy pair in my arsenal, so much that I often choose them for a pure workout walk over my sneakers. The jelly, made sustainably from sugarcane, isn’t sweaty; it’s soft and breathes nicely.

And lo and behold!

The Bae. In black. The Bae doesn’t look that minimal in pictures on the site, but when you get it on it really does. It’s got that understated two strap design like the Gabrielle Hearst Stewart, but with a lot more cushy padding and support.

Hi, Bae! The sole is dark brown, and the padding underfoot is supremely smooshy. I’m in a size 8, which has become my usual size.

And a final option, if you want to dabble in the idea before or without committing: Tkees. Tkees are basically flip flops, but with a little (very unassuming) elegance. They have 2 key benefits. 1) they come in a huge range of skin tones (I wear Butternut) and 2) they are in fact comfortable. At least for me. You can see why; there’s a lot of give, you can bend them in your hand. I’m not walking 10 miles, but 5,000 steps is fine.

My minimalist take was complete in both high and lo form, but I still felt like I wanted one addition that would really speak to my “Miami.” So I did one more thing: I took a spin though the latest in grandpa and other sport-style offerings to see if there was anything that would give enough impact to be worthwhile. And found these.

Here’s why these are so good — they’re another sport sandal take, very Teva-based and extremely comfortable. They are different in design enough from my grand dad sandals but the same “vibe” - but what really makes the difference is the color. It gives an instant shot of that acid wrongness an outfit sometimes needs. Yet because they’re Teva/Croc adjacent, they won’t be this alien item even during a seaside summer.

I’m also thinking about another pair of these M.Gemis, in black. I already have the brown, which I plan to wear this summer. But the black gives a very different vibe. The great thing about these is the yummy Italian leather is the star - no distracting hardware - which makes them instantly less try hard and easier to pair. How great would they be with bold “Miami” socks ala @itsjulianrandall (!)

I think I’d feel right at home.

____

I

*”lemon drop” = bunion. (I don’t like that word.)