By Holly O'Neill
13th May 2020
13th May 2020
The Dad sandal still reigns supreme
I know. You hate them. They’re hideous. There is no excuse.
This summer’s trending sandal style, already everywhere on Instagram, is to wear the ugliest sandal you can find. Think you’ve found it? Now add velcro. Then add more straps. Then add a platform. Make it sturdier. Make it bulkier. Just keep adding hideous details and voila, you’ve found it, the best-selling sandal of the summer.
I hate that I love them. I love them all. The ludicrously expensive €780 Ginza platformed flip-flip from The Row. The neon Birkenstocks. Sensible, ergonomic sandals never felt so right.
Look, don’t come crying to me about it, I don’t make the rules. Take it up with the influencers.
Here are the five trending sandal styles of summer, all gorgeously atrociously ugly. At least there is no bejazzled Crocs this year. But still, I know, the joke is on us.
Teva Original universal sandals, €50
Teva Sandals
Do you know how I know these ones are the ugliest? They were designed for hiking. Just what you wanted in your summer sandal I’d bet, to comfortably walk your 10,000 steps a day. They come in lots of gorgeous vibrant shades and can toughen up a ditzy floral midi or the perfect throw-on dress.
Arizona Love x Timeless Pearly shell-embellished sandals, €185
Arizona Love Sandals
Same as Tevas, but embellished with details you loved when you were 15, like seashells and bandanas. Created by French designer Leslie Halfon, these sold-out repeatedly last summer.
The Row Ginza leather sandals, €780
The Row Ginza sandals
Not willing to spend €780 on the ugliest most popular sandal of the summer but still in love with them? There are plenty of alternatives that won’t make your eyes water.
Kurt Geiger Orson sandals, €135
Chunky soles
Didn’t get your hands on Chanel’s dad sandals last summer? Not to worry, they’re back this coming season in pretty pastels. In the meantime, Kurt Geiger has a chunky-soled, velcro-strapped alternative.
Proenza Schouler x Birkenstock Arizona leather sandals, €366.66
Proenza Schouler x Birkenstocks
Get ready to look like a Dad at Disneyland in the 1980s this summer in Proenza Schouler’s Birkenstock collaboration, also available in bright yellow and white.
Photography by @lucywilliams02.
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