What’s your summer sandal that goes with everything?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it so hard to find decent closed-toe sandals? Sometimes I don't want to get a pedicure, but I want to wear sandals!

What is a closed-toe sandal? Do you mean a mule? This one is decently cute.

https://www.nordstrom.com/s/sam-edelman-lin-mule-women/7180068

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These: https://www.dsw.com/en/us/product/kelly-and-katie-norna-sandal/545813?activeColor=530

These are cute but they are fake leather -- are they comfortable?

Yes. I have bought several versions of these over the years. They are truly my go to summer sandal.

[Anonymous]

So many of the sandals in this thread are hideous and make me recoil.

These are the ones I wear the most (in black and smooth leather, not the crocodile one)
https://www.rei.com/product/889154/born-mai-sandals-womens

[Anonymous]

Some sandals that have a lighter look but actually have arch support -

https://www.vionicshoes.com/alvana-toe-post-sandal.html?color=19

https://www.vionicshoes.com/prism-sandal.html?color=47

[Anonymous]

Vionics are shoes for women my mom's age.

[Anonymous]

These aren't really my personal style, but they are a t strap with a little bit of interest, so maybe could replace yours, OP.

https://www.nordstrom.com/s/worth-slingback-sandal-women/7336540?origin=category-personalizedsort&breadcrumb=Home%2FBrands%2FJack%20Rogers&color=293

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many of the sandals in this thread are hideous and make me recoil.

These are the ones I wear the most (in black and smooth leather, not the crocodile one)
https://www.rei.com/product/889154/born-mai-sandals-womens

This is my favorite post. Skewers everyone else's choices, posts something ugly.

Amazing, 10 out 10, no notes.

[Anonymous]

Did someone fat shame another woman's ANKLES a few pages back? I mean wow. DCUM Beauty & Fashion, never change. Never change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many of the sandals in this thread are hideous and make me recoil.

These are the ones I wear the most (in black and smooth leather, not the crocodile one)
https://www.rei.com/product/889154/born-mai-sandals-womens

This is my favorite post. Skewers everyone else's choices, posts something ugly.

Amazing, 10 out 10, no notes.

Haha yeah, I knew the "ones she wears the most" were going to be hideous too because it was a REI link...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many of the sandals in this thread are hideous and make me recoil.

These are the ones I wear the most (in black and smooth leather, not the crocodile one)
https://www.rei.com/product/889154/born-mai-sandals-womens

This is my favorite post. Skewers everyone else's choices, posts something ugly.

Amazing, 10 out 10, no notes.

Haha yeah, I knew the "ones she wears the most" were going to be hideous too because it was a REI link...

+3. UGLY!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it so hard to find decent closed-toe sandals? Sometimes I don't want to get a pedicure, but I want to wear sandals!

What is a closed-toe sandal? Do you mean a mule? This one is decently cute.

https://www.nordstrom.com/s/sam-edelman-lin-mule-women/7180068

Sandals are by definition open toed. That's what sandals are. I'm not sure what the pre-PP is getting at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing I'm learning on this thread is that other people have vastly different capacity for wearing very flat, thin-soled shoes than I do. I'm all for cute and can even do a little wedge or heel (little, though -- no more than like an inch and a half or I simply will not get enough wear out of them).

But there are so many flip flops or very flat soled sandals in this thread. They are cute! I would have worn them when I was 22. I am not put off by the prices since everyone has different price points, and I don't judge the Old Navy or Croc versions either.

But I could never make a shoe that flat and low my "go to" for anything. I would maybe take a pair on vacation to a resort where I was mostly walking from my room to the pool or beach or out to dinner on property. But that's it. Shoes like that kill my feet even if I just wear them to walk a few blocks to a restaurant or my kid's school, plus having my feet so close to a city street in the summer is just gross to me. I am in my 40s. I want arch support, some separation from the street/sidewalk, and straps that will be comfortable even in high heat when my feet tend to swell or after an hours stroll around a museum.

This is why people are defaulting to the brands deemed orthopedic or grandma -- Birkenstock, Naot, even (shudder) Keen. What I do is look exclusively at shoes with proper soles and arch support but then try to find the cutest possible version. Will they be the most flattering, dainty sandal in the world? Nope. But they'll be a reasonably cute version of something that will actually function the way I need a shoe to function. There are cute Birks and I like the Naot Kayla someone posted recently. For sportier shoes, Cole Haan or Sorel are decent options (I'd even look at Teva as they have cuter shoes than they used to).

Anyway, finding cute but comfortable sandals that are actual shoes and not just a piece of plastic or cardboard with straps is weirdly hard. Last year I must have tried on or ordered and returned 50 pairs of sandals, from brands like Nisolo, Sofft, Naot, etc. The divide between (1) cute but impractical, or (2) practical but hideous, is pretty hard to navigate. I wound up with a pair of Birkenstock Madrid sandals in a narrow fit and pale pink leather that I think work pretty well. No heel, but they are incredibly comfortable and go with almost everything in my summer wardrobe without being embarrassingly old lady-ish.

Oh come on, you're in your mid 40s. Unless you're very overweight or have some serious orthopedic issues, you're saying you can't possibly wear flat-ish shoes to walk from your car to brunch with friends, or down the street to the bus stop? At 45 with kids, you don't live in downtown DC anymore so you're taking your car most places. And you can't do with anything but an orthopedic shoe? You're either being purposefully argumentative or you've just given up.

[Anonymous]

I have no contributions other than to say I could not wait to open a 10 page thread about footwear on DCUM because I knew it would be good. Always entertaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing I'm learning on this thread is that other people have vastly different capacity for wearing very flat, thin-soled shoes than I do. I'm all for cute and can even do a little wedge or heel (little, though -- no more than like an inch and a half or I simply will not get enough wear out of them).

But there are so many flip flops or very flat soled sandals in this thread. They are cute! I would have worn them when I was 22. I am not put off by the prices since everyone has different price points, and I don't judge the Old Navy or Croc versions either.

But I could never make a shoe that flat and low my "go to" for anything. I would maybe take a pair on vacation to a resort where I was mostly walking from my room to the pool or beach or out to dinner on property. But that's it. Shoes like that kill my feet even if I just wear them to walk a few blocks to a restaurant or my kid's school, plus having my feet so close to a city street in the summer is just gross to me. I am in my 40s. I want arch support, some separation from the street/sidewalk, and straps that will be comfortable even in high heat when my feet tend to swell or after an hours stroll around a museum.

This is why people are defaulting to the brands deemed orthopedic or grandma -- Birkenstock, Naot, even (shudder) Keen. What I do is look exclusively at shoes with proper soles and arch support but then try to find the cutest possible version. Will they be the most flattering, dainty sandal in the world? Nope. But they'll be a reasonably cute version of something that will actually function the way I need a shoe to function. There are cute Birks and I like the Naot Kayla someone posted recently. For sportier shoes, Cole Haan or Sorel are decent options (I'd even look at Teva as they have cuter shoes than they used to).

Anyway, finding cute but comfortable sandals that are actual shoes and not just a piece of plastic or cardboard with straps is weirdly hard. Last year I must have tried on or ordered and returned 50 pairs of sandals, from brands like Nisolo, Sofft, Naot, etc. The divide between (1) cute but impractical, or (2) practical but hideous, is pretty hard to navigate. I wound up with a pair of Birkenstock Madrid sandals in a narrow fit and pale pink leather that I think work pretty well. No heel, but they are incredibly comfortable and go with almost everything in my summer wardrobe without being embarrassingly old lady-ish.

Oh come on, you're in your mid 40s. Unless you're very overweight or have some serious orthopedic issues, you're saying you can't possibly wear flat-ish shoes to walk from your car to brunch with friends, or down the street to the bus stop? At 45 with kids, you don't live in downtown DC anymore so you're taking your car most places. And you can't do with anything but an orthopedic shoe? You're either being purposefully argumentative or you've just given up.

PP here and (1) I absolutely still live in downtown DC, and (2) I didn't say I need an orthopedic shoe, just that I won't wear these little flip flops and super flat sandals anymore. I want an actual shoe.

I think you're the one being argumentative. I'm not judging anyone's choices (notice I'm one of the few peopel who isn't saying "all of these shoes are ugly and stupid!), I'm just saying that at some point I stopped wearing these really flat sandals for anything other than certain vacations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow there are some horribly ugly shoes in this thread

I agree! Terrible.