Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Cuckoo for flip-flops
Summer’s almost here and it’s time to show off your freshly manicured feet in some fashionable flip-flops! From Helmut Lang’s $125 rubber flats to a foam pair from the dollar store, flip-flops have become a wardrobe staple for American teens. The thwacking sound they make as the rubber hits your heel can be heard everywhere.
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like flip-flops. You can just, like, slide them on and it matches everything,” said Chelsea Waldron, 14, of Glenvar Middle School.
In a 2003 article by Leanne Potts of the Albuquerque Journal, Gina Pia Cooper, editor of the online magazine FashionFinds.com, said flip-flops have had a history of being popular in economic downtimes, like the late 1980s. But with top designers creating a plethora of flat shoes, such as Gucci’s Signature Thong ($310) and Pucci’s terry-cloth flip-flop ($170), these shoes have now risen to the height of fashion.
From prom to pool, flip-flops are now available for every occasion in styles such as platforms, thongs, slides and heels. Kari Farmer, 17, of Roanoke, attended her high school banquet in a formal gown and flip-flops. Kari described the shoes as foam platforms with suede on top. The sequins on top of the flip-flops match those on her dress.
“They’re really cool,” Kari said.
Flip-flops are no longer just for summer wear either. Sol Socks is just one of the many companies that produce fleece thong socks, so your feet can stay warm while you wear your flip-flops in cold weather.
Drew Hunsley, a 16-year-old home-schooled junior in Roanoke, enjoys wearing flip-flops in winter but doesn’t buy specialty socks.
“You have to buy the sandals that don’t have the thing in between the toes,” Drew said. Otherwise, “the sock gets all wedged up and you get like a toe wedgie.”
Some critics hold grudges against flip-flops, saying the rubber soles make their feet sweat and stink, the thing between their toes is painful and they are easily lost when they walk through mud or across a raging river.
Wesley Maxwell, an eighth-grader at Andrew Lewis Middle School, believes flip-flops “don’t protect your toes” if someone steps on your foot. But the criticism doesn’t keep Thomas Frankie, 17, of Northside High School, from wearing them “all the time.”
“They’re easy to put on and off and they’re very comfortable,” Thomas said.
Potts’ story from the Albuquerque Journal goes on to say flip-flops have always been “the official footwear of the disaffected, a sort of sack cloth for the tootsies. Wearing flip-flops to the office is the equivalent of coming to work with your hair in curlers.”
But Sharon Haver, editor of New York-based focusonstyle.com, shared a different perspective in the story. “Flip-flops are comfort shoes, the mashed potatoes of fashion.”
