Summer’s here in full force, which means many of us are doing whatever we can to stay cool. It also means that we have a couple more months to sport one of summertime’s most comfy and heat-relieving accessories—flip flops. These days, though, flip flops are more than just an easy-to-slip-on summer sandal; they’re a full-fledged fashion must-have. Members of our team share five of their favorite brands and why they’re so fiercely loyal to their favorite flips.
Vicki Santillano, Staff Writer
It used to be that I didn’t care about flip flops. I liked them well enough, but I figured that one brand was just as good as the next. Sure, my plastic $10 Roxy sandals cut into my feet if I wore them longer than an hour, but I figured that was what all flip flops did. I had a friend in college try to convince me otherwise, that there were flip flops out there that didn’t create blisters and rip in two after a few months. He told me stories about a sandal shop in southern California that would make me a believer. And so when I went to visit him one summer, we went there and I slipped into my first pair of Rainbows—black, wide-strapped, double-arched, and every bit as cushiony as he promised. I wore them for the rest of the summer and years later, I still have that original pair and they remain as sturdy as ever and even more comfortable. As for those Roxys, they were relegated to gym shower shoes long ago; once my feet tasted the Rainbows, they refused to settle for less.
Shyla Batliwalla, Editorial Coordinator
For the past fifty-plus years, every member of my family (including me) has bought our favorite flip flops from the same three-foot-wide by three-foot deep stall in Bombay—Kolhapuri Chappals. Kolhapuri chappals are simplicity at its best. Four pieces of leather eloquently connected for ideal comfort. A new pair is stiff at first, but after molding to your feet for a week or so, you’ll never take them off. While they’re not readily available in mainstream U.S. stores, head to any city’s little India neighborhood for the cheapest, comfiest flip flops you’ll ever own.
