Baby Steps

It's been almost a year. Shame on me. I'd love to say I was busy, and I was, but that's no excuse. Rather than moping around and making excuses, lets get right back into it!

The "ugly" sandal has been a fashion statement for approximately two years now. However, I've been bucking this trend due to a deep seated, long-standing dislike of said sandals. In high school, the norm was this look:

Birkenstock Arizona sandals with socks was good for both guys and girls. I went to a small, liberal private school with no dress code. But, as teens will, there was an unwritten dress code: you were in the Birk'nSock group or the Doc Martins group (black, of course). Me? I was in neither, and by the time I graduated I couldn't wait to get the heck outta that place. I still don't own a pair of shoes from either company, but as the weather changes I find myself drawn to a variation of the Birk (and last fall I was dying for these). My Havaianas could use a swap out for days when rubber flip flops aren't going to make the cut, and I love a comfortable sandal in the sweltering heat of summer. With prices ranging from ridiculously reasonable (check out 6pm.com or Nordstrom Rack) to stratospheric (Givenchy) there is a lot to choose from out there! Here are some of my top picks:

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The Ugly Sandal - I'm just going to go with the moniker - comes in a variety of styles, but I find that the most common are the X Vamp (#1), the Flip Flop (#2) the Dr. Scholl (#3) and the 2 Strap (#4), all of which correspond to different core Birkenstock styles (Almere, Gizeh, Madrid and Arizona, respectively). My number one pick is the Paz two-strap from Loeffler Randall. The mix of white calf hair and gold pebbled leather straps elevates the cork footbed, and I love the white rubber sole.

Are you into the Ugly Sandal? Or is it to much (to little?) for you?