THE JOURNAL
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The Gallery: Five Of The Best Shoes For Summer
Words by Mr Tom M Ford
21 July 2020
Adding the word “summer” before the word “shoes” could be a cynical marketing ploy to imbue standard footwear with qualities or seasonality they don’t possess in order to sell more of them. Rest assured, summer shoes are different from your average shoe. Built for environments where one might encounter a decent amount of sun and water (if you’re lucky enough to be on holiday or enjoying warmer weather), they are usually made with materials that make the footwear lighter and easier to slip on and off. And there is usually less of it, so your feet can breathe. Still unsure? Here are five of the best pairs for summer 2020.
01.
The standout slides
Let’s jump in at the deep end with these head-turning pool slides from Gucci. It used to be that you had to play Premier League football or have committed major financial fraud to get away with wearing such a standout style. And, to be honest, it wouldn’t hurt your case. The rest of us can just lap up the attention. End of swimming puns.
02.
The easy espadrilles
From that heady high, we come down gently to a soft landing with these Castañer espadrilles, the thinking man’s summer shoe. If you’re the kind of guy who wouldn’t be seen dead in slides and secretly (yet misguidedly) expects to bump into the Clooneys on your holiday in Crete, these are for you.
03.
The sturdy sandals
On more solid ground, we have these sturdy-looking, dare we say quite practical, sandals from Yuketen. Sure, they’re suede. And you might not want to take them down to an oil-slicked shoreline, but they look like they could withstand the wine run from the villa to the nearest shop, a mere 42-minute rock-strewn stomp away.
04.
The luxe slip-ons
What are these, Bottega Veneta? Have you made some practical pool-ready slides that can withstand splashes of chlorinated water? Or are they a laid-back, swarthy pair of slip-ons that can take me to a local bar or restaurant? The answer is: both. And neither. And we like them very much.
05.
The practical pair
Now we come to perhaps the most unexpectedly stylish pair of summer shoes on show here. LOEWE has taken the oft maligned cliché-US-tourist-cum-Jesus-of-Nazareth sandal shape and said, these are, in 2020, stylish and worth your money. And you know what? They are. If you’re man enough to wear the visual dictionary definition of the word “sandal”.
