What's up with flip flops?

nancy324

nancy324

Cathlete
Sure, flip flops are great for the beach, or as a replacement for house slippers, or for puttering around. But NYC has gone flip flop crazy. The streets are full of people in business attire commuting in flip flops. Yes, I understand that they change their shoes when they get to work, but what's the advantage of walking the streets of NY in a flip-flop? These shoes are made of a single, flat piece of plastic that has no arch support and that doesn't stay on very well. They're almost as bad as a stiletto in terms of making progress up and down stairs or just walking quickly. Obviously, they keep your feet cool in hot weather, but so do a lot of other sandals that are much easier to walk in.

What's the deal? Anyone know?
 
I have no idea. Flip flops are everywhere - our company had to address the topic specifically in its dress code! Personally I don't like them... of course, they're not very practical if you live out in the boonies like I do. Rocks, grass, dirt and all sorts of interesting stuff flips and flops in between the flip flop and my foot! LOL.
 
Nancy:) I hear you; and the ubiquitous rhythmic 'flip' 'flop' of women walking in these pseudo shoes. I work at a spa, it should be quiet and tranquil but the sound of flip flops echoing in the halls has been a minor annoyance to me this season. I can't figure it out either???

Take Care
Laurie
 
Remember a couple of years back when some girls' lacrosse team made headlines when the girls traveled to a special dinner at the White House as a reward for winning their Championship? The problem? Many of the girls wore flip-flops, although not all of them did.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8670164/

Personally I felt the girls choosing to wear flip flops should have dressed up a bit more. There are plenty of cute/classy mules, flats, sandals, and espadrilles that can be worn in place of flip flops, which I feel are too casual for important occasions.

I don't get the flip flop thing. I like a great looking pair of mules - they're so retro, yet so cool!

Of course, that's just my very HO.

Susan L.G.
 
I am a flip flop person, though I do draw the line and don't consider them appropriate for work or for important occasions. I just find them to be more comfortable than my dressy sandals and I like to my feet to be "free" in the summer. So I could see why people would be wearing them for the commute. I think it beats the ol' high-top Reebok look of the past. :)

[font face="garamond" font color=deeppink size=+2]~Cathy [/font face]http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/4.gif

"Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." -George
 
I love flip-flops but I NEVER wear them in NYC. It's so dirty and gross in the streets and on the subway. I was there last Saturday and am always amazed at how many people wear them for just getting around. Again, they really aren't all that comfortable if you are doing A LOT of walking. And I won't even get started on people wear them to 'dressy' occasions or work.
 
Timidly slips in to say, yes, I wear flip flops to work. Hey, they're MERRELLS!!!

BUT, I'm an editor/proposal analyst. I sit in my office all day and am rarely seen by anyone and we have a very casual staff and I wear better shoes when I know I'm going to be in a meeting and..and...well, there!

Hate to think that Nancy will disapprove of me. :-( Will start wearing nicer shoes if it means she will not look at me in disdain .:) Promises NOT to wear them when we meet for champagne and/or martinis at the Algonquin (or for pizza at John's for that matter!).:7

(First it was "You've Got Mail" and now, flip flops...can this relationship survive!!!)
 
Oh Nance -- I'm with you on this one. I can't stand those things, and yes, that flipping "flip flop" [font size=+2 face ="culrz mz"]noise![/font] They would absolutely kill my feet!
 
Boy is the timing on this interesting--I'm actually wearing cargo pants today b/c everyone & their mother is on vacation, & I did put on a pair of flip flops--actually leather flip flops that weren't cheap--but then I thought better of it & changed into mules. :p

I don't know about you Nancy, but regardless of the shoes I'm just glad to see the sun again! :)
 
I don't know how anybody can walk in them for any distance. I'm old-school because I think of them only for the beach or the locker room. Besides that, they look sloppy.
 
Well...I was never a flip-flop person until I bought myself a pair Teva flip-flops. They are the most comfortable things for my feet! I do wear them to work occasionally (I work at a college, so it's not terribly out of line), but I'd wear them all the time if I could.

To heck hard soled shoes! Comfort is king!! :D
 
I agree with you Nancy! Why in the world would anyone choose a flip flop as a good walking shoe, or even a fashion statement? They are not attractive and they are not good on the feet.

I do NOT like them. I own not one single pair of flip flops and I never will! }(
 
I LOVE FLIP FLOPS! I have a WHOLE TOTE full of them :) They totally rock :)

I draw the line at wearing them to work, unless its casual day - which is today and I have a pair of $3 flip flops from Old Navy - love them..

Try the Adidas flipflops - holy crap are those comfy! Plus I do love my feet feeling free :) Love it - but I do draw the line at wearing them to formal occassions - -

Here is my little secret: I cringe when I see people still wearing those old big huge DOC MARTIN sandals - talk about HEAVY on the feet! and they make your feet look huge!

In a spa - people should wear slippers so there is no noise when they walk - the clacking of heels would be annoying as well!!!
 
I grew up in a small California beach town. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone NOT wearing flip-flops there!

Now I'm sadly far from home, but there's nothing I like better than climbing out of my weekday lawyer costume and into my weekend flip-flop attire. I guess I can still get away with it because I'm under 30 and people mostly think I'm 12 years old. :)

Sorry if you disapprove. ;-)

This is my first post, so I guess I have officially departed from Lurkdom. Hi, everyone!
 
I LOVE flip flops! :) But I would never wear them to work (and not just because they're not allowed), or with anything remotely dressy. I only wear them with casual clothes.

I also don't think they're hard to walk in, and I find them quite comfortable, so that's probably why I like them so much.

I have a hard time finding other types of sandals that are comfortable - there's always some strap that rubs blisters onto some part of my foot. x( Not cool. Flip flops are a good solution to my sandal-buying problem.
 
The Merrells & Tevas are most definitely not hard to walk in--they're some of the most comfy shoes in the world! I'd love to wear them to work but I'm the one always b*tching at people for not dressing professionally. We deal w/the public quite a bit, & they're paying our salaries, I think we kind of owe it to them to at least pretend to be professionals. :D

But I've gotten some rubber beach flip flops from J Crew & the Gap that are the most uncomfortable things in the world! I can't walk 100 feet in them without blistering......

HOWEVER I personally believe there is a difference betw. flip flops & thongs (the shoes, not the undies ;-) ). For example, I have a pair of Stuart Weitzman patent leather thongs w/pretty little flowers on top. Probably I could get away wearing them to work but I keep chickening out. I think flip flops are casual, thongs are more dressy. Flip flops are usually made of rubber, while thongs are made out of leather & sometimes have some kind of embellishment on them.

Am I right or is this yet another of my silly rationalizations? :)
 
Waaaah, I guess I am going to be kicked out of the Club! I LOVE Flip-Flops. (for casual) I live in them during the summer. Most of the time my feet are in aerobic shoes, so as soon as my workouts & classes are over, it feels great to put something on that is airy! Don't look too close at my avatar pic...what is THAT on my feet???? I also wore a pair of dressier flip-flops (Crocs) to the RT Saturday nite dinner. They are a combo of white and pink (matched my outfit!!!) so YES, Laura, I think there is a difference. Okay, off to put on my flipflops...I just got off my Elliptical! :7



http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid8692709


Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie") http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-066.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance, I Hope You DANCE!
 
I love flip-flops! I have several pairs that I wear all summer long! Now they would not be choice for a commuting shoe but to each his own I guess! I have some that are TOTALLY flat and casual and others that are a bit nicer looking with some sort of wedge or platform heel. The totally casual ones I use as slippers and by beach or pool only. The nicer ones I wear out and about all summer long! I would not wear them to work unless I worked as a life guard or something ;) but I love the look of a nice pair of flip flops with shorts, capris or even jeans when I'm going out.:)
 
I LOVE the Merrells and the Clarks that I have. They really are the most comfortable shoes and are great to walk in...not long hikes, mind you, but a not-so-stenuous mile walk with the dogs.

AND, I just looked down at my feet...I had forgotten that I am wearing a perfectly nice pair of brown sandals with my jeans today. This country girl can get city-fied every once and a while.

Okay, all this shoe talk reminds me of the time I told my old boss (who is now a very good friend) that, as a little girl living in rural Virginia, I rarely wore shoes from May until September, unless I was going to church or something. She replied,in complete seriousness, "Well, yeah, your family probably didn't have the money for them." I had to explain to her that just because I was raised in the country, we weren't poor. Now, my grandparents were poor, but even they had shoes!
 
>I agree with you Nancy! Why in the world would anyone choose
>a flip flop as a good walking shoe, or even a fashion
>statement? They are not attractive and they are not good on
>the feet.
>
>I do NOT like them. I own not one single pair of flip flops
>and I never will! }(

I agree, especially about them not being good for the feet. They're fine for public shower rooms and locker rooms, and for the beach or pool, but beyond that, no thanks! (And that plastic thing between the toes irritates my skin).

Though if Teva makes some, they might not be bad. I have some Teva sandals with a wrap around the big toe and forefoot, but they have the regular Teva footbed (which is one of the only types, besides Birkenstocks, that I can wear without orthotics...if I'm being a good girl!)

We Americans tend to be too casual at times, but I'd rather see flip-flops than bedroom slippers (especially with P.J. bottoms), which was what some students were wearing for a while.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top