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Seen above: Dolce Vita’s Sonora sandal!
A few favorite shoes on my radar for the season ahead —
01. Fisherman sandals! These have been trendy for the past few seasons. I have a pair of platform fisherman sandals from Tory Burch (small size run still available here) that have surprised me with their legs — bought them two summers ago and they still feel relevant and fresh. I would spring for this $150 platform raffia style (paying homage to Prada’s $1,500+ pair), Freda Salvador’s Sara (select colors 20% off here), or (splurge) Gabriela Hearst’s elegant pair, which I’ve stalked for two seasons now, hoping to snap up on sale somewhere. I did find them for under $275 (down from $890) but in an orange color I’m not sure I would wear that much, and at a still-steep $570 in more wearable taupe here.
02. Loeffler Randall’s mesh platforms! I can’t unsee these. So cool with jeans, floaty white dresses…!
03. Larroude mules. One of my best investments from last summer was this pair of unexpected white mules from Larroude. I wore them with every sundress and cocktail dress I owned — just a little exclamation point to dress things up, but without a high heel (which I simply cannot do anymore unless I absolutely must). I’m eyeing this colorful, whimsical pair for this year’s lineup.
04. Freda Salvador woven flats. Look for less with these. Wear with absolutely everything.
05. Quince leather mules. You can legit wear these with everything. Dresses, skirts, jeans, shorts — you name it. It’s a great “in-between” shoe meaning it can dress certain things down (slip dress, cocktail dress) without looking wildly out of place, and it can dress other things up (jeans, shorts) and still look intentional. Did I mention it’s $60?!
06. Hard to tell if the dad sandal trend will persist — Laura Reilly wrote compellingly about the “hotel slipper” style mule that dominated the Miu Miu runway last month and it made me wonder if we aren’t going to go back to thinner-soled, less-chunky styles in the coming seasons. I will absolutely still be wearing mine this summer (I love my hot pink rubberized Guccis as they seem to “rough up” the ladylike fleet of sundresses and caftans I live in during the summer), and Dolce Vita also just sent me this fun woven pair that I cannot wait to wear in the same fashion. A good price point for something we’re not sure will be as trendy in the future.
07. A “dad sandal” that never goes out of style: Birkenstocks! I have lived in the two pairs I’ve purchased in the last year or two (silver for summer, faux-fur-lined for fall/winter) and now do I need a fun colorful pair in on-trend cerulean blue or by way of their collab with The Great? If Birks are too earthy-crunchy for your vibe, you might consider the Glyn collection from See by Chloe or J. Crew’s Marlow sandals, a best seller among Magpies last summer they’ve brought back. I love the look!
08. Larroude Milan flats — have seen these all over the place and they are so elegant. Love the gold hardware.
09. Redundant with recent posts, but I’m telling you these Eleftherias are the sandal to have on hand for summers to come. So easy to wear, can be dressed up with a cocktail dress or dressed down with jean shorts.
10. A denim shoe — any denim shoe! I shared some favorites here. Still drooling over these A. Soliani’s. I will probably buy them. Gucci has loads of flashy options — how fun are these slides? And these embellished denim flats from Schutz turned my head. I have that style (the Arissa) in several colors/materials and they are incredibly comfortable.
P.S. If it’s cool sneakers you’re after…
P.P.S. The Magpies have spoken: Bombas are not worth the investment as they tend to develop holes within a few years of light use! (Join the dialogue in the comments section here.)
P.P.P.S. Pouring from the center.
Chiming in to mention a key piece of Birk advice for Gayathri: always look for (and spend the extra $$ on) real leather Birkenstocks instead of their faux-leather “Birko-Flor” material! This is CRUCIAL advice (if I may say so!) that I personally learned the hard way — I have a pair of metallic silver Arizonas from 2017 that are still going strong, and I had a pair of gold Birko-Flor Arizonas maybe 3-4 years ago that looked so crappy after just one summer. The Birko-Flor material cracks and peels, and it’s relatively expensive (maybe only $40-50 cheaper than the same style in real leather!) so I would strongly encourage any fellow magpies to spring for the leather! Same goes for the other styles, in my experience — I have a pair of Boston clogs in leather that I’ve had since college (!!) and with proper maintenance they do hold up very well.
One more Birkenstock comment — as you might be able to tell, I am super bought in on Birks (got my first pair in 5th grade!!) and my advice for those who’d appreciate a similar sandal in elevated materials is to look for Birkenstock’s 1774 line! It’s expensive but very worth it, depending on your budget … I have a pair of fully leather black embossed Arizonas with slim gold buckles/hardware, and they look like a million bucks with my darker summer dresses! Some of their collabs have garnered dressed-up takes on the classic Birkenstock styles, too — thinking Proenza Schouler, Valentino, Toogood, etc.
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Love this intel! Thanks so much for sharing!
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I have heard the silver coating on the birks can wear off pretty quickly. Have you faced that issue? Tempted to buy a pair but worry about the quality. Thanks!
Hi! I have not had this issue — there are a few scratches / dings but I still wear constantly without feeling ratty (and wore them HEAVILY last summer). I have heard you shouldn’t get them wet and have been pretty good about avoiding water because of that.
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