summer options

As I enter my second summer of wearing shoes that let me splay my toes I still feel inadequately prepared.

I’ve been wearing the Vivobarefoot Tracker sandals and my burgundy crocs, but I’m holding out for something more formal. Right now, I’m patiently waiting for the restock of these black tabi ballerinas, provided that I have it in me when the time comes to pay for $45 shipping from France.

I watched Rian Phin’s new video on J.W. Anderson’s Dior debut and she mentions that Nina Christen has been Anderson’s longtime shoe designer. Anderson brought Christen with him to Dior, which is evident in the “tulip” anatomic toe shapes of the Dior shoes—particularly these high-top sneakers:

Rian argues that the collection presents a story about self-assurance and “finding one’s place in the world”, and the shoes in particular tell a story about sustainability and a kind of playful bourgeois environmentalism.

Anyway, all to say that I think the quality for which I’ve been searching in shoes has largely been the seamless contiguity of high and low elements, & because anatomical shape constitutes such a “low” element, the presence of an anatomical shape on a formal shoe lends the design that unique character.

The tabi ballerinas show the shape of the hallux closed in the black flat formal shape of the ballerina. Other tabi ballerinas (like Margiela’s) don’t seem so interesting to me because they are cramped and narrow, which distracts from the distinct visual beauty of the tabi, which is beautiful largely in part because it allows for the foot to function as it is.

Anyway, Tratzia’s tabis seem to be one of the only tabi brands that sell wide, anatomical tabis. I like their other silk brocade ballerinas in various other colorways, but I really would like the black ones because I could imagine myself wearing them every day.

There’s also Sou Sou, which I mentioned in a previous post. I’ve been checking them out for some summer house shoes. Their room slippers only come in narrow sizes currently, so I’ve been hesitant to bite the bullet.

I do like the new woven ballerinas designed by Anya for Origo Shoes. I have a pair of the wide huarache sandals from Origo which ended up being just too long and narrow for me (I should have sized down). I like the ballerinas but I can’t imagine wearing them every day, which is a dealbreaker for a summer shoe.

I was toying with the idea of buying some Birkenstock Bostons on the secondhand market for a while last month but I was never able to find anything cheap enough for me to commit. I found these Papillio line mules that are a half-size too large for me - I’m not going to buy them but I want someone to see them.

I usually hate most “barefoot”-specific brands but El Naturalista’s barefoot line has been looking better lately. I wouldn’t wear 90% of what they offer but these sandals really aren’t bad. I wouldn’t wear them either. But I like them.

Lots of anatomical fisherman sandals have become available recently. The Vibae ones are nice.

I was considering these sandals from Shapen but they sold out of my size. I like that it’s a leather flip-flop with a back strap, which blends the high & low design elements that I mentioned.