The British Summer Time weather might not always play ball but hot holidays, park picnics and balmy nights are just around the corner. It makes now the perfect time to buy your annual investment pair of sandals – even it does feel strange to splurge when you’re still stomping around in your winter boots.
The power of getting this investment right should not be underestimated. A really great pair of summer sandals has the ability to lift a pair of jeans, tee and a blazer into sharp, office-ready attire or imbue a pair of wide-leg trousers with just-off-the-Capri-yacht appeal. Get the right pair and it can serve as the base for most of your summer looks (shoes-up dressing will change your life if you’re yet to try it), and provided you invest in quality, sandals can be taken out of storage year after year.
From 90s platforms to fisherman sandals and pop colour slides, this summer there is a sandal for all taste and budgets. Now all we need is some sun.
Fisherman sandals
Addicted to the comfort and practicality of your granddad sandals? It might be time to plump for a pair of the soon-to-be sensible-chic shoe of the season, fisherman sandals. A little frumpy and definitely prim, these Marmite shoes have the ability too ooze an understated (and somewhat puritannical) nonchalance for those that can carry them off.
The trend was started — as so many are — by Mary-Kate and Ashley’s The Row which first released a pair of minimal caged leather flats back in 2021 and has since inspired everyone from Gabriela Hearst and Gucci to Valentino and Chloe to rework the seafaring staple. Among the best of the bunch is Roger Vivier’s chunky, gold (or diamante)-buckled iteration and Marni’s canvas-strapped variety, which come in a rainbow hue of colours with optional crystal adornment.
Pair with silky socks and cream slacks until the weather warms, and tailored shorts and pared-back dresses when it does. If you’re feeling really spicy, try the towering-heeled rhinestone-adorned pink and blue jelly numbers seen in Versace’s SS22 show… less seafaring more stop-and-stare-ing.
Gabriela Hearst Lynn white leather sandals, £620; matchesfashion.com
Roger Vivier Viv Rangers Fisherman patent-leather and grosgrain sandals, £750; net-a-porter.com
& Other Stories chunky leather sandals, £95; stories.com
Colour pop slides
Thought slide sandals were restricted to the chic-but-safe realm of tan Hermes Orans? Think again. This summer the post-pandemic need for dopamine-hit colour migrates from our clothes to our toes, with the season’s slides embracing dialled-up saturated hues served with a side of sass.
From Balenciaga’s apple green cagoule versions to Mach & Mach’s neon-hued diamante double bow-bedecked slides and By Far’s pillowy Lima numbers, which come in popping green, bubblegum pink and a rather jazzy hologram bronze; this season’s slip-on game is strong.
Mach & Mach doubelbow slides, £690; available at Harrods in store.
Balenciaga cagole green flats, £525; Matchesfashion.com
Russell & Bromley puff mules, £145; russellandbromley.co.uk
Zara printed sandals, £69.99; zara.com
Alexander Wang crystal slides, £4800; alexanderwang.com
The Y2K platform
If the return of Y2K fashion has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. Just as 2021 brought the surprise return of butterfly prints, Juicy Couture tracksuits and low-rise cargo pants, summer ’22 will see chunky, colourful platforms enter the fashion fold.
From plastic mules to metallic foamy wedges, these sandals are direct descendents of the footwear a generation of girls (myself included) begged their mums to buy them in Tammy Girl, Kookai and Morgan de Toi. Pair with mini skirts or pedal pushers for a TikTok-approved look.
Miista Ann red sandals, £150; Miista.com
Charles & Keith woven buckle platform mules, £65; charleskeith.co.uk
Gucci rubber slide sandal, £295; gucci.com
Cult Gaia Sev platform, £464; revolve.com
Ankle dressing
You’ve sorted the summer necklace and bought the bling rings, but what about your ankles? This season sandals are lavishing love on your lower legs with pretty chains and super strappy ties. Go gladiator with Valentino’s studs and Rene Caovilla’s all-the-way-up lacing, or keep it chic in Jimmy Choo’s anklet-adorned slides. Whistles, Reformation and Massimo Dutti all have excellent affordable options, or for something ultra-glam, try Emanuela Caruso Capri’s golden gems, which come with detachable golden snake straps for optional ooh-la-la.
Giuseppe Zanotti lace up sandal, £675; Giuseppezanotti.com
Maxine square sandal with gold anklet, £250; maxineshoes.com
Rene Caovilla crystal-embellished sandals, £940; selfridges.com
Emanuela Caruso Capri gold ankle detail sandals, £500; koibird.com
Gold Standard
Perhaps it’s the promise of a golden summer of travel or perhaps it’s the mood of the upcoming Jubilee, but gold sandals are set to reign supreme in 2022. A versatile neutral with nothing boring about it, the majestic metallic makes a perfect replacement for predictable black or brown and works wonderfully with a tan. No wonder fashion shopping platform LTK has reported searches up 135 per cent year-on-year. They might be bang on trend, but in truth, gold never gets old.
Aeyde gold sandals, £140; Farfetch.com
Ba&sh cisco gold sandals, £260; ba-sh.com
Porte & Paire gold suede sandals, £175; net-a-porter.com
Zara gold sandals, £29.99; zara.com
Loeffler Randall Daphine gold bow slide, £200; loefflerrandall.com
Ancient Greek Artemis sandals, £180; ancient-greek-sandals.com
