I was rushing to take my son to the pool, and pointed out to
him that I had forgotten to change into my good flip flops. He looked at me in
amazement and asked “Why would you ever spend your money on something that is
not good?” Wow. Excellent question. I won’t bore you with the ensuing
conversation in which I compared a variety of video games to a variety of shoe
choices- he didn’t buy it anyway.
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| Tiffany- REALLY cute! |
Flip flops were always one of my guilty pleasures. I loved seeing which new patterns J Crew
would come out with each spring, and added to my collection yearly. I always would indulge at sale time.
Then someone must have noticed that the cute
ribbon-ey critter flip flops were made of an bizarre toxic substance that dyed
our feet J Crew Blue, so they switched to a fabric footbed. So cute, but not very long lived, as the
fabric did not hold up to sand and friction, but they were tempting
anyway.
Then came the embellished flip
flop. All of a sudden glitter, ribbons
and roses looked like they belonged on my feet.
Every retailer followed suit. Havaianas decorated with
everything were everywhere at competitive prices.
But, I remained true to my J Crew
collection, and ignored the other brands. Fast forward to this year. I purged all worn
flip flops and planned to refresh my selection.
Where did they all go? I asked my
PS and she told me that they were online/catalog only this year. I looked
online and they were plain and boring. So I took a quick peek around the mall and
found a pricey and meager selection of Havaianas, and $50.00 Tory Burch styles.
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| Tory Burch |
I also noted that for $70.00 I could buy
Missoni for Havaiana and for $195.00 I could buy Burberry Check Leather
flip flops.
J Crew, can you hear me? I
really miss your sparkly, clever selections of frivolously charming footwear. *
*No, Capri sandals and Espadrilles
don’t count. Especially getting out of a
pool, or walking on hot sand. Don’t ask
me how I know this…
What are you tossing in your beach bags? I know I can find flip flops that I can mountain climb in, and flip flops that will make me fit, and Old Navy inexpensive, but with headache inducing fumes, flip flops. But, darn it, I just want cute ones.
Heehee...well, I have quite the collection of flip-flops. Mine are all Havaianas, J.Crew (from several years ago), and Tory Burch. I wonder why J.Crew stopped making the embellished ones? They always seemed to sell fairly well, especially when they got marked down to $3.99.
ReplyDeleteLove the question your son asked! What an intelligent young man you have! :)
He really got me thinking! I am sad I got rid of my flip flop collection. I thought they were an annual thing!
DeleteI know some people think they are very American thing and that they only belong at the pool but I love flip flops. I have bought many from J.crew, including the fabric ones and the ones with the flowers, I loved them. I go through my rubber flips flops in one season, they always break off where the part that goes between your toes meets the sole. This year I bought two pairs of Target flip flops figuring out that there could not be much difference but they did not hold up. The rubber sole has an deep imprint of my soles in it and they look ragged and cheap (which they were). In comparison, my J.Crew basic gold rubber ones look luxurious and I bought them for about the same price last year.
ReplyDeleteSame. I wear them around the house all summer instead of slippers. I bought some ON ones, but they have that scary smell, so I had to really air them out. My last remaining J Crew pair looks luxurious and trendy.
DeleteI am going to cross my fingers for next year.
I keep buying the J. Crew flip-flops with the blue footbeds. The B&M outlet has had a bunch of them this year that I have not seen ever on the web site. I haven't noticed my feet turning blue, maybe they have made improvements. I can't wear the kind with the rubber thong between the toes, it hurts no matter what brand it is. Tevas are comfortable but not very cute.
ReplyDeleteI will have to check the Factory Store. I think they have all fall items there now. Nice to know they are not staining your feet!(I kept buying them anyway.) Teva and Reef are comfortable, but just not as stylish IMO. I am holding out hope for next year:)
ReplyDeleteI have a few of older J Crew flats( some of them you featured)- so I agree with you, more are needed. I am not sure I'd splurge on $195 flats though, lol. I'd rather get smth more substantial. Lol, my eldest and I have same conversations- he thinks I shop too much, I think he owns/and plays too many video games. Amen, no agreement was reached.:))
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, $195 flip flops are neither in my mindset or my wallet! That was actually my younger son, and he stuck out his foot very seriously and said, "See, just save your money, and buy one good pair like mine, and you will be set." I think he thought I was depriving myself by buying inferior merchandise. I did not have the heart to tell him that what I meant was that the "cleaning the house pair" I had on my feet was not a good match for my bathing suit and cover -up!
DeleteI had the same problem last year -- J Crew used to be my "go to" for cute flip flops, and suddenly they were no where to be found. I ordered a pair from LL Bean (called Maine Isle Flip Flops) with anchors on them a year ago last spring and they are still going strong. They have the comfortable, soft bottom that the old J Crew ones had. I quick look at their website shows that they still have some available, although a lot of colors are sold out.
ReplyDeleteThank you Janet. I never thought about LL Bean. I'm off to look right now!
DeleteGreat post. I wondered where the flipflops were this year. Maybe I need to save my favorite gold jeweled Jcrew flipflops that match everything for special occasions if they can't be replaced! I love flipflops from the brands Yellowbox and Corkys. Thick swishy soles and jewels so you might check out those brands.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the geat suggestions- I will go look now. I know, I never thought I would have to save my remaining pair of favorite brown glittery flip flops for "good" occasions!
ReplyDeleteI still have 2 pairs of the Gap's jelly flip-flops from (who knows how many) years ago, still going strong, and still remarkably comfortable. The little thing between the toes kills me on the JCrew FFs, but not on these - the placement, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteThe most comfortable pool shoes I have are the ones with just one strap across the front and the sole made of little bubbles. If I could come up with the name of the manufacturer, I'd buy more.
I love the jellies, but I have a hard time keeping them on my feet. I think they are adorable, however, and have one pair of old J Crew jellies in clear with gold flecks. I just have to walk very gingerly!
ReplyDelete