Anyone who says it isn’t the summer of the foot fetish is lying to you. Over the past few sweltering months, there has been a focus on feet like never before. Those poor folks who recoiled at the idea of Tabis becoming mainstream back in 2024 are likely looking on in horror at the foot-forward movement taking place in fashion right now. From the surprising rise of Vibram’s Five Finger Shoes to a revived intrigue around toe rings, fashion is big on feet.
As an Australian, flip flops are in my DNA. There is no feeling like a pair of double pluggers barely protecting your feet from the hot bitumen on a belter of a summer's day, beach bound and ready to sink into the sand. Now that I have moved to New York, there is a slightly different terrain to navigate (go figure) and, seemingly, a different etiquette.
To barefoot shoe or to not barefoot shoe? To flip or to flop? These are the new questions one must ask amid a tiny shoe takeover. The other day I got caught in a rainstorm wearing my new Diesel X Melissa Jelly Thongs. For the first time, I understood the horrified looks people were giving me as I dodged neon yellow puddles, streams of drainwater, and presumably tetanus on the route home. I decided to do a call-out on my Instagram stories to find out how everyone is feeling about wearing scant footwear on the New York City streets, and two schools of thought emerged: Half have never thought twice about it, the other half would never think of it.
“It might come with risk, but the reward is greater. Unless you're rubbing your feet on the sidewalk or subway, I don't see why many are so opposed,” beauty writer Valeriya Chupinina says. I, too, was confused about the amount of people who seemed to think it was egregious and wrong to have the dogs so exposed in the city.
Naturally, New York City can be a particularly perilous city for exposed feet. One wrong move and you could slip on an ungodly substance or get your toe stepped on on the subway like I did earlier today. But life is about risk! And there is something quite freeing about feeling the hot breath of the subway between your toes. There are plenty of people who disagree, and feel as though the subway is one step too far (pun intended, I guess). I am not one of them. Neither is my friend and long-time New Yorker, Cecilia Singley, who declared, “I couldn't care less about exposed feet on the subway. There are far more nauseating body parts being exposed on the subway than feet.”
Getty Images
Getty Images
One person who isn’t so keen is fashion writer Emilia Petrarca. “It’s not really the subway that bothers me; being out and about in New York, you’re bound to get grimy,” she notes. “I’ve been wearing dupes of the Row flip-flops around town and I can’t say I’m a fan. My feet hurt by the end of the day, and they get so gross. This is maybe TMI, but I don’t feel any cooler, either. (As in, I’m still sweaty.) I’d rather just wear sneakers and socks.” She’s not wrong. The deciding factor about any shoe you’re choosing to wear in NYC will always come down to comfort. Most of us are averaging 10,000 steps a day just getting to-and-fro from the office, so whatever toe-baring silhouette you opt for will have to withstand a bit of pavement punishment.
“New Yorkers are so pragmatic when it comes to everything, but since we walk everywhere, footwear has to be functional too,” Vivian Li, a fashion writer, content creator, and PhD candidate, weighs in. “With flip flop or Vibrams, they are still super comfortable, which is the most important thing when it comes to spending an entire day out, or running up and down Manhattan.”
The polarizing shoe doesn’t have everyone’s vote, though, even for the most feet-liberal amongst us. “Vibrams are the only shoe I have a reservation with (even though I have a pair) because even though I believe they're protecting my feet, I can feel the ground underneath me when I wear them,” Chupinina adds. The best thing about New York, is that everyone’s varying feelings about footwear makes for a completely unique, and relatively unbothered group of witnesses if you do decide to partake in the foot-forward shoe movement this summer.
“I think New Yorkers have always done what they want, and will continue to do so,” Petrarca observes. “ If you’re braving the heat here in the summer, (as opposed to escaping to Europe, or wherever), I salute you. Wear whatever you want.” Singley echoes her sentiment, noting that as much as New Yorkers are going to do whatever they want, they also generally don’t care what you do, either. “If you’re considering wearing open-toe shoes but are fearful of judgment, remember this—New Yorkers mind their own business, and no one is paying you any mind. All they care about is that you can keep pace on the sidewalk and not get in their way.”
As for the scanty little shoes the fashion girls are wearing around town? “If I’m doing barefoot-adjacent, I’m wearing mesh flats, so that I’m a little more covered,” Petrarca says. “I like the ones I have from Le Monde Beryl and Loeffler Randall.”. Chupinina opts for “flower-embellished Clarks and a simple flip-flop kitten heel,” Li reaches forthe Tory Burch Capri Low Heel, and Singley’s sandal of choice is the String Flip Flop from Ancient Greek Sandals. Personally, any kind of flip flop feels good for me, rain and toe-stepping be damned, I’m just going to get in the shower anyway!
