RFI: Summer footwear that is cool

[curgoth]

As part of my ongoing, inevitable, regrettable hippification, I am considering buying non-boot footwear for the summer. Something possibly in the sandal family. The last time I wore sandals, they were plastic k-mart flip flops when my age was in single digits.

I am, of course, still me, and don't want something like birkenstocks. However, I'm tired of wearing hot combat boots in summer, and taking longer to do up my boots than it takes to put on the entire rest of my outfit. So, I want some kind of summer footwear that's a) fairly easy to put on and take off, b) allows for greater airflow than combat boots, and c) looks good.

I've been looking at the Vibram Five Toes with the instep strap. Anyone know of other good looking sandal relatives I should be considering? Is it, for example, worth combing the stores on Yonge for some kind of gothy sandal with spikes on or something?

Comments

[dicea.livejournal.com]

Vibram Five Fingers are really great shoes.

However, they are not fast to put on at first, they don't have a whole lot more airflow than combat boots, and while they do look good you have to find a color and design that looks good on you and be ready for people to talk with you about them.

A pair of jungle boots with a good pair of wool socks will have better breathability than VFFs because each toe is encased in its own plastic rubber sheath.

The thing I like best about VFFs is that they let me walk using all of my foot and my toes for balance and they are the closest thing I can wear to barefoot while working on freight docks and making deliveries.

The most comfortable and fastest on/off shoe I have now is a self made pair of huaraches made off of this pattern http://www.invisibleshoe.com/ I changed the pattern by making three loops of string at each hole point in the sole and run a wide shoelace through those loops, around my ankle, and then tie in front of my ankle. My soles on those is just 8oz leather. And just to keep the huarache sandals from being too cutsie, I have black laces with skull and crossbones in them.

[curgoth]

Hrm. I'd been hoping that the Sprint would have enough exposed skin to make a noticeable improvement.

[dicea.livejournal.com]

*shakes head* Sorry. I wear the sprints. I just spent the evening outside in the wind and cool of evening watching Shakespeare in the park and my feet were toasty warm, each toe slotted into its own little cocoon.

In spite of my opinion, you may wish to find a store that sells VFFs and try them on for yourself. I found them tricky to fit and am very glad I didn't order them online for the first time.

They may just be what you're looking for.