I’m going to be completely honest: I never thought I would like “ugly” sandals. In fact, the whole sporty shoe trend—including “dad” trainers—hasn’t ever interested me, even after seeing that almost all of my favourite influencers on Instagram were complete devotees.
Anyone who knows me will know that I’ve only really just come to terms with trainers as something you’d wear outside of the gym. Yes I know, I’m in my late 20s and only got my first pair of kicks (Stan Smiths, shocker) a couple of years ago, going on to invest in a pair of Converse earlier this year. But as someone who is obsessed with heels, mules, strappy sandals and basically any other type of shoe, chunky sandals just haven’t been on my shopping list. Until Prada dropped its rubber-soled, retro-looking, Velcro-strapped ones, that is.
Upon first glance, I thought they’re the kind of shoes you look at and don’t admit to your friends that you like. Then, upon second glance, I started to think about how comfy they must be, how easy they’ll be to wear and how actually, they help give a bit of an edge to pretty dresses or shorter skirts.
So, yes, they may remind me slightly of the shoes you have to wear when you break or fracture your foot. And, yes, they also make me wonder if I’ll even be so daring as to try out a bucket hat next—one thing at a time. But the more I see these chunky sandals parading down every London street, the more I want to own a pair, so I went on the hunt for the best ones out there.
I made a carefully selected edit of 20 pairs of sporty sandals that’ll make my summer (and yours) complete. These are the styles that even I—the least sporty person exercise- and wardrobe-wise—would consider adding to my overflowing shoe collection.
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