Desmond's Information-on

There are times in this life when gaudy is the way to go: expensive sports shoes named after well-known sports celebrities or gorgeous flats from world-famous European designers both have their place. But if you’re walking down a sandy beach, pumps may not be the best choice. And what if you just want to run out and pick up the mail on a summer afternoon. You don’t want to deal with lacing up your regular shoes just to run in and out of the house, but its sure nice to have something between your feet and the hot pavement. And so the appeal of cheap sandals. Purchased at discount and sometimes in bulk by even the wealthiest and pickiest of shoppers, there’s never anything fussy about versions. They’ve gone by other names, from the proper “thong,” – which can obviously create confusion with a very differently positioned article of minimal clothing – to “jandals,” and the somewhat less well-known “pluggers”, and of course “sandals”. In any case, minimalist shoes by any other name still protect the bottom of your feet.

The roots of the flip flops are as ancient as the idea of the shoe itself and go back literally to the beginning of society. However, it’s popularity in the developed world is a little more recent. Thong-like shoes known as “flip flaps” may have been in use in the United States before the Civil War era, and versions of the simple Japanese flipflop called the Zori are seen to be used in New Zealand during the 1930s. After the end of the war in the Pacific in 1945, thousands more allied servicemen were introduced to the zori concept while stationed in occupied Japan, and the style became more internationally popular.

Still, the modernday foam and rubber design was introduced more than a decade later. In 1957, New Zealander Morris Yock patented the modern design of the shoe which was later marketed in that country as the “Jandal” for “Japanese Sandal”. Though there is an ongoing dispute between Yock’s heirs and those of another
inventor, John Cowie, there was simply no stopping the simple, basic, yet effective design of the modern day thong/flip flop/Jandal. Certainly, as the most inexpensive, casual and open-air shoes there is, its popularity in beach communities, where “no shoes, no shirts, no service” signs are as common as saltwater, seems to be never-ending.

Today, sandals come in an great of styles aimed at both sexes, from the most colorful and outlandish designs imaginable to styles so conservative they almost seem businesslike. There are even dressy versions for ladies that created a stir some years back when some of the Women’s Lacrosse Team from Northwestern University wore them to the White House. There were people who considered the casual sandals insulting to wear in the President’s house. In any case, those wishing to stem the tide of informality that has swept the U.S. over the last several decades are invariably swimming upstream.

While there is little doubt that you can find flip-flops that tare ridiculously expensive, the beauty of flip flops is that mostly they are practically disposable, super cheap shoes. Most flip-flops only last a couple months. Although, some people are known for their desire to extend the life of their cheap goods indefinitely covering their torn shoes with duct tape or other material fixes. Still, when you think of it, the appeal of flip-flops comes down to two wonderful feelings: comfort and the joy of a product that is nearly always sold at a giant discount.