Summer of the sandal

Never have American women spent so much money on so little leather. This is the summer of the sandal, and the sweeter the color, the more feminine the shape, the thinner the strap and the daintier the heel the better.

"Women are happy to get out of their heels," sums up In Style magazine's fashion editor, Toby Tucker.

She's right -- you can almost hear the collective sigh of relief as pumps are pushed to the back of the closet and pantyhose peeled off.

Sandals have always been a hot-weather phenomenon, at least for casual looks. But these days bare legs and open toes are fine for everything from the workplace to a formal evening wedding. The one fashion "don't" is wearing sandals with nylons. (The hosiery industry is striking back with toeless styles.)

Barbara Kasman, director of public relations for Stuart Weitzman shoes, says firmly, "The trend is sandals."

She knew things were different this season when she started seeing New York City women who used to wear sneakers to and from work now wearing flip-flops.

You could say the big news in footwear started above the ankles. Every clothing style that shows a little skin has been selling well in recent seasons. Bare shoulders. Teeny straps. Skimpy tops not quite meeting low-slung waists. Short, short skirts. Even cropped pants.

"It makes sense that it trickles down," says Kathy Deane, president of the Tobe Report, consultants to major retailers. "A closed-up shoe would look heavy with them."

She adds, "The sandal business has been explosive since 2003."

To take the trickle-down theory a little further, the newest looks in women's clothes are also more feminine than they have been in quite a while, with floaty fabrics and little frills. They cry out for a pretty, strappy sandal with a dainty heel.

This season's sandals can be found in every color of the rainbow, but particularly brights. That's no surprise. Citrus and tropical shades were important on both New York and European designer runways -- shades like the pinks, limes, yellows and aquas of this summer's sexy sandals.

"The biggest thing that happened for sandals (this season) was color," says Donald J Pliner, designer and CEO of Donald J Pliner shoes in New York. "It's about excitement, emotion that hasn't been there for a while."

Still, most women wouldn't be buying a bright-pink sandal that costs as much as a pump if today's fashion sensibility didn't allow them to mix and match. Women are wearing pink with orange, fuchsia, green -- and it looks great. Fashion magazines are showing white sandals with black dresses. (And, yes, you can wear them after Labor Day.) If that's a little racy for you, multicolor sandals in floral prints are very fashion-forward, and they work well with all sorts of clothes and colors.

Sandals have taken on another trend of the season -- embellishment. Feminine dresses and tops have ribbons, bows, pearls, sparkles and little flowers. Ditto the summer sandal.

Stuart Weitzman's banded slide of embroidered flowers with crystals on a 2 1/4-inch enamel heel in cognac patent retails for $205. But if that's a little beyond your budget, no worries.

"The best thing about sandals this summer is that you can find them at every price," says In Style's Tucker.

The flip side of being outraged about a shoe consisting of a sole and one thin strap costing $150 is that you can get a good-looking sandal at Target for $19.99. Somehow it isn't as obvious that it isn't a designer style when there's so little to it.

Sandals are thought to be mankind's oldest crafted footwear, invented somewhere after the animal-skin foot coverings of the Ice Age and before the Birkenstock. The earliest were made variously of wood, papyrus, palm leaves and rawhide. Historians believe designs have changed little since antiquity, but try telling that to Lori Blank.

The 42-year-old finance manager for a company in Annapolis, Md., can be considered something of an expert. "I should probably go to Shoes Anonymous," she explains.

Blank rarely wears the same pair twice in a week. At the moment she's shopping at one of Baltimore's high-end shoe stores, Joanna Gray in the Village of Cross Keys, and she loves the sandals she's found there.

"They have brought back color and pattern," she says. "They've mixed different textures. They look cute, bright and fun."

Blank has just bought a pair of sandals by United Nude for $155. They have a black sole and black leather straps and buckles, but the best thing about them is that the straps are interchangeable. With the sandals come a gold strap, a pink satin ribbon, and black-and-white grosgrain. Voila! Four versatile sandals in one.

This is one of the store's best sellers, says owner Judy Rudo, along with another United Nude style ($135), a slide with a heel inspired by the Bauhaus chair. (Don't ask.)

And the store has all but sold out of a mixed-media design of Lucite and a floral print.

"Fabric sandals with prints flew out of the store," says Rudo. "With all those colors, in essence you could wear them with anything."

Joanna Gray also carries a rubber flip-flop with a kitten heel for $85 in all sorts of bright colors, which Rudo says was last season's must-have. But there's no denying that highly ornamented flip-flops, with or without heels or platforms, in vinyl, rubber or jellies, are still very much a hot item. In Beverly Hills a pair of rubber flip-flops hand-decorated with Swarovski crystals retails for $185. The importance of sandals has turned the lowly flip-flop -- which you could once pick up for a dollar -- into a fashion statement.

The summer of 2004 may be the season for sandals, but don't think once Labor Day rolls around they'll disappear in the back of your closet.

Says designer and CEO Donald J Pliner, "Sandals, like boots, have become 12-month dressing."

SUMMER SHOE TERMS

There are so many styles to choose from that serious sandal shoppers need to know at least these terms:

Ankle-wrap sandal: A sandal whose straps crisscross up the leg. The term is sometimes used for an ankle-strap sandal.

Fisherman sandal: A rugged, practical, flat sandal with lots of skin-covering straps. Not very fashion-forward.

Flip-flop: A thong sandal commonly made of vinyl or rubber and often for shower or beach use. Very casual.

Jellies: Sandals made from a translucent plastic that looks like, well, jelly.

Kitten heel: A tiny, low heel with a feminine shape (often pinched in at the "waist"). Very popular on sandals this season.

Mule: An exception to the open-toe rule. A closed-toe slide.

Nappa: A soft leather that's one of this season's hot sandal materials.

Sandal: A very open shoe usually made of a sole and a thong or straps. Heels optional.

Slide: An open-toed shoe with only a band across the front to hold it on the foot.

Sling-back sandal: An open-toed shoe with a strap around the heel.

Strappy: The It word to describe this season's feminine sandals.

T-strap sandal: An open-toed shoe with a strap down the middle of the top of the foot. It bisects the strap that attaches to the sole.

Thong: A sandal that stays on the foot because of straps that go between the first and second toes. A more citified version of the flip-flop.

Wedge: The most casual heel of all. Very retro. It's more an extension of the sole that's been built up than a true heel.

FOOTWEAR TIPS

Pretty sandals demand pretty feet and a certain fashion sense. Here are some tips from the experts.

Get a professional pedicure once a month, or give yourself one.

Reapply top coat every other day to prevent chipping, and reapply polish once a week.

Use cream and cuticle oil after showering.

Use exfoliators and pumice stones daily to keep calluses down and skin soft.

Try a color you might not use on your fingernails, but nothing too wild and crazy. If summer's pale pinks don't cover ugly nails, use a clear red or brown.

Put away the pantyhose. Bare legs are fine, even at the office, unless it's very conservative, in which case you shouldn't be wearing sandals.

Avoid ankle-strap sandals if you're short or if you don't have pretty ankles.

Beware of kitschy flip-flops, no matter how cute they are in the store. --The Baltimore Sun

The Baltimore Sun

Pretty sandals demand pretty feet and a certain fashion sense. Here are some tips from the experts.

Get a professional pedicure once a month, or give yourself one.

Reapply top coat every other day to prevent chipping, and reapply polish once a week.

Use cream and cuticle oil after showering.

Use exfoliators and pumice stones daily to keep calluses down and skin soft.

Try a color you might not use on your fingernails, but nothing too wild and crazy. If summer's pale pinks don't cover ugly nails, use a clear red or brown.

Put away the pantyhose. Bare legs are fine, even at the office, unless it's very conservative, in which case you shouldn't be wearing sandals.

Avoid ankle-strap sandals if you're short or if you don't have pretty ankles.

Beware of kitschy flip-flops, no matter how cute they are in the store. "They can look like circus freak shoes when you wear them," says Toby Tucker of In Style.