Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Tha best thing about summer

Two words (or one hyphenated word, your choice) : flip-flops. I'm well aware that folks either love 'em or hate 'em, but I am firmly in the love-'em category. Such foot freedom! Such release! Why, I just warm to the sound of the onomatopoeiatic footwear. Flip-flop, flip-flop, slap-slap, slap-slap.

Pulitzer Prize-winning hack (and she is a hack - how she won the Pulitzer is beyond most thinking people) Robin Givhan of the Washington Post wrote a scathing little piece the other day about how uncool flip-flops are. Ugly feet, Robin? That your problem? "Uncool" flip-flops definitely ain't. They come in so many precious-with-a-capital-PRESH styles now, I'm not buying your pouty little review.

Now, I must admit to having my dog-walking flip-flops (the $2 rubber kind - but in really cute colors!) and my dressy, bejeweled ones (the more up-market $10-12 sort) - a range, if you will, suitable for all occasions. Listen, with a fresh pedicure and my feet shod in hot pink thin strappy sparkly flip-flops, I could meet the Queen. Never saw what the fuss was about last year when that girls' soccer team (or whatever) showed up in flip-flops for a photo op with the Prez. (In my book, my dog-walkin' flip-flops woulda' been perfect for that scenario, if you get my drift.)

So Robin, Robin, Robin. Get thee out into the world to see the wonderful range of foot-freeing tootsie-wear available during the steamy months. Sheesh. I'll bet she's still wearing pantyhose.

Yup. Flip-flops are just about perfect in my book, and I'm hard-pressed to pull them off my feet when October rolls around. The only drawback that I see is that you can't sneak up on anybody when you're wearing flip-flops. But other than that, just slap on a fresh coat of nail varnish (um, probably not the guys) and slide 'em on. They're the best thing about summer.

1 comment:

Chris said...

Yea - let's hear it for flip-flops!!! (Some people call them 'thongs' but I think that's really dangerous; you may get up one morning, still only half awake, and try to thrust your feet into your knickers OR, even worse, try to get your footwear around your butt!!).

I love my current 'dressy' ones, black & sparkly (£8.99 from Tescos) and wear them on all sorts of occasions; luckily I'm old enough to flout convention and not worry about it too much but hope I'm considered groovy or eccentric and not loony or 'mutton dressed as lamb'.

However, one of my newspapers recently reported that a particular designer flip-flop (can't remember the name) is now a 'must have' for lots of celebrities. To me they looked like the real cheapie plastic sort but with the designer logo embossed on one of the straps and costing very, very, very much more than plastic footwear should.

Going to wear my sparkly ones tonight whilst doing my FOH duties. Hope Pete doesn't object!