courtesy of havaianas

Summer in Europe, floods and heatwaves, have your pick. Next winter memories are setting in, and so in the end the sound of summer 2007 may as well be the tick of endless raindrops on a tent, the fast swoosh of that same tent instantly consumed by a blazing bushfire. Or perhaps you are blessed and it will just be one of the evergreens, the thump of a dropped icecream in the sand, the shriek then laughter of a (too)pretty girl in a swimmingpool you've been watching all day, or likely that crappy euro-disco tune, nested in your brain since that worst hangover on local drinks. Ah well, whatever it will be for you, to me it is the streets or beaches filled with feet sounding like chewing gum, a blue skied world of flip-flops flipflopping.

Comfortable, airy and with built-in sounds effects... it says it all, in summer nothing can top the anti-footwear, flip flops, or whatever you name them. Some insist on calling them thongs, jandals, beach slippers, but pardon my semantic choice, I just stick to flip-flops, as I stick to ping-pong when a normal person would probably say table-tennis, or tuk tuk for a motorcycled taxi, even outside Thailand. See, I am a sucker for objects named after the sound they make, and strongly believe that getting along lies in this simpler lingua franca.

Remarkable thing is however, yes a confession, I never wear them. I tried, really, true backpackers can't do without. I remember my last pair of rubbery blacks bought on KSR, all up to the buckets law of footwear, the cheaper the better. And gosh it felt good, sounded good, looked good, totally holiday bliss. Even without braided hair I blended in so perfectly. But as always, after a couple of days of walking and strolling, I have to admit defeat to an unwillingly body, to a stubborn set of toes stuck in a permanent toe jam. Topped with a grin of pain and relief on my face I had to let them go. Yip, sad but true, flip-flops and me, another unrequited love...

Still, boys and girls, do me a pleasure, don't give into Birkenstock's (or whatever comfy high dollar brand), definitely forget about Crocs, but most of all to that latest fashion craze, topless sandals ("Dare you to go topless this summer? No more suntan lines" - really?). I saw a pretty girl walking with a pair of those new acclaimed 'nude sandals', she dressed in a breezy top and flower skirt, skin and smile radiating in sync with a perfect summer, and it just didn't seem right. Like some beautiful people can be suddenly so bland when they start to speak, this girl disappeared into seasonal nothingness when she started to walk, inaudible. It's a shame.

Besides that, they all look silly.

Make my summer, flip flop.

Tags: Shoes, Summer