//ann demeulemeester//
I love ugly sandals. My love for them started out when I was a kid. My parents were immigrants, new and innocent. Broke and lost in a country full of expenses out the ass. My mom cleaned peoples houses and my father worked at a fast food restaurant before getting his law degree. Being broke and have two small children, they accepted children clothes from friends. The sandals given to me were always cute but so uncomfortable, with leather digging into my ankles or toes. Fast forward to when I was a senior in high-school and I was wearing the ugliest cool clothes. They were cute to me though. Very avant-garde. Black baggy pants, grey smock dresses and hideous chunky boots littered my bedroom floor. Ugly sandals from friends and family who were 50 years older than me filled a box in my closet. They were comfy and worn in. But when I got made fun of for not having tassels or gems on my sandals, I realized how different my footwear really was.
So what's wrong with ugly sandals to most young kids/teens? One thing is they're never in style. Ugly sandals are only seen ugly because they are comfy and a lot of them are what older people wear. (And apparently old people aren't into fashion??? We know this isn't true) I remember being dragged to Macy's with my grandmom for a pair of clarks which I fought against the whole ride there. I currently have them sitting in my closet 3 years later, comfy and casual as can be. I used to beg for my mom to take me to cheap shoe stores so I could buy the flat sole sandals with no arch support but for the newest colors and prints. That's the second thing that kids don't like. Comfy shoes aren't cheap! The first time I started to look towards comfy shoes is when I saw Born sandals in a consignment shop. I raced home, got on zappos and saw that they were $120. I never looked at them again. So many comfortable shoes have a high price simply because they last longer than those $20 flip flops from Barefeet Shoes. I had to buy shoes with my own money since I was the person saying how stylish they were and I could not pay $120 for one pair of shoes. So I bought 3 pairs of $20 dollar ones and cried when they all fell apart in 2 weeks.
So why should people even get ugly sandals if they don't look good? So many young people buy cute, flat sandals and feel proud of their recent purchase. But that all changes instantly. Your feet start to ache and get blisters in a few hours. You start to get tired and grumpy because you're in pain. Things go from bad to worse. Your feet feel as if they are on fire and you're walking as if you just skipped across a bed of hot coals! Just buy comfy shoes! Ugly shoes are almost always comfy and Birkenstocks are making a comeback this season anyway! Comfy, ugly shoes are definitely worth the price. They last way longer than those cheap shoes you buy for style and style only. Your feet won't be aching after 2 hours on them either. If you really don't have the money, just save up for one pair of comfy shoes and buy them when it's boot season! They go on sale and you can even get two pairs for the same price of one. But the point is buy comfy shoes and your feet will thank you!
These photos are not mine
