Sandals get a bum deal I reckon.
Even as a kid in the Sixties they had a bad rep.
When I say sandals I mean those shoes where the front end was heavily pierced with air holes topped with a large gap and a strap usually buckled.
Born from a need for less sweaty feet in Summer sandals became the unfortunate trademarks of 1. Nerds 2. Mummy's boys 3. Alter boys 4. little boys and 5. Dads. It was a peculiarly male phenomenon.
In that grooviest of decades I was both a little boy, a Mummy's boy and somewhat nerdy I think. Sandals were nailed on!
Even worse were the long knee socks we had to wear with them creating a look so ridiculed that it persists today as the 'socks and sandals' combo popular with older Dads and mocked by fashionistas everywhere. Only string vests generate more cultural vitriol.
There was one style of sandal that managed to evade all this mocking though, the plastic Jelly. I myself enjoyed the sharp clack of Jellies on our lino floors and appreciated their ability to easily go from one terrain to another such as kitchen to garden. They were the ATV'of sandals and could even withstand 1. the paddling pool 2. the swimming pool 3. the sea and 4. the bath [we didn't have a shower in the Sixties].
When I got older and interested in film I was always astounded that the oft-maligned sandal even had its own sub-genre of action film, sword and sandals. However these particular shoes were more usually the basic straps and lashings associated with the bronzed warriors of Ancient Greece, a far cry from the blue, brushed suede baskets from Clerks we had to endure as kids!
Here's an old piccy from my Butlins family album showing a whole assortment of sandalry worn by my Sixties clan. From left to right: Mum - stylish sandals 2. Big Brother - socks and plimsolls 3. Uncle Gordon - socks and sandals 4. Uncle Gordon's son - socks and sandals 5. Me [ showing off the Tudor Rose boat] - socks and jellies and 6. Auntie Terry - stylish sandals.
What are your sandal experiences readers?
