I Just Got Back from LA and Everyone was Wearing These Nostalgic Summer Sandals
And just like that, this lesser-known Y2K trend has made a comeback
Picture this: the sun is slipping behind the city’s famous mid-century bungalows, casting a heavenly glow across Heidi Montag’s face which is plastered on billboards and telephone poles, all blonde coiffed hair and beaming Hollywood smile. Everywhere you look, girls are wearing low-rise jeans that sit snugly over heeled flip-flop sandals, framing French pedicures.
No, this isn’t a scene from The Hills circa 2003—this is 2025, and I’m sitting in Santo, a buzzy neighbourhood sushi bar in LA’s cool Silver Lake district. My boyfriend had the good sense to book ahead of our trip, and thank goodness he did, because it feels like all of LA has turned out on this balmy evening to try and get a table.
In line, nursing biodynamic wines, there’s the usual sea of baseball caps and ‘throwing fits’ style ensembles—I spot more than one pair of Acne’s intentionally distressed jeans—but among the predictable low-key Cali-cool looks, one item stands out: the heeled flip-flop.
Tania Sarin outside Proper in Santa Monica, wearing white Bermuda shorts and heeled flip-flops
Once considered a relic of the Y2K era, this summer the sandal has made a triumphant return, thanks to labels like Jimmy Choo and TOTEME. Coperni also offers a wedged platform pair—which feels pleasingly Lizzie McGuire-like—but tonight, all the California cool girls are wearing whisper-thin heels with an almost threadbare thonged vamp.
The jury—by which I mean the internet—is still out on the origins of the heeled flip-flop. It’s most commonly associated with early Aughts fashion, albeit in a subtler way than, say, the printed baby tees also on display around the city. I was convinced Carrie, or at least one of the Sex and the City squad, had worn a pair during those iconic LA episodes (RIP The Standard, Hollywood), but after scouring the internet, I was proven wrong.
Nevertheless, something about the heeled flip-flop feels very SATC—so in a sense, it only seems right that the divisive shoe is finding a new audience just as the third season of And Just Like That airs. Perhaps this season, alongside continuing to right some of the more notable wrongs, the show might put fashion’s favourite footwear fetishist in a pair of heeled flip-flops. This pair has Carrie’s name(plate) all over it...
Shop Heeled Flip-Flops
Square-toed, minty-toned, scattered with oversized sequins and by Jimmy Choo—get our girl in a pair, stat!
The antithesis of the above, TOTEME’s sleek and streamlined sandals forgo the fuss in favour of clean lines that elegantly frame your feet.
Crafted from buttery cherry-red leather, this classic pair sits atop a glossy fluted heel for a slight lift that doesn’t scrimp on comfort.
Another one for the Carries and the Samanthas of the world, this gilded pair is studded with semi-precious stones. True SATC fans will remember Gianvito Rossi as the mastermind behind those fish skeleton sandals Samantha wore in that sushi scene.
If you needed more proof that we’re in the throes of a Y2K resurgence, this monochrome pair is from Topshop.
Indulge me this one last SATC reference when I say this metallic pair is riffing off Carrie’s mismatched sandals in the Hollywood episode.
Two of this summer’s most hyped (and divisive) trends come together in the form of these Chloé jelly sandals.
Put it plainly: this pair looks far more expensive than its £27.99 price tag, and the timeless design means you’ll turn to them for summers to come.
Leave it to Miu Miu to bring unexpected details—cleated soles in this case—to the humble flip flop. This sports-infused pair is fitted with patent monochrome panels and sculpted heels. The label’s cursive logo makes them instantly recognisable.
