The surprising shoe trend everyone’s backing RN

There's no doubt about it, the main shoe trend of SS19 is the ugly shoe. First, there were the hiking sandals, enabled by Chanel and Prada to name just a couple. Now, it's all about flip flops. Yep, another 90s throwback, but with a cool contemporary twist of course.

In 2019, we wear flip flops with a kitten heel, and we call it the kit-flop. It comes in minimal shades of black, white or tan, perhaps elevated with a moc croc finish.

Uber-cool brands such as STAUD and Reformation are leading the way, with high-street heroes Zara and Mango following suit.

They are essentially what the stylish California girl would wear, and I'm very into that. I would in fact team it with a little floral dress, perhaps by Faithfull the Brand or other such influencer-approved brand. Because might as well go the whole hog, right?

I've already spotted the trend all over Instagram, on some of my favourite fashionistas such as Monikh and Ropes of Holland.

Here are a few of my favourite styles to shop now.

Shop now: STAUD Keith croc-effect leather mules for £245 from Net-A-Porter

Shop now: Caroline sandal for $198 from Reformation

Shop now: ROUND VINYL MID-HEEL SANDALS for £29.99 from ZARA

Shop now: Heel leather sandals for £49.99 from Mango

Shop now: SIMON MILLER Beep patent-leather sandals for £350 from Net-A-Porter

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.