Fashion

GONE FISHING

forget the gladiator—here’s our sandal of the summer.

by rebecca willa davis

May 22, 2013

It seems like just yesterday the gladiator sandal emerged as the summer shoe victor--everywhere we looked, there was the stripy flat. But this summer, we think another style is about to supersede it as the It Sandal: the fisherman sandal.

What exactly makes a sandal a fisherman sandal (and not, say, a gladiator)? Here are our rules: They have a strip running down the center from ankle to toe, with interwoven pieces of fabric (leather, or otherwise) coming off the center. If they look a bit like jelly sandals, that's because jellies were based off of the classic fisherman style back in 1946. Why call them fisherman? No one seems to know--and there have been examples of these cut throughout history--but if we had to put money on it, we'd guess that the gaps would allow water to flow out, while the sturdy sole makes it a bit easier to work on the docks.

Now, you may have worn some variation of it when you were a kid (or, alternately, your parents may have), but the pairs we've been loving aren't all classics; though you can get old-school style leather fisherman sandals, you can also get them with wedges, big rubber soles, wooden platforms, and even bows. (There's also a pair designed by Agyness Deyn, which means that they're It Girl-approved.)

So, are you ready to go fish?