Faux pas or fashion’s final frontier?
Stylist Allison Bornstein calls it the wrong shoe theory.
The dressing formula that sees people opting for the most unconventional footwear choice as a way of adding visual contrast to their outfits: airy dresses with chunky boots, baggy jeans and sleek ballet flats.
If your outfit needs a little something something – opposites attract.
You can see it on streets all around the world. In New York, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen pair their signature sophisticated minimalist tailoring with utilitarian Tevas. They loved the look so much that they produced a line of luxury flip-flops for their brand The Row, adding a $2000+ price tag.
In Copenhagen, design-savant Danes pedal bicycles wearing socks and Mary Janes.
Those with any skills in pattern detection, or recall of Spice Girls lyrics, will be able to predict what’s happening now: two become one. Socks, meet jandals.
Say it ain’t so. Well, it is. Fashion loves to go one further.
A guest wears a grey blazer, white socks, brown fur flip-flops and a grey round pleated skirt outside Prada show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2025/2026 on February 27, 2025 in Milan, Italy. Photo / Getty Images
There was a time when the fashion set would have baulked at Birkenstocks. In December, the German-based footwear company announced a 12-month revenue of €2.1 billion, a 16% increase year-on-year.
Kim Kardashian, known for an ability to turn the tide from faux pas to fashion forward merely by donning an item, is in on the “so bad it’s (maybe) good” look. In November, the Skims founder was photographed in Rio de Janeiro wearing a sporty red, white and black Balenciaga outfit finished with white Havaianas and black socks.
The daggy to designer metamorphosis isn’t ringfenced to feet. Jorts, speed dealer sunglasses and the sustained popularity of gorpcore are all proof that, in fashion circles, naff is anything but.
Why wouldn’t the quirky pairing appeal to New Zealand’s off-kilter culture? When the rest of the globe declared mullets were back, it was news to us that they’d taken a break.
At New Zealand Fashion Week 2025, designers were all in wrong shoe theory: Zambesi sent sparkling slips down the runway on models wearing woollen grey socks and roman sandals; Claudia Li’s pairing of feminine dresses and sneakers should have been the first sign the world was due a Lily Allen comeback.
Further than being a purely whimsical pick, evidence suggests that socks and jandals might be the proper choice.
A guest wears socks with free toes and flip flops during Copenhagen Fashion Week 2025. Photo / Getty Images
Jandal is a portmanteau of Japanese and sandal. The footwear with icon status in Aotearoa takes inspiration from Japanese zori. Those V-strapped slippers are traditionally worn with split-toe socks called tabi (yes, like the hoof shoes) favoured for providing modesty, comfort of wear, grip and breathability.
Even though this is the realm of the wrong shoes, it’s important to pick the right sock. Natural fibres will aid toe grasp and cut down on vapour. Playing with contrast is the name of the game: platforms and thin fabrics, narrow straps and robust ribs. Shock-jock Kim went the whole hog with toe socks.
A few years ago, joyful designer Stine Goya sent models down the runway at Copenhagen Fashion Week wearing patterned pantyhose and platform flip flops. In 2020, Acne models skewered slouchy white layered looks with a shock of orange sock. The fine knit bunched around the ankle, but crucially, not the toes.
A model walks the runway during the Acne Studios show in jandals and socks. Photo / Getty Images
Transitioning is an option too – a popular street-style option features a leg warmer that tapers to a triangle seam at the straps, allowing the dogs to breathe.
Whether you go all in, or just dip your toe in the look, there’s really only one edict worth concerning yourself with: wear what feels good to you.
If that’s layering cotton sheaths and straps of rubber between your toe crack – well, then step right up.
Try these
Mckinlays x Commonplace Boundary Sandal, $189
The Row Ginza Flip Flops, $2628
Havaianas x Zara sandals, $30 (on sale)
Bronwyn heeled jandals, $309
H&H jandal, $4, from The Warehouse
Maggie Marilyn cashmere socks, $95
Tabi socks, $20, from KimonoMo
Laceflower hiking socks, $95
Zambesi merino socks, $60
Tabi socks, $25, from Karen Walker
Elle & Riley cashmere socks, $100
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