I Walked Thousands of Steps in the Archies Flip-flops
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For the past few months, it has felt as if every other Instagram ad on my feed is for Archies flip-flops, the all-foamsandalswith an added inch of arch support built into the shoe. At first, the ads, with stylish women showing off Stanley Cup–level collections of flip-flops, seemed like manufactured hype, but as the summer progressed, Archies kept popping up in my real life, too. My fellow writers mentioned them in Strategist pitch meetings, the sandals appeared in the shoe pile at my yoga classes, and most recently, one of my friends brought them on a trip upstate. I’ve written about enoughviral thingsto be suspicious about anything with an air of hype, yet I was still curious to see if these flip-flops were actually more comfortable than others in my closet. So I called in a couple of pairs and have spent the past several weeks wearing them around my neighborhood, on the beach, and even in the Times Square subway station.
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Out of the box, the shoes were truly some of the most comfortable sandals I’ve ever worn. The raised footbed hugs the curve of my high arches, and the foam is soft enough that it doesn’t irritate my skin. I should preface this by saying I make a point to wearsneakerswhen I walk long distances, but I’ve gotten nary a blister when wearing the Archies to buy groceries, go on a boat ride on Lake Michigan, or watch Fourth of July fireworks that ended in a rainstorm. Only when I broke my cardinal rule — no backless shoes during cross-borough travel — did I feel slight discomfort from the straps rubbing against the inside of my foot around the 3,000-step mark. Still, when I got home a few more thousand steps later, my sensitive feet, which usually get rubbed raw by uncomfortable shoes, were visibly unscathed. When I woke up the next morning, my feet weren’t even sore — a far cry from the times I’ve wornDolce Vita sandalsandFranco Sarto kitten heelsthe same distance.
The Archies flip-flops are available only in full sizes, so I sized up to a women’s seven from my usual six and a half and haven’t been bothered by the extra room around the toes. My feet are wide-ish — meaning pairs fromTkeesandZaraare often too narrow — and the Archies are wide enough that my feet fit neatly within their confines. As I’ve worn the sandals out and about, the straps and footbed have molded to my feet, making them even more comfortable than they were out of the box. If you’re a full size — like Strategist writer Brenley Goertzen, who has also tried these — you may at first find the Archies a little small in your true size. (Goertzen says hers stretched out comfortably as she wore them around the yard and her parents’ in-ground pool.)
At $40, the shoes are more expensive than other foam flip-flops on the market — it’s hard to beatGap’s $4 pairs— but they’re still affordable enough that I don’t need to be precious with them. I’ve shoved the Archies into overstuffedhard-shell carry-onsand the side pockets of myweekender bag, and they’ve come out unwarped each time. Goertzen noticed the rich espresso color of her pair has lightened slightly from chlorine, mineral SPF, and sun, but she told me she doesn’t mind since the shoes are so comfortable. I feared mine were ruined once when someone accidentally stepped on the back of my left flip-flop, stretching out the toe post I had so carefully molded to my foot. A representative from Archies told me two to three minutes of air from a hair dryer on its hottest setting would shrink the strap back down, and it did just that. (They advise letting the shoe cool for 24 hours before you wear it again.)
We still have a couple more months of flip-flop season to come, but I can’t imagine myself wearing any other sandals unless I’m headed to, say, a nice restaurant. (I’ll save myDolce Vitasfor that occasion.) Those Archies ads might have been sponsored content, but I’m starting to feel the call of those collectors who came across my feed at the beginning of summer. Perhaps I’ll try one of the other arch-support flip-flops on the market —Crocs’ Miami Flip,Soléi Sea’s padded thongs, andReef’s studded flip-flopshave caught my eye — but it’s hard to beat the price point and stock availability of the Archies. After all, I don’t have any navy flip-flops in my closet, let aloneolive green,bubblegum pink, orsky blue.
More summer sandals we like
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"A supremely comfortable shoe that lasts a long time and is heavily on the luxe end of sporty-luxe."
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"The sweatpants of flip-flops," as our coordinator calls them. They're no-frills and always on sale.
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These Birkenstocks follow one writer's only rule for city sandals: They must have a backstrap.
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"Elegant, strappy, low-heeled sandals that are not a bazillion dollars," according to one editor.
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My former favorite city sandals were these two-inch wedges from Crocs.
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Last summer, we spotted them on none other than Sally Jessy Raphael.
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