It’s a No-Toe-Show Summer
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I can’t remember a summer when toes were front of mind more than this one. Or rather,notshowing toes. It started in late April, with Irina Shayk in Wilcorwater shoes, and then in June, Emily Ratajkowski in thePuma Speedcat Ballet. Even more recently, I noticedNike Aqua Turfson Catbird’s Leigh Plessner, and painterMarcus Leslie SingletoninY/Project Melissa’s Court Clogs. This summer, it’s about the toes youdon’tshow.
“May the toe-conscious rejoice,” saysElizabeth Cardinal Tamkin, writer of the newsletterCorner Boothand content director at Kule. It’s not only about hiding your digits, though: A closed-toe shoe in the summer feels less expected than asandal, making your lack of clothes seem notsolacking. “Sometimes, if I’m wearing shorts or a skirt, I feel too naked if my toes are also visible,” says stylistDoria Santlofer. Take theKeen Newport H2styled with a big poplin skirt on Paris storeRendez-Vous’s Instagram. The water-shoe/hiking hybrid looks interesting against the skirt,more so than aTeva Voya Infinitywould.
It wasonly a matter of timeuntil we arrived at this particular toe-conservative moment. The signs were there for some summers in a row now:fishermenfrom Bottega Veneta and Marni; ballerina sneakers likeAdidas’s Taekwondo Mei; see-throughmeshincludingThe Row’s sock; and all thejellies(with knockoffs of Ancient Greek Sandals’sIro).
But reasons abound for the no-toe-show summer that’s afoot.
“It all starts with the runway, and I think a lot of brands embraced closed-toe shoes for summer,” Tamkin says. That’s Miu Miu’s boat shoes, Khaite’s loafers, and Alaïa’s ballet flats.
Plus “the runway seasons are so off. I think designers are designing more for in-between times. So [what’s shown] has to be something customers can wear in April, June, or September as much as high summer,” says brand consultantAemilia Madden. In other words: Why spend on toe-baring shoes that you can only wear a few weeks of the year?
Maybe it’s that we don’t want our feet to be perceived. There’s a “feeling of general toe fatigue,” as Santlofer puts it. Lest you want to be on wikiFeet. (Not all of us are like the Countess of Castiglione, who commissioned photographs of her feet in the late 19th century — and is apparently theinspiration for Rick Owens’s OnlyFans.)
Or, possibly, people arelaying off the bimonthly pedicures? Supposedly, some salons sawless pedicuresbefore the start of summer. “I’ve definitely heard of people being ‘over’ spending time on their mani-pedis as of late,” saysSofissiminewsletter writerSofia Corbo Mazzanti. “Is closed-toe summer a recession indicator of no one wanting to spend on pedicures? Hard to say,” says Santlofer. Maybe some are just trying to save money on upkeep, and a closed-toed shoe helps, Madden tells me.
Perhaps it’s all the rain’s fault. “As someone who lives in NYC, I think there’s something kinda gross about being on the subway with nearly bare feet. It’s also been raining so much that that has definitely been taken into play,” Tamkin says.New Yorkfeatures writerMadeline Leung Colemanalmost exclusively wears Hereu fishermans (as she said in a recent installment ofThe Secret Strategist).They’re “the obvious best style for New York — sturdy, easy to walk or bike in, and ventilated without exposing your tender paws to street filth.” And after all, you don’t want agoldfish puddleanywhere near your big toe.
Of course, open-toe shoes aren’t entirely on the outs. At least according to theNew YorkTimes.If there’s a shoe that’s inspired the most discourse now, it’s theflip-flop. Specifically, The Row’s$690 rubber-and-cotton number. “It’s funny that just because The Row made a flip-flop means flip-flops are back,” says Madden. Still, it might be men who — after years of saying “men shouldn’t show toe” — are enjoying this toe liberation in the form of the flip-flop most. You need only read Max Berlinger’s “The Summer of the Flip-Flop” in anAdd to Cartdispatch. “It’s sort of like, for men, all about toes out, but maybe for women, it’s more about a closed toe right now,” suggests Santlofer.
Yes, showing toe is par for the summer course as much as tan lines. That’s why thistoelessness moment feels, well, refreshing. “It is nice to be able to give your toes a break,” stylistIlana Torbinersays. I meaneven the TSA seems keen.
Some closed-toe shoes for consideration …
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