Water Shoes Are Just Regular Shoes Now
Maybe Decathlon’s transparent plastic Nabaiji Aquafuns were the first with their resemblance to the Row’s sock shoes (an observation made by illustrator and sometime Strategist contributor Jenny Walton, who spotted them beachside in Italy). Then came Mary-Kate Olsen’s Tevas, the Voya Infinity model, which happen to be waterproof (a fact I learned from visual director Samantha Adler’s “Steal My Vacation” packing list). And then came our “water-sandal-hiking hybrid” shoe of the summer, Keen’s Newport H2. All of this is to say that water shoes have increasingly become shoes for traversing dry land. Just last week, senior writer Lauren Ro spotted a mom at a birthday party in these (while not water shoes, they’re water-shoe-adjacent), and our lead editor Lauren Levy noticed another mom at drop-off wearing actual water shoes as shoes. So why not wear your water shoes as regular shoes? After all, a no-show-toe summer is afoot. Below, some water shoes to wear everywhere.
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Nike Aqua Turf
These just might be the new Air Rifts, from the Nike archives.
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Uneek Sneaker - Women’s
Some “uninhibited freedom” by way of bungeelike cords.
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It’s a cousin of your Glastonbury Hunter boots.
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Speedo Tidal Cruiser Watershoes
As sporty as a Speedo swimsuit.
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The water shoes Barbie might swim in, if she didn’t have pointed-toe doll feet.
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Teva Outflow Universal Sandal
A Grand Canyon river guide created Teva’s Original Universals back in 1984. But the Outflow Universals are seemingly more “adventure sandals” than the original.
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Or there’s this edition of the Outflow. It’s the “ultimate amphibian,” for the Catskills, Hudson Valley, or just a day in Southampton.
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For the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard or sailboat in Nantucket, these are made by a company that sells canoe paddles, raft supplies, and boating equipment, fittingly.
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You can pack them into a Lands’ End open-top (or an L.L.Bean Boat and Tote) easily.
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While the Decathlon’s Nabaiji Aquafuns aren’t ever in stock online, Cressi’s version is (it’s similar to an all-clear Aquafun Walton saw on an Italian man in Marche).
And some more shoes in the water-shoe spirit …
You can’t go swimming in them, but they’re summer shoes all the same.
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Finally, mesh flats that don’t show toe.
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Unlike Merrell’s Jungle Moc, New Balance’s new MT10T has a Vibram sole for some more traction.
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Cheaper than Ancient Greek Sandals’ and Vince’s jellies, these are the jellies our writer Arielle Avila throws on after dips in the pool.
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