City Streets Are Gross, but You Can Still Wear Sandals—if You Choose Them Carefully

livemint.com:

SOME YEARS AGO, a traumatizing encounter with a New York City rat provoked Nicole Vassallo to swear off wearing flimsy, strappy sandals on urban streets. Once a sewer-dwelling rodent comes dangerously close to scampering over your nearly nude feet, “you quickly realize exposed toes—flat on the ground—are not the way to go," said Vassallo, a 32-year-old luxury-travel publicist who lives in Manhattan. It’s not just gutsy vermin that can make cities objectively disgusting.

After factoring in sticky and/or oily discarded snack foods and icky puddles of indeterminate depth, sidewalks and subway platforms become minefields of grossness. If asked to choose the most suitable footwear for traversing them, only masochists would pick frail, single-sole sandals with flimsy straps. Fortunately, urbanites no longer need to sweat the summer away in sweltering closed-toe kicks.

This season, many brands are offering city-safe sandals with enough height and heft to combat such hazards. And they easily beat unsupportive, willowy, strappy designs for comfort, too. To determine whether a sandal has the mass and moxie to brave a messy metropolis, start with the sole.

Sandals with thick gum or lug soles are becoming increasingly common, said Olympia Gayot, the women’s creative director at J.Crew. Not only do such substantial bottoms elevate your toes off the ground, they replicate the feel of a sneaker, added Gayot. “Anything reminiscent of a fisherman, gladiator or a Birkenstock-type [sandal] is a great option for the city," she said.