Zori's - Thongs - Flip-flops - Bathroom Shoes

The quintessential shoe of summer. Now currently, acceptable nearly every where but the workplace (and I think the girls who wore them to the White House were FINE. What a silly thing to have an uproar about!)

When I was a kid, my mom called them Zori's. We had those thin soled rubber things for the beach that made your toes hurt. Years later, we realized Zori was a brand name; they are still made today. And look, here is a whole web page explaining the entire thing. The ZORI page.

When they came into style in the 80's I had several pair. My favorites were black, thick-soled, with a bamboo-mat insole, and thick black velvet straps. Like the traditional ones, but a little more stylish. I wore them until they broke. I also had less-comfy, but coordinated red, blue and I think pink ones.

My friend Yoko's mom thought it was so funny that bathroom shoes were so popular in the U.S. In Japan, those shoes were ONLY for when one was in the bathroom.

Now they are back in style, and I have to admit, there are some very cute ones out there - whatever you want to call them. I usually call them flip-flops.

The cheapest ones I have seen, at an end of summer sale, in undesirable colors like puce and grey, were 25 cents. Then there are the most expensive. You can get them from H. Stern, Brazilian Jewelers, and they will set you back....19,840.00. Surely nobody would spend that much on flip-flops!

My favorites are the ones that light up. I would LOVE a pair. I have a thing for light-up footwear. Don't ask me why, I couldn't explain it.

Unfortunately, my feet have mutated and I can only wear Birkenstocks - and of course, all the CUTE Birks are only in NARROW width...But that's a whole other subject.