Women's Sandals

Our women's sandals lean towards the comfortable end: Scholl's wooden Pescura and cork Noelle, Birkenstock's Arizona and Boston, and Malibu's vegan leather. Alongside them are slides from Chaco and Gramicci and a few water sandals from Merrell. Most of these have a moulded footbed rather than a flat sole, which is the main thing separating them from a summer sandal you'd wear twice. There's more in all footwear and shoe care.

Cork and Wooden Footbeds

This is the bulk of what we stock and the part worth understanding before you buy. A cork footbed starts firm and moulds to your foot over a few weeks of wear, so a Birkenstock Arizona or a Scholl Noelle feels unforgiving on day one and personal by the end of the month. Scholl's Pescura is the wooden-soled one and behaves differently again: it doesn't give at all, and the sole is rigid, so you walk with a slight rock rather than a flex. People either take to that immediately or never do. The Fae and the chunky cork versions sit between the two. We'd wear any of them with a loose trouser or a midi dress, and we'd buy them a few weeks before you need them rather than the day before a holiday.

Slides, Sliders and Water Sandals

The easier end of the range. Chaco's Chillos and the Gramicci slide are the ones that go on for five minutes outside, and the Superga sliders are the cheapest thing here. Merrell's Hydro styles are closed at the front and made to get wet, which makes them the sensible choice for a beach with rocks on it or a river walk. The Hoka Hopara is the same idea with more sole under it. None of these mould to your foot, so what you try on is what you get.

Fit, Breaking In and Care

Birkenstock makes most styles in a regular and a narrow fit, and the narrow is genuinely narrower rather than just shorter, so it's worth knowing which you're looking at before ordering. Scholl's sizing runs its own way and the wooden styles have no give at all, which makes the size guide on the product page more useful than your usual size. Leather and suede footbeds darken where your foot sits, and that happens to everyone within a fortnight. Cork sides dry out and crack eventually if they're left in the sun, so a cork sealer once a year is worth the ten minutes.

There's more in Scholl, Birkenstock and shoe care.

FAQs