The perfect sandals I've worn to France, Italy, Mexico, the beach, and everywhere else
- Aimee Boudreaux MacIver
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Alternate title: Sandals + Aimee, a Love Story. Alternate post: a roundup of multiple sandal styles. And yet, as I sit here writing, I realize that there's only one true sandal love in my life, and so I'm just going to shout my true love from the melting rooftops.
First, like all good love stories, some background. You don't want to know about my foot problems, but I'm going to tell you anyway so you reap the harvest of my trials and errors. I come not from a long line of famous inventors or poets, but of bunions and high arches and troublesome widths. After a major ankle surgery, I decided to permanently give up uncomfortable shoes that I can't walk miles in. Have you tried to find comfortable, versatile, yet still style-minded shoes? Yeah. It's pretty bleak.
But then.
On another hot, sticky day now decades ago, Saltwater sandals slid into my DMs. I admit that at first, Saltwaters didn't really catch my eye the way Margauxs or Larroudés did. But like so many other infatuation-driven relationships, the Margauxs and Larroudés left me uncomfortable, pinched, squeezed—like they couldn't just accept me for who I am and wanted literally to force me into a strappy box.
Meanwhile, the Saltwaters kept showing up, like that cute neighbor you've known your whole life and with whom you feel utterly at ease. Blistered and wary, I decided to give Saltwaters a try. At I first suspected it might be just another fling that eventually ended in throwing them to the back of the closet. Instead: magic.
You know how people make cute wedding reels proclaiming "God surpassed my wildest dreams?" This is not too far from how I came to feel about my Saltwaters. These sandals have proved to be faithful in every way.
Saltwaters are from an era when things were made to last. The sandals are beautifully hand-stitched of high-quality leather, rubber, and brass. Despite a million miles of walking, and years of splashing, climbing, and being stuffed into random suitcase crevices, my Saltwaters still look almost new.
They don't take any space in packing, which is why I bring them on every single trip I take. They are wildly comfortable; the leather molds to your feet with personalized precision. The straps even conceal bunions (if you need that, just hypothetically). Bonus: they're waterproof—I use my white pair for the beach and pool. Bonus bonus: they come in a million colors (I have tan, black, white, and red. My favorite and most-used is the gorgeous chestnut tan that looks especially rich in summer). Bonus bonus bonus: you can adorably match your kid.
Not to be shallow, but that great personality wouldn't really matter if they didn't also look great. Saltwaters offer a chic minimalism that works with shorts, jeans, linen pants, skirts, dresses. I love how they pair with midi-length skirts and dresses as well as wide-leg silhouettes.
Now, I know what you're wondering. High-quality, comfortable, durable shoes are often an investment. And honestly, I have never regretted investing in a shoe that allows me to totally forget about my feet. But shockingly, Saltwaters are less than $100, and usually available for around $60 and sometimes even under $50.
Now that Saltwaters have been in my life for so long, I do have some notes:
I am an extensive walker; my typical day clocks in around 20-25,000 steps. When we travel, we usually clock 35,000+ daily steps (truly). My Saltwaters have faithfully gone through it.
The soles have zero arch support. They will mold to your feet like butter, but if you need more arch support, you can do what I did: velcro in your custom orthotics. Voila!
Upon your first wear, wet the leather straps and walk around your house for a while to help the straps mold and set.
The soles will wear out long before the straps ever show age. I am struggling as we speak to let go of my very first Saltwaters because they finally have a small divot under my toes from walking approximately ten years without rest. Maybe I can bronze them or something.
There are two primary styles: original and retro. I have both. There's also a cute buckled slide version that I have my eye on, but haven't tried yet.
Sizing can be listed oddly depending upon where you buy them. They're often listed in Big Kid sizes, which translate to approximately 1.5 sizes down from adult women sizes: e.g. I take a Big Kid 6 for my usual women's 7.5.
If you buy one pair, make it the tan or rose gold. It will pair beautifully with every color oufit under the sun (I especially love how it looks with a white or black linen dress).
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