Hot fall trend: pool slides & socks

It’s the hot unisex trend of the summer, and it will be working its way into the autumn too. 

Traditionally the sartorial choice of professional swimmers, boys in the hood and weekend dads for generations, socks and sandals haven’t always had the best reputation. But this summer pool slides have hit the fashion mainstream and appear to be here to stay.

Christopher Kane gave the first glimmer of a trend when he introduced crystal-embellished rubber soled pool slides at his Spring Summer 2012 show. It was the same, slick yet ‘down-at-heel’ vibe that was picked up by Phoebe Philo’s Céline with their fur-lined Birkenstock-style flat sandals for Spring 2013. 

Now the trend’s gone mainstream for both boys and girls, and pool slides paired with sports socks have been featured in fashion editorials all summer long. The two key brands to look out for are sportswear staples Adidas and Nike, with rubber pool slide sandals featuring both the Swoosh and the three stripes.  

In fact in the UK Adidas has even created a special site pulling together their Adilette pool slides and famous three stripe socks. One of the key advantages of this trend? Affordability. You can pick up a pair of branded pool slides for around $20.

Of course, if you do want to go luxe, as usual you’ll have to go Italian. Gucci have a more upmarket version (in both black and white), the Pursuit ’72 available for $145.

jt/cm