Sandal Shoes - Buckle Shoes for Summer

Example Variant

Dark Blue Sandal Shoes

These are sandal shoes made of dark blue smooth leather with nice workmanship. I think they pair quite well, for example, with blue chinos and also with typical jeans in summer. If you wear these shoes with socks, you should think about the sock color. For instance, white socks would create a strong contrast with the dark blue upper leather, which you don’t want in most cases. Everyone would notice that contrast very easily because of the open sections in the upper. That’s why darker socks are a better choice here.

Special Features

Sandal shoes are purely seasonal shoes. Outside of summer you can really only wear them in genuinely good, warm weather—otherwise your feet can get wet and cold. The special thing about these shoes—compared with sandals—is that they are closed at the front. That means your toes can’t be seen, which makes sandal shoes dressier.

For me, sandal shoes are a more relaxed summer alternative to loafers, which you can wear especially well with linen trousers. While a loafer is a closed shoe, a sandal shoe like this is only mostly closed: the few open areas let air reach your foot more easily, so it sweats less.

With or Without Socks?

Even though sandal shoes are primarily worn in summer at high temperatures, I would always slip into shoes like these with socks. The reason is that a sweaty foot can easily stick to the lining, making it hard to slip them on. With loafers it’s even more difficult, because you can’t open a buckle or loosen laces to make it easier to get in. And even if you do manage to slip your feet into the shoes, sweaty feet in contact with lining leather can simply feel unpleasant, because sweaty skin sticks to the leather.

Going without socks works better when the weather isn’t quite so hot and your feet sweat much less. Personally, I’d avoid it for style reasons anyway and prefer to always wear sandal shoes with socks. But everyone can try it for themselves and decide how they like it.

Variants

Two-Tone Sandal Shoes in Smooth and Suede Leather

This is a nice, relaxed variant of a sandal shoe made from both suede and smooth leather. I find the combination of a more casual leather—suede—with a more serious-looking leather—smooth leather—very successful: it matches that perceived cross between casual sandals and more serious, closed shoes.

The cross-shaped pattern at the front of the shoe also stands out, so you can’t mistake this sandal shoe for a classic closed shoe. I wouldn’t know how to execute a sandal shoe any better and express its character more clearly.