The 10 Best Espadrilles for Spring and Summer
Your chunky-phobia, cured.
Welcome to The Essentials, our weekly series highlighting a must-have classic, key to building a timeless, pulled-together closet.
Espadrilles are the ultimate summer shoe. Worn flat or with a heel, these woven sandals are all about sophisticated ease. For proof, just look to classic Hollywood films—think Lauren Bacall in Key Largo and Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief—that gave espadrilles the gold stamp of approval. These past few seasons, we've seen the espadrille trend expand, but it was Salvatore Ferragamo who originally put them on the map. In the '30s and '40s, the Italian shoe designer made use of materials such as raffia and cork, according to the MoMA's Items: Is Fashion Modern?. Then, in the '70s, Yves Saint Laurent released his own take on the shoe, turning the traditional flat into a wedge—and a modern trend was born. Today, designers send this woven shoe down the runway in many iterations. Shop our favorites below.
Your basic ballet flats just got a stylish upgrade. This flat is hand-stitched by local artisans in Alicante, Spain and has removable ankle straps for a quick little design change.
A leather basketweave texture and earthy cream tone makes this so an evergreen style, so you can rock it well into fall, alongside your favorite maxi skirt, when the temperatures start to dip.
Pair these with a flower studded sundress for the quintessential springtime look.
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Sara Holzman is the Style Director at Marie Claire, where she oversees fashion coverage spanning seasonal trends, celebrity style, designers, Fashion Month, and shopping. With more than a decade of experience in fashion media, she has held roles at Condé Nast’s Lucky and Self and contributed style and travel coverage to Equinox’s Furthermore. A graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, Sara is based in New York City, where she writes about fashion through both an industry and personal lens, including the realities of getting dressed as a working mom. Follow her on Instagram at @sarajonewyork.