Birkenstock galore

Hello everyone! Are you wearing Birkenstock this summer?

During the couple of days I spent in Milan at the beginning of our Italian stay, I reconnected with my soon-mother-of-three best friend (yes, my fashion mom coach). I was dreading the encounter not because I had not missed her, but because I knew it was going to put me down. 

Indeed. She was thirty-nine weeks pregnant, and she was wearing a breezy, canary-yellow dress by Brunello Cucinelli that complemented her belly just perfectly (and that she had gotten for peanuts at the Cucinelli über-secret sample sale a few weeks prior). At her feet, a pair of patent neutral Birkenstock. "Because they are so comfortable they do not make my feet swell," she told me. No self-respecting Italian woman would ever be caught stepping outside the house in a pair of Birkenstock unless she was headed for the beach, so she quickly added: "To wear around the house, of course. I have a pair of much nicer, ultra flat fuchsia sandals that I could even use to go outside." (The name of this latter item was not revealed, and it has been hunting me ever since -- but that's beside the point).

I had to have the Birkenstock. After all, I have been looking for a nice-looking pair of slippers since forever. Just one thing to keep in mind: they fit large, and you may want to go a size down. (My mom inherited the first pair I bought too large...)


Photo: Fashion Zen.