Encyclopedia
In
footwear and
fashion,
flip-flops are a kind of flat, backless sandal that consist of a flat sole held on the foot by a V-shaped strap that passes between the first and second toes and around either side of the foot, attached to the sole at three points, commonly known as the thong strap. They appear to have been developed out of traditional
Japanese woven or wooden soled sandals in
New Zealand.
Nomenclature
This sandal is known by different names in different localities:
- In New Zealand English they are known generically as jandals , a name used by one manufacturer. However intellectual property law prevented the term Jandals being used when sold in other countries.
- In Australian English
...
these are known as
thongs or
pluggers or
Darra loafers , and often are considered an Australian icon.
- In Indonesia, they are known as sandal jepit .
- In the United States, they are generally known as flip-flops, thongs, and beach walkers
- In Hawaii and Netherlands, flip-flops are known as slippers or slippas
- In Brazil and Portugal, they are known as sandálias and sometimes havaianas
- In South Africa they are also known as slops.
- In Argentina they are known as ojotas.
- In Peru they are known as sayonaras or slaps.
- In Poland they are known same as in New Zealand - Japonki .
- In Italy they are known as infradito .
- In Malaysia
...
they are known as
Selipar Jepun- In Philippines they are known as Tsinelas.
- In Japan, modern western style flip-flops are known as sandaru, differenciating them from traditional Japanese footwear.
- In Mexico they are known as Chanclas or Guaraches.
- In Turkey they are known as Tokyo
- In Russia they are known as Lyagushki or Shlepki
Uses and fashions
Flip flops were not always the fashion staple many consider them today. Up until the late 1990s, flip flops were considered strictly poolside or beach wear. They were poorly made and generally purchased at
drugstores or
discount stores for a dollar or less. Today, flip flops have even become acceptable for casual evening wear, as evidenced by the prevalence of more comfortable, better-made, and more expensive styles.
In
developing countries, rubber flip-flops are the cheapest footwear available – typically less than
$1. Despite their disposable design, street vendors will repair worn sandals for a small fee. Sometimes flip-flops are made of recycled rubber
tires, reducing the cost even further. They are the footwear of choice for indigent workers, being worn for farming, construction, and other heavy manual work.
Flip flops are also popular with
barefooters when they have to wear shoes since they allow the foot to be out in the open but still constitute a
shoe, and are quickly and easily removed to expose the bare foot. They are also popular because they are easy to bring in a
backpack or
purse because of their flat design.
Many people consider flip-flops comfortable, and flip-flops tend to conform to the foot structure of the wearer.
Some people like to wear the sandals every day. Unfortunately, flip-flops are often not very sturdy and the straps may snap after moderate use . They can be fixed, but many people choose to just buy new ones, discarding of the old ones. The average
life expectancy of a pair is perhaps only a year or so.
The term "flip-flop" derives from the rhythmic slapping noise that the sandals make while slapping against the wearer's heels and the floor as he or she walks. In recent years, flip-flops have become a popular fashion statement, especially among high school and college age females. They seem to be worn with almost any combination of clothing, and some regular users even wear them in the wintertime, although more commonly of the slide variety and with socks. They are most commonly worn in the summertime, usually with shorts, but sometimes by women with capri pants or jeans.
On July 19, 2005, some members of
Northwestern University's national champion women's
lacrosse team were criticized for wearing flip-flops to the
White House to meet with President
George W. Bush. Many weighed in on this controversy including Meghan Cleary, a footwear expert, who stated that a closed-toe shoe would have been more appropriate. Cleary noted on MSNBC's
program as saying the flip-flop flap indicated a cultural shift similar to when blue jeans were first worn in public.
Flip-flops are the stripped-down essence of footwear — essentially a thin rubber sole with two simple straps running in a Y from the sides of the foot to the join between the big toe and next toe. Popular use of flip-flops as simple warm climate beach or outdoor wear has spread through much of the world, although it is most common in
Australia, New Zealand, other
Pacific Islands, and
East Asia.
In East Asia, where it is common to leave shoes outside the house and the use of
squat toilets is common, flip-flops are typically provided to wear while using the toilet.
The use of flip-flops has also been encouraged in some branches of European and North American military as sanitary footwear in communal showers, where wearing flip-flops slows the spread of fungal infections. Following on from this, some soldiers and other trampers or hikers have begun carrying flip-flops, or a pair of flip-flop soles sewn to socks, as a lightweight emergency replacement for damaged boots.
Indeed, the Indian manifestation of the flip-flop, the
chappal, has even been known to be deployed as a weapon, both as a truncheon and a missile, although it is more commonly merely a threat. It is not unheard of for people to whip off their chappals in the heat of an argument, in order to make their aggravation more palpable to the other party.
Flip-flops were inspired by the traditional woven soled
zori or "Japanese Sandals", . Woven Japanese
zori had been used as beach wear in New Zealand in the 1930s, ; in the austere immediate post war period in both New Zealand and America versions were briefly popularized by servicemen returning from occupied Japan, but the idea of making them from rubber or plastics, which were relatively new at the time, does not appear to have occurred for another decade.
The modern design was invented in Auckland,
New Zealand by Maurice Yock in the 50's and patented in 1957.
Despite being commonly used to describe any manufacturer's Jandals, the word Jandal has been a trademark since 1957, for a long time owned by the Skellerup company. At one point a competitor sold Jandels.
In countries outside the Pacific, jandals have, for intellectual property reasons, become known by other names, for example Thongs in Australia, where the first pair were manufactured by Skellerup rival
Dunlop in 1960, or
Flip-Flops .
In New Zealand, the phrase "to handle the jandal" is a common idiom. As an example,
Barry can't handle the jandal indicates that the subject Barry is incapable of dealing with his particular situation.
Flip-flops in popular culture
- in the lyrics of the 1977 hit Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet "I blew out my flip-flop"
- Flip-flops have come to be seen as an important item of Kiwiana, and are often referenced in New Zealand and Pacific Island Culture. A Jandal designed to be posted and sent through the mail was produced as a gimmick to send overseas. Jandals can be seen in:
- at the closing ceremony for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Kylie Minogue was carried into the stadium on a giant thong to perform "On a Night Like This".
- the cartoon Footrot Flats was a comic strip [i] written by New Zealand [i] cartoonist Murray Ball [i]. ...
, where farming characters like Wal and Rangi wear them, when not wearing gumboots - in the Naked Samoans inspired television family, Mrs. Samesi's usual method of showing displeasure is a well-aimed jandal,
- in wearable art, a number of up-market and quirky jandal designs have appeared,
- in the cartoon sitcom Bro'Town is New Zealand [i]'s first adult [i]-targeted animated series [i]. ...
, where characters frequently wear jandals, and in the episode, "The Wong One", jandals were used as a Kung Fu weapon - in the lyrics of King Kapisi, "I'm goin' stompin, in my big Pacific Island jandals," and in his music videos, in one of which jandals were used to take bids at a sheep auction
- The Golden Jandal, awarded at the Radio Active 89FM Handle the Jandal awards, to celebrate D.I.Y. music videos for New Zealand music.
- NZ culture news and links site, "Dag and Jandal".
- NZ TV series Jandals Away.
- In the Online MRPG VMK green flip-flops are one of the most sought-after items
- A popular campaign theme for the Republican Party was to label 2004 Presidential candidate John Kerry
...
as indecisive on the issues, or a "flip-flopper." Delegates at the
2004 Republican National Convention could be seen waving flip-flops.
- In movie It's All Gone Pete Tong is a 2004 fiction [i]al independent [i] biopic [i] ...
, flip-flops are one of the main motive and major figure of DJ Frankie Wilde said "Flip-flop is to me perfection." - In 2005, the Northwestern Women's Lacrosse team had a photograph taken with President George W. Bush
...
. The photo raised significant controversy because several of the women wore flip-flops in the picture, sparking a debate over proper attire in youth culture.
- Recently, rapper Cam 'ron has criticized Jay-Z publicly for his wearing of jeans with chancletas, which are relatively cheap sandals usually favored by latinos. However, many believe Jay-Z was actually wearing some form of expensive slipper, not the relatively cheap chancletas, which are usually worn with socks and not with jeans.
Health concerns
While commonly believed to be comfortable, flip-flops provide little to no ankle support, and are responsible for many foot related issues. Dr. John E. Mancuso, a podiatrist at the Manhattan Podiatry Associates in New York pointed out that some flip-flops have a spongy sole, so when then foot hits the ground, it rolls inward and the sponge allows it to roll even more than usual. This is known as pronation and causes many problems in the foot. Each time a foot hits the ground, the arch is supposed to be locked to absorb shock. But during pronation, the arch opens and releases this locking mechanism, leading to problems such as pain in the heel, the arch, the toes and in the forefoot. Exacerbating this, some flip-flops force a person to overuse the tendons in the foot, which can cause tendonitis.
Ankle sprains are also common due to stepping off a curb or stepping wrong, the ankle bends, but the flip flop does not hold on to nor supports it. The open nature of flip-flops also exposes the foot to the enviroment. Dirty side walks and tall grass can lead to an increased chance of infection.
See also
