MUGI – My Unique Gift Idea

Oh, how that handsome couple captures the spring breeze in their aura – why, they walk as if on air – careful, nice-posture, intelligent, laid-back buddy. It’s got to be the flip-flops on their feet.

Listen, I have no stock invested in these sandals, but allow me to capture their essence. Once blind to it, I stumbled upon the flip-flop in one lucky episode of coincidence.
It was not until I was actually shoeless in the summer of 2003 that a female friend donated to me a cheap unisex pair from the Gap. They were black, rubber, comfortable and changed forever my personal fashion disposition. I was shocked by how happy I could be by such minimalism. Such simplicity led to plain pleasures which raised a revolution of thought, for me. Ah, the pleasures of the simple life, the life of the simple pleasures – a philosophy which I arrived at by way of foot wear. (And here’s to surprise, itself!)

The feet for me have always featured a fashion opportunity. Winter foot fashion phases in my formative years were defined by Chuck Taylor Converse, hi-tops then low-tops (which are great in the summer with no socks). Stumbling upon the wool or fleece sock under Birkenstock notion flipped a switch in my creative mind, but in retrospect was a fashion flop. My self-proclaimed moment of vogue was when I refused to wear naught but Puma – winter or summer – and in the summer, I’d roll up my pant legs to my shin and put on my Pumas, worn-in by the chilly season, foregoing socks. Oh how I felt like the one true original in the world. Then, further worn by happy summer stomping, I could return to this idea in the autumn, when the weather was too cold to forgo socks and what socks would be a worthy solution to this consideration? Argyle.

Worth mentioning, these fashion epiphanies of the feet are a trip down memory lane – though as to not turn my essay into a flop, I shan’t flip the direction to too indigestible of a digression. I don’t need for you to know how great I am. I only want you to understand how great flip-flops are, their history and a little bit about their personality.

So what are these thin slices of podiatrist heaven? Flip-flops fall into the larger catalog of sandals. The oldest known sandals were discovered in Fort Rock Cave in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Radiocarbon dating of the sagebrush bark with which they were woven points to an age of at least 10,000 years. The ancient Greeks had baxeae – or baxea in the singular. They were sandals made from willow leaves, twigs, or fibres and worn by philosophers. According to the 5th century B.C.E, Greek historian, Herodotus: sandals of papyrus and palm-leaves were a characteristic fashion element among ancient Egyptian priests.
Flip-flops are a newer variation – enjoyed by those wishing to walk bare-footed but barred from doing so by the establishment, or to protect the feet from dangerous objects on the ground, or because the ground is too hot. On a flip-flop, a thin rubber sole is met by two straps running in a Y shape from the sides of the foot to the place where the big toe meets the next. Sometimes a second strap is added to support the back heel. The sandal manufacturer, Teva may have spawned this variation. In my opinion, if two pieces of rubber can perform such a crucial task – why over complicate things? Athletes and those with bad ankles may beg to differ, and I emphasize with their plight (we will return to health concerns later).

Flip-flops are most common in India, where they are called Hawaii chappal. You’ll also find them on Italian (infradito), Australian (thongs), Canadian (slip-slops or slops), New Zealander (jandals – Japanese sandals) and South African (go-aheads) feet; and on the feet of Argentinian (chanclas), Brazilian (chinelos) and Mexican (calzaletas) nationals. On Pacific Islandian (ojotas or chancletas) feet; Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrian and Polish (japanko); on Israeli (kafkafim), Greek (tsorka) and Hungarian (vietnámi papucs) feet too.

It takes a sophisticated society to bring this obvious beach shoe out onto the city side-walk. I think that such thinking is mostly thought in the West. Though we Westerners shan’t take for granted our creative fortune – it comes from privilege. Under-privileged countries see a lot less creativity and a lot of flip-flop feet for another reason, and that is fee.
Rubber flip-flops, you see, are the cheapest shoe, often costing less than $1. In some 3rd World countries, measures may be taken to reduce even this lowly cost. Making flip-flops out of recycled tires is one such measure; this reduces carbon sandal-prints, as most flip-flops are made from polyurethane, which is made from crude oil. Also, they are easy to repair. Street vendors will do so at a minimal price – and so, your foot in the 3rd World will blend in brilliantly when slipped in and onto a pair. But beware: disgruntled natives in these regions have been known to make a weapon of the chappal. Truncheon, missile, what have you – an unfortunate reality of the easy-sliding novelty of the sandal. The shoe which was thrown at former US President George W. Bush by an Iraqi journalist in 2008 was most certainly a flip-flop.