These shoes, but better

August 14, 2015 3:00 PM

My friend came over the other day wearing these 90s-trend shoes, and I love them, but she says they are not comfortable. Help me find something similar, but in a better-quality shoe.

What I like is the monochrome color including the sole, and minimal look (no decoration). I don't care if they are criss-cross, or whether they open/closed toe. The main thing is that they are sleek, minimal, monochrome and good for walking; a little higher or lower and other colors okay.

posted by nanook to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total)

Did you try them? Different shoes work for different feet. Just don't know until the walk.
posted by sammyo at 3:05 PM on August 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

These get good reviews and look very similar.
posted by amro at 3:10 PM on August 14, 2015

This is an extremely popular shoe style/general aesthetic right now (see Isabel Marant , Celine, etc.). Honestly it feels like every shoe brand makes a version of this shoe, although maybe not so much as in 2014. There are dozens of options (many monochrome) at ASOS . There are also all-black Birckenstocks if you want that. Sol Sana & Vagabond are some other brands that sell these at less than $100. Or just scroll through this page to find something at your price point.
posted by acidic at 3:28 PM on August 14, 2015

Just seconding that there are soooo many versions of this sandal this year-- you can't go to a clothing store that sells shoes without seeing one! ASOS was already linked, Old Navy has a version (not high quality though) and I just googled "criss cross slides sandals" and found a million options, from Wet Seal to Jeffrey Campbell. I'm sure you can find even more that are not criss cross. (Try pinterest too.)

I just found these rag & bone sandals that I think are kind of cool.

Madewell has a lot of shoes that are generally in this trend, and you can see the Birkenstock version on that page too.
posted by easter queen at 4:16 PM on August 14, 2015

I saw a similar pair of sandals in an Ecco shop today. They had a single, very wide strap instead of a double strap, but otherwise they were of a similar height and were monochrome and free of decoration. I can't find them online, but in my experience, they often have different styles available in-store and online. So if there's an Ecco shop near you, you might check it out.
posted by neushoorn at 5:08 AM on August 15, 2015

I'm not sure whether the link will work for you, but try having a look for the style "Erie" by the Swedish footwear brand Vagabond.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 6:06 PM on August 15, 2015

Kork Ease for years made a near-identical pair, and they were super-comfy and very well made. Kork Ease has now turned their web site into something that is not very well made and I can't navigate it well enough to find out if that style is still around, but, it's a brand to perhaps check out on eBay.

Sandali on Etsy sells terrific minimalist sandals. They are very reasonably priced for what they are -- I've had my first pair for a few years now and they're holding up great -- and they are so comfy I pretty much wear them as slippers sometimes.
posted by kmennie at 7:34 AM on August 16, 2015