Eugenie Trochu is Who What Wear editor in residence known for her transformative work vogue france and that Substack NewsletterWhere she documents and shares her simple approach towards new trends, fashion and style and other ideas. She is also working on her upcoming first book that explores fashion as a site of memory, projection, and reinvention.
Every summer, I convince myself that I’ll only need one pair to get through it. And then, as always, I fall in love with a very specific mix of completely unnecessary but absolutely necessary details: tomato-red leather, a strap that shines a little more in the sun, a thick flat sole that feels vaguely touristy, the slightly retrograde jelly material, or that little folk touch that makes you look like you’ve just come back from Ibiza, when in reality you’ve just left the supermarket with tomatoes and toothpaste.
This summer, my favorites fall into some very specific categories.
First, there are the minimalists of the 90s. Thin straps, slightly faded colors – chocolate brown, black, camel, sometimes bright red – and that energy of Caroline Bessette, who has spent fifteen days in the south of France. They require slightly longer jeans, wrinkled men’s shirts, dark sunglasses, and a general tendency to respond “whatever you want” whenever someone asks where to go for dinner.
Then there are jelly sandals. A sensitive topic. They divide people deeply. Some people see these as the children’s shoes of the early 2000s. I see the Mediterranean, holiday pharmacies, night markets and that slightly quirky beauty that always comes back the moment people start thinking too much about fashion. A transparent jelly sandal with a red pedicure instantly becomes incredibly attractive.
I’m also going through a pretty advanced crochet-and-folk phase. Maybe it’s connected to my longtime desire to be the kind of person who lives barefoot in a white house with the curtains blowing in the wind
And then there are sandals with just the right amount of sparkle. Not “evening” sandals. Flat sandals with slightly absurd ornament details. A gold buckle. Some crystals. A metal strap. Something that catches the light around 7 pm, when skin finally starts to tan after a hot day (with sunscreen, of course). I like shoes that look a little bit like a Sicilian grandma going out to buy figs. This is extremely underrated energy.
Red also keeps returning to my summer obsession. A bright, almost aggressive red. The perfect color for dusky skin, a black swimsuit, a white dress, or an old pair of Levi’s.
On the inside, my favorite sandals are always the ones that create the illusion of going somewhere — even when you’re standing still. The ones that highlight a more relaxed, sunny, free version of you while you’re rummaging through a tote bag full of crushed fruit puree pouches, receipts and leaking sunscreen in search of your keys.
Shop my favorite sandals for summer 2026
saint laurent
Babylon Logo-Embellished Leather Sandals
Loeffler Randall
Dana Strappy Jelly Sandals
giuseppe zanotti
slim2.0 flat
christopher esber
Minette Crystal-Embellished Leather Sandals
arizona love
Trekkie Tongue Multi
A.Emery
nolan leather sandals
Senso
Sugarcane Buckle-Detail Leather Sandals
Improvement
Ludo Toe Ring Strappy Flat Sandal
A.Emery
tesni leather sandals
Mango
Leather Sandals with Shell Detail
Rene Caovilla
Erin Crystal-Embellished Sandals in Gold
A.Emery
Jalen Suede Sandals
just a little
flat sandals with metal details
gianvito rossi
Woven Metallic Leather Thong Sandals
Toral
hydra burgundy sandals
