French Women Avoid Shoe Trends—They Wear These Classic Sandals 90% of the Time

a collage of french women wearing some of the best strappy sandals
(Image credit: @slipintostyle; @vikilefevre; @sylviemus_)
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As much as we hate to admit it, someone has to keep our feet grounded in reality: the fashion crowd's collective obsession with shoes can sometimes veer into unhinged territory. We're sorry, don't hate us. We'll be the first to admit that our editorial staff spends an almost egregious amount of free time searching for new shoe trends and testing out new arrivals—we find designers' ability to take basic shoe styles like a strappy sandal and add their flair to them forever inspiring. But at some point, even the most shoe-obsessed people, like us, the fantasy of buying into every single sandal trend is pushed to the side in favor of making a more pragmatic choice (albeit by choice or by force). Although it's easy to assume that the shift away from buying trendy footwear to investing in staples requires one to sacrifice looking stylish throughout the summer, that's simply not the case.

Don't believe us? Take a few minutes to scroll through the social media accounts of your favorite French influencers. With this fashion crowd, they understand that you only need one classic pair of sandals to carry you through the season. But what's their style of choice? Strappy sandals, of course. Whether in the form of a flat sandal with a lace-up ankle straps or cage-heeled sandals, we've spotted so many versions of this style in the streets of Paris. Frankly, we get the appeal. Unlike other footwear, there are numerous different iterations of this style and various ways to wear them out in the wild, making them one of the most functional and fashionable investments you can make for the summer. But if you're still not sold on the allure of this "boring" shoe, keep scrolling. Ahead, we've rounded up the 30 best strappy sandals to shop right now, based on price point, versatility, quality, name recognition, trends, and editor reviews.

Best Strappy Sandals at a Glance:

Under $150

best strappy sandals shown in a photo of a French woman standing in the street wearing a white silk top with a black maxi pencil skirt and black strappy heel sandals and a brown clutch bag

(Image credit: @sylviemus)

Under $350

best strappy sandals shown in a photo of a French woman standing on the sidewalk wearing a black headscarf, white silk scoop neck tank top tucked into a black skirt with black strappy sandals and a large raffia tote bag

(Image credit: @vikilefevre)

Worth the Investment

Best strappy sandals shown in a photo of a French woman standing on the sidewalk wearing a white turtleneck short-sleeve top with a white silk maxi skirt and black strappy heel sandals

(Image credit: @andrea____ricci)
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Jasmine Fox-Suliaman
Jasmine Fox-Suliaman
Freelance Fashion Editor

Jasmine Fox-Suliaman is a freelance writer and editor living in New York City. What began as a pastime (blogging on Tumblr) transformed into a lifelong passion for unveiling the connection between fashion and culture on the internet and in real life. Over the last decade, she's melded her extensive edit and social background to various on-staff positions at Who What Wear, MyDomaine, and Byrdie. More recently, she’s become a freelance contributor to other publications including Vogue, Editorialist, and The Cut. Off the clock, you can find her clutching her cell phone as she's constantly scrolling through TikTok and The RealReal, in search of the next cool thing. 

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