There is no heartbreak like a pair of shoes you can't have, and if you don't believe me, just look at some of the comments on the Spanish brand Gimaguas's Instagram.
A couple weeks ago, the brand—which has been worn by the likes of Charli XCX, Addison Rae, and Rachel Sennott—teased a pair of black Havaianas flip-flops with silver studs lining the interior sole. The image quickly went viral and was flooded with comments inquiring when they would be released. Some fans even said they would die if they couldn't get their hands on a pair and that summer wouldn't be worth experiencing if they couldn't wear them during it. One comment read, "Give it to me Rachel," a reference to a viral 2022 TikTok video where a mom asks her daughter to show her an alleged video of Jesus being spotted.
While the studded Havaianas x Gimaguas flip-flops aren't necessarily the second coming of Christ, they are extremely cute. They are also, I think, worth being heartbroken about when realizing that they were only released in a very limited number in Europe. I did feel the sting of a brazen breakup text when I learned that. It hurt even worse when I headed to Barcelona this week and saw all of the associates in the Gimaguas brick-and-mortar shop wearing them around the store. They were unintentionally dangling the forbidden fruit in front of my eyes.
Seeing the shoes in person, though, made me realize I really do need something like them in my life. I've already declared that it's the summer of freaky flip-flops, and these are the freaky flip-flops I need.
For the most part, flip-flops are associated with tourists who prioritize comfort over all else. They feel like something for squares, something for people who don't dare to get more adventurous with their footwear and just slide into some glorified toe floss and call it a day. But not anymore. Flip-flops are being worn with The Row and Miu Miu at a higher rate. They're now a symbol of cool nonchalance. You wear them not because you don't care to put on anything else but because you don't care that much. I'd even go so far as to say some people are putting them on to give off an air of effortlessness, which is against the point, yet it still works.
What I love about studded flip-flops like the impossible-to-get Gimaguas x Havaianas styles is that they subvert all original preconceptions of what flip-flops should look like. The studs make them feel a little tough and not like go-to shoes for someone who is too soft and scared to risk a blister for something fun. While I'll try to manifest Gimaguas doing a second release in the U.S. (si estás leyendo esto Claudia and Sayana, por favor?!), I'll settle for the studded flip-flops below as well.
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