Hoy Saltwater Sandals

When my cheap sandals fell apart just as I was boarding a bus for a weeklong beach trip, I decided to order a pair of Hoy Saltwaters, the waterproof childhood classic. They held up for the next 10 summers, garnered tons of compliments, and were surprisingly comfortable for walking around in all day. When I backpacked through Europe for a summer, these were the only shoes I packed, knowing they were so lightweight, would go with most of my clothes, and wouldn't chafe tired or swollen feet after a long day or plane ride. (Knowing myself, I also figured I'd buy a pair of shoes somewhere along the way as a souvenir.) The only tiny caveat, which I could've easily solved by resoling them, was that the soles lost a little bit of their traction after a few summers and became a touch slippery on cobblestone roads, but it didn't stop me wearing them for many more years!