What do you think of these sandals?

[ArwenUndomniel]

I've been trawling shops both online and on the high street looking for some sandals that are 1) brown 2) closed-toe 3) not too chunky but with no thin straps that cut into your feet 4) not heeled but also not pancake-flat with no support 5) not liable to slip off when you're walking. I want them for going on a spring city break in the south of France so that I can do a fair bit of walking during the day but they would also be ok to wear with a dress for the evenings.

I eventually found these ones on Vinted and they seemed to tick all the boxes, but when I was looking at the pictures it wasn't at all obvious that they had the elastic strap across the top. Now that I've tried them on I'm not sure if they look OK or if the strap spoils it a bit. It's the colour and the fact it's elastic - if it had just been the same coloured leather as the shoes it would have been fine. What do people think? Keep looking?

Im still hiding under my bed from the comments I got over my suggestions on another thread 😂
I thought the OP had serious foot problems and recommended accordingly as Im sure you did too.

I don't really have any foot problems but I'm definitely no longer of an age where I can slouch around all day in cheap ballet flats and not have knackered feet/back by the end of it! Actually, I'm not sure it's a good idea for anyone of any age but I did used to be more tolerant of unsupportive shoes in my youth. All suggestions were gratefully considered but I'm happy with my new ones. Good old M&S can still deliver the goods sometimes.

Well I'd rather channel Mary Beard than Kim Kardashian. I have genuinely liked some of the summer shoes posted on the thread.

@Barnsleybonuz
The OP was looking for comfortable, closed toe sandals. I know, because I have a similar requirement, that choice is limited. I opted for fisherman's sandals, but the OP had said she found those unflattering (I forget her exact objection), so I didn't suggest those. The model I linked met her requirement (with the caveat about colour which I noted), so I thought it was worth posting.

I try to post suggestions that might be useful to the OP and to leave my own taste to one side unless the OP asks for opinions.

It wasnt so long ago that everyone and their brother on here were going crazy over fisherman sandals.

The ones the OP originally posted suggested they were her taste. It was the condition and unnoticed elasticated strap that put her off. So that was the style that guided further suggestions.

I have a pair of keens!

But they are for sailing when my feet will be getting wet occasionally, sometimes spray sometimes full immersion pulling a dingy ashore.i will then go for a walk. So they needed to be comfortable both wet and dry, good grip, fast drying, suitable for walking. For which keens are excellent.

My kids also had keens when they were little and we lived overseas in hot countries and they needed shoes to wear to school that had closed toe and could cope with the rough and tumble of active children

Good looking, however, they are not. But they are also not that bad.

I live in a hot country where we get a lot of British visitors. I can have a very good guess where someone is from by their shoes.

Those Keen type shoes must have been suggested a lot somewhere, as I have seen plenty of those type of style on visitors. Granted they may be good for walking, but unless you are planning on hiking up Lions Head, they are a bit overkill. Same applies to hiking boots worn as a general walking around shoe.

I can't speak for the terrain in the south of France, but I think your choice of the M&S ones look nice OP.

I hope you have a great holiday.

There won't be any "terrain" as such, I'll just be wandering around Nice and Monaco and maybe some museums - so the walking-type sandals would indeed be overkill. I probably should have been more specific in my OP but I wasn't expecting such a big response tbh. Shoes are obviously an emotive topic on S&B!