Raise a foot to the Havaiana.

I am loathe to follow a trend. For an item to gain my imprimatur it usually has to stand the test of time. An exception to this is if an item's innate qualities transcend the pack mentality of popularity, if it can stand on its own two feet, then sign me up.

I was waiting for a hamburger I had ordered from a Take Away last night when through my daydream I noticed a lot of Havaianas. Five out of six of us were wearing them and we were spread among the major demographics.

I have lived through the time when the 'double plugger' was the only choice in air conditioned footwear. Most commonly associated with stubbies shorts, jackie howe (wife beater) singlet or flannelette shirts when cooler weather arrived. For footwear, it was carrying major baggage.

Not only has the Havi broken the image problem the thong had, they are pret-a-porter. Double pluggers had to be broken in. The unforgiving rubber required a commitment commensurate with the wearers gut, i.e. big, to see them through to any level close to comfort. To top off the coup, those good people at Havaiana allow us to pay four times what the plugger cost and we are happy to do it, they are walking out the door.

From a footwear triumph to footwear tragedy. 

I can share a wry grin when witnessing a female in the wee hours of the morning barefoot with shoes in hand, a victim of fashion. Usually the shoes have seen out significant dance floor action and the feet are rebelling or one too many has caused sleek stilettos to become wobbly boots. All par for the course.

On a recent drive through the city there was a procession of young ladies with shoes in hand, walking from the cross to the city and the night was still young. Whoever is setting these trends must delight in cruel and unusual punishment. Long live capitalism !