WTF : What The Fashion Series - High Heeled Flip Flops

This is the first instalment in the new series called WTF : What The Fashion! Warwick blogger Amy Philips talks us through the questionable trends she's observed in the fashion world recently.

With New York Fashion Week coming to an end, I think it’s a time that really reminds us that fashion goes far beyond the standard top and jeans we wear to and from uni every day. Fashion comes in the good, the bad and to be honest, the damn right ugly (personal taste obviously).

The idea of my WTF column is each week I will share items of clothing I have seen which literally made me think WTF, and Fashion week is prime opportunity to see fashion at its most extreme and weird.

Throwing it back to last year’s Fashion Week is where I first saw this item of clothing and let’s just say something like a high heeled flip flop is something not easy to forget…

Now, before I start I want to point out I love Rihanna and her style is to die for #goals! But I think RnB’s bad girl might have made a bad move with the creation of this footwear.

Figure 1: Fenty x Puma showcasing the high heeled flip flop in September 2017

At New York Fashion Week 2017 there was the launch of these Fenty x Puma high heeled flip flops. And I’m really not sure where to start with these shoes ; flip flops and heels both work perfectly well on their own but this hybrid may have crossed the line with many fashionista’s.

Figure 2: The shoe also seen on the catwalk in nude

The black and yellow sandal, as well as the nude colour schemes are serving some sport couture vibes, championed by Kanye West’s Yeezy collection. Nevertheless, Yeezy clothing can still be made fashionable, especially when promoted by his wife and the world’s biggest trend setter; Kim Kardashian; but even Kim can’t make us want to wear high heeled flip flops.

Although Fenty’s clothes are stunning, we are not here for these shoes. High heels can be uncomfortable at the best of times let alone your foot almost being split in half because of flip flops. Looking back at when these shoes hit the runway last year, all the model’s feet look like they are wanting to make a great escape, and considering that they are trained for this kind of crazy footwear, what is left for the rest of us?

Figure 4: Not the most comfortable looking shoes from this poor model’s feet

Furthermore, the puma logo strap to me just screams electronic tag, as if they had to be on the catwalk at 8 but meeting their parole officer at 9 (Lindsay Lohan fashion circa 2009 anyone?) I’m also struggling to understand the functionality of these shoes, flip flops are designed to be an easy functional shoe for the beach, but the heeled element really throws that concept out of the window.

Many people took to twitter to share their confusion with the launch of this new line by Rihanna, with many stating their ever-loving devotion to Rihanna, but pledging to these statement shoes was a step too far for most.

Like many fashion trends, the ideas from the big names are slowly making their way to high street brands. Pretty Little Thing have recently launched these heels, which have a familiar vibe but have ditched the electronic tag, which makes them slightly better in my opinion but you will not see me rocking these down Leamington Parade anytime soon.

Figure 5: Prettly Little Things' interpretation of the trend

Despite my love for Rihanna I am unsure how I could ever get these to work, work, work, work, work with any outfit and I can’t be the only girl in the world who will not be wearing these shoes any time soon.

I Just want to express these are my own views, based on my own styles and fashion preferences. I’m sure some of you guys will love these shoes and I embrace as much fashion diversity as possible. Fashion love x