Ditch These Outdated Sandal Trends During Summer 2025

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As we roll into warmer weather, it's time to start thinking about new footwear for the season. For folks who prefer to keep things conservative, that means sticking with sneakers, but for those of us ready to try out 2025's summer pedicure trends, it means reaching for shoes that will show off our feet in all their glory.

It's easy to assume that sandals never go out of style, but unfortunately, not all forms of toe-baring footwear are meant to be timeless. Take gladiator sandals, which had their heyday in the early 2010s as a festival fashion staple. Those styles have since been retired in favor of less dramatic options, like mules. Earlier this year, platforms were officially dubbed an outdated shoe trend to avoid for 2025. And based on research, those are far from the only sandal trends that people are ready to leave behind this summer.

T-strap sandals have been around for over a hundred years, but it was Jackie Kennedy who took them to an iconic level, catapulting their popularity. "In 1960, Jackie was on vacation in Capri and fell in love with this sandal she saw there — it had whipstitching and she especially loved the rondelle detail," Jack Rogers CEO and creative director Clare Schultheis told Glamour in 2014, adding that when Kennedy returned to the States, she asked her cobbler to make her the very same T-strap sandals in a variety of colors. Kennedy's friends, too, quickly jumped on the bandwagon requesting the same sandal for themselves. 

While T-strap shoes saw some popularity in the late 2000s, they've been seen as out of style for quite a bit. Although aesthetically they still have some appeal, as far as foot support goes, especially in light of environmental changes, they just don't have it anymore, making them not just outdated, but impractical. Yet no matter how outdated the T-strap sandal, it's a look that the French refuse to surrender. But the French play by their own rules when it comes to fashion. As you say au revoir to your T-straps in 2025, try Dobolin Flat Sandals that give just enough support to be comfortable as well as still look good and, of course, you can never go wrong with a pair of Crocs Strappy Sandals that take comfort to new heights.

How it is that flip flops ever became a fashion trend in the first place is rife with confusion. Basic, rubber versions of flip flops belong in only two places: the beach and in dormitory showers. That's it. But despite this, for some reason people started wearing these things in places other than that — like into restaurants and bars and basically everywhere.

Even if we remove the ugly factor and how desperately unhygienic they are from the flip flop conversation, as far as sandals go, they can be really problematic for your feet too. "I believe 20 years from now we're going to see a whole generation who will have foot problems when they're in their 30s and 40s — soft tissue problems, joint problems, arthritis," pedorthist Jeff Gray, C. Ped. tells Slate about some of the downsides of flip flops. Not to mention, in addition to being outdated, this horrendous shoe style is aging you, even if you don't go for the platform version that was such an essential part of Y2K fashion trends.

As you go into summer 2025, do yourself and everyone who loves you a favor, and keep the T-strap sandals and basic flip flops at home. Instead, opt for strappy sandals, which never go out of style, or a cute pair jelly sandals, which were a big summer 2024 trend and still remain very much fashionable. Although you can drop several hundred dollars on a pair of Loewe jelly sandals, if you're trying to stick to a budget, then a pair of slip-on jelly sandals by Sam Edelman, in a variety of colors, is a great option. If you prefer something that's more reminiscent of the jelly sandals of your youth, then Hee Grand Crystal Jelly Sandals fit the bill perfectly.