Walking through Library Mall this fall, I’ve noticed a repetitive sound. It's not the clicks of a student’s high heels on her way to class or the quick steps of sneakers on concrete as students run to class. Instead, it’s the obnoxious click-clacks of flip-flops.
Essential college shoes in the cooler months at University of Wisconsin-Madison typically include sneakers, dress shoes and, inevitably, snow boots — not flip-flops. But this semester flip-flops have undoubtedly extended past their summer due dates.
According to life-long Madisonian and UW-Madison sophomore, Olivia Morsbach, wearing flip-flops in the fall is “not normal in Wisconsin at all.”
Although, this year, with early 2000s trends resurging, Teen Vogue said sandals are just the latest form of “Y2K-inspired nostalgia.” This means students will be seen wearing them with tank tops, long skirts, capri pants or a striped polo and khakis. It’s like the return of skinny jeans, even though students at UW-Madison were mostly likely babies when they were first trending. This time, flip-flops are the new vintage fashion statement.
The most popular flip-flop brand I’ve noticed across campus is “Rainbow Sandals,” which has sold out frequently according to the company’s blog. From their comfort to their long-lasting soles, the sandals are a favorite around the country.
Rainbow Sandals produces over 2,000,000 sandals a year, making it a leading manufacturer of luxury flip-flops in the United States, priced at a whopping $90 a pair. And yet, they are definitely the comfiest flip-flops I’ve ever owned, and it seems like half the student body agrees.
“When I started my fall semester of freshman year at UW-Madison, [a] big culture shock for me was the amount of people wearing flip-flops, and not just flip-flops for the summer or for lake activities,” Morsbach told The Daily Cardinal.
Flip-flops popping up on campus may not just be a result of Y2K fashion coming back into style, or students chasing luxury brand crazes. Morsbach believes it could be coastal influences bringing these sandals to Madison.
“People wore flip-flops for every kind of activity. I saw people wearing them through the winter sometimes, so that was very surprising to me,” she said. “It was kind of unexpected. I think the number of people wearing flip-flops suggests it is a coastal thing.”
Flip-flops in Madison matter — and not just because of the cacophony of squeaks we are now treated to every time we walk across campus — but because they say more about our student body than we’d expect. From the East Coast to the West Coast, UW-Madison is a melting pot of students from all over the country and even the world. To quote the hit artist Zara Larsson, “Summer Isn’t over yet” for these Badgers.
