Our annual OC-exclusive Soludos espadrilles arrived last week, officially marking the start of summer! Picture those, on the feet of a picnicker, as the end-point in a dizzying Eames "Powers of 10"–style video, then zoom back 4,000 years—that's how long espadrilles have been around for. Moving forward, the shoes were favorites of Dalí, Sofia Loren, and Picasso. There's even a snapshot of a teenage JFK looking studly in a lace-up pair. But how did these traditional flat-soled shoes morph into the new crop of woven wonders that just touched down at OC?

Towards the end of the 60s, Spanish espadrille-makers Lorenzo and Isabel Castañer met Yves Saint Laurent at a fair in Paris, and he commissioned them to produce the first-ever platforms! OC's own spring collection espadrilles were also made by Castañer, woven with all the skill of a company that has been owning it since 1776. Check out our leather-topped additions to espadrille history below, and equally iconic contributions from Jean Paul Gaultier, Tsumori Chisato, and Carven!

Shop all women's shoes here.



FILED UNDER: Opening Ceremony , Footwear , Soludos , Soludos OC , Jean Paul Gaultier , Carven , Tsumori Chisato , Mishka , Robert Clergerie