Drill, baby, drill

Think "Summer" and what classic footwear springs to mind? (And it's not "None," no matter how much we all long to go barefoot in the park this weekend.) It is the espadrille.

Over to our friends at Wikipedia for a moment: "Espadrilles are normally flat but sometimes high heeled shoes originating from the Pyrenees. The jute rope sole is the defining characteristic of an espadrille. The term espadrille is French and derives from the Catalan name for the shoes, espardenya, from esparto, a tough, wiry Mediterranean grass used in making rope. Espadrilles have been made in Catalonia since the 14th century at least, and there are Catalan shops still in existence that have been making espadrilles for over a century."

"Espadrilles became fashionable in USA in the 1940s. Lauren Bacall's character in the 1948 movie Key Largo wore ankle-laced espadrilles [thanks to fashiongonethrifty for LB pix]. The style was revived in the 1980s, due to the success of Miami Vice - the shoe was worn by Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson)."

Sadly, your Shoe Blogger is currently stationed half a world away from the Florida Keys, and spending summer in the office to boot. But look what we found last week... 

These black leather wedge-heel espadrilles are the perfect combination of work-day smart and holiday cool. They are from Aldo (a Canadian company launched by Aldo Bensadoun in Montreal in the early 1970s, fact-lovers). The leather is soft and stretchy. And, to borrow a metaphor from Bogey and Bacall in Key Largo, they went down a storm in the office. 

PS As seen also at Baldinini, the 'designer' version, at a designer price...