Gwyneth Paltrow Is an Ugly Shoe Activist

This article first appeared in British Vogue.






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For someone who helped launch the phrase into the mainstream, Gwyneth Paltrow is not being very “stealth wealth” right now. That is because the actor and wellness guru has spent the last few weeks wearing Gucci-monogrammed sweaters and doing sponcon for Airbnb on Instagram. She then uploaded this photo of herself in a pair of Budgerigar flip-flops, which—gasp!—were not logoless and made by some Shinto monks and then sold via The Row, but simple Havaianas that retail for $30 in local malls.

Havaianas Slim Flip Flop Sandals

“OOTD summer round-up,” she captioned the post, which included a photo of her wearing Hunter wellies. The British equivalent—cumbersome, puritanical, wet-weather appropriate—of Brazil’s toe-bearing thongs, Paltrow must like the feeling of rubber against her soles when the mercury rises. Synonymous with supermodels playing volleyball on Ipanema beach, the casual, “out of office” attitude semaphored by the Havaiana represents the final levels of luxury: comfort and laziness and opting out of the daily grind.

Instagram content

Much like the orthopedic cork wedge beloved by Lily-Rose Depp and Katie Holmes, the Havaiana flip-flop is the latest anti-fashion shoe making its way back into the conversation. And as Biz Sherbert noted: “There’s something quite physical about people’s disdain for the flip-flop, which makes them more radical. They’re so deeply utilitarian… Once you start wearing them, you realize that you’ve been a loser for not wearing them all along.” Perhaps that’s why the Havaiana became a front row fixture at the spring/summer 2023 edition of Copenhagen Fashion Week. Gwyneth Paltrow, stay fighting the good fight.

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