SlowpokeBlog

I've blogged about this before, but I continue to be fascinated by this flipflop trend. Back when I was a college lass, in ye olde grunge era, we did not wear flipflops to class. Long underwear beneath shorts perhaps (I was not guilty of this, but was guilty of other fashion atrocities)—but not flipflops. Don't get me wrong, I've worn many a 'flop in my day, usually in the summer or around the house. I recognize that the soft squishy sound made by a wet flipflop is one of life's subtle joys. But I find their sudden ubiquitousness alarming.

I'm not exactly sure when the Gucci flipflop debuted, but it has apparently existed in some form for awhile. Outkast have a song called "Flip Flop Rock" on their 2003 album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below containing the lyrics (delivered by Jay-Z):

When I'm in the mood I rock the S Dot tennis shoes
At the interlude, I got the Gucci flip-flops.

The most recent incarnation I could find is a pair of women's "thong sandals" which retail for $325. Hence the premise of this week's strip, the extreme upscaling of "low" fashion.

The "sex" water wings in the third panel are based on a real item from Dolce & Gabbana, the "sex" belt, which is covered with the word "SEX" and retails for $185.99. Actually, there are a few versions of the sex belt, for those who care to investigate further.

This is neither here nor there, but while doing some Google research for this strip, I somehow came across a Halloween costume your dog probably won't appreciate very much. Fortunately for her, it appears to be no longer available. [Update: reader Bryan helpfully points out that the hot dog costume is once again available.]

This Week in Casual Couture