Sandals gain higher profile
MEN'S footwear takes a step forward with the Cole-Haan spring collection.
Sandals, once relegated to the beach, are being heralded as a fashion trend to be worn with leisure wear in this season's more relaxed attitude.
Slip into a pair of Cayman slides from Cole-Haan's Resort collection. Black or briar hand-woven leather covers the toes, and the heel is left open.
For a shoe with just as much freedom, but with a slingback, the Nikos offers strappy, plaited leather comfort in a rich spiced-rum shade.
A pair can be worn with either shorts or trousers and a linen jacket.
Cole-Haan gives sandals a country interpretation with the Del Sol and Del Rio, both rugged, Italian bridle leather in either saddle tan or black.
They are finished with hand-sewn detailing in contrasting leathers, functional antique brass buckles and light, blown-rubber soles. They can be worn without socks, with jeans, or with ribbed-cotton socks and Bermuda shorts.
Also from the Resort collection come styles from the hand-woven slip-ons to fully constructed dress lace-ups.
The Italian-style Pescara penny and the Recanti Oxford are offered in hand-woven calfskin in a Beaujolais colour. The sole is heavier than the sandals', although still light for summer.
At the other end of the range is the United States-made Harrington. This heftier profile was launched with success in the autumn, but the woven, burnished calfskin and split-toe pattern can still be worn comfortably into the warmer months.
For colour in canvas, there is the Catalon, which comes in navy, mango yellow, forest green, white and fawn.
This deck shoe, in heavy canvas, has a slim rubber sole for flexibility and comfort.
To go with the Resort collection shoes, Cole-Haan has two belt styles in combinations of leather and natural hemp.
