The sound of summer walking is a slap and a dash, a flip and a flop. It’s the sound of sandals hitting pavement, of rubber soles and seasoned toes, of an extra beat when the shoe hits the foot after it hits the road, as if it’s talking back— which in a way it is. It’s screaming “summer”!

The flip-flop is the footwear of the season, especially to and from the beach and pool. Its only anchor is the thong that passes between the big and second toe, which takes some getting used to every summer, some toughening up. But once the callus forms, the flip-flop seems to become part of the foot, a no-nonsense auxiliary, the least amount of sole you can have between foot and ground.

In some countries, flip-flops seem to be the only footwear. No laces to tie, no Velcro to attach. The toe thong does the trick. But for those of us who live in more northern climes, the flip-flop is reserved for summer, and for that reason, at least for me, associated with freedom.

The flip-flop is the soul of simplicity, the footwear equivalent of the screen door. Pair the two for summer bliss.