Espadrilles: VIntage Look for your Designer Clothing

Espadrilles are casual flat or high-heel fashion sandals originating from the Pyrenees. They usually have a canvas or cotton fabric upper and a flexible sole made of rope or rubber material moulded to look like rope. The jute rope sole is the defining characteristic of an espadrille; the uppers vary widely in style. In Quebec French, however, espadrille is the usual term for running shoes.

This footwear for your designer clothes are always argumented whether they are fashionably chic, or horrendously out of style. The soles of modern espadrilles are usually wedges, with a gradual incline of the heel. You can find flat espadrilles or platform styles, too. Many are slip on or slide versions, but still others may feature ankle straps to keep the foot more secure. Though many of the variants, especially of less expensive brands, feature synthetic roping around the heels, a popular feature is the use of jute, a natural fiber, to make the roping.

Alexa Chung was recently seen in her espadrilles, making them a hot topic for discussion. Some of the espadrilles advantages are they don't pinch like heels, they don't give you blisters like pumps and they don't hurt the balls of your feet like wedges. They're much the perfect shoe, and after they came back to the fashion forefront and designer like Polo Ralph Lauren are now creating designs for this trend.

Some people genuinely think these are pretty ugly and unflattering on their feet, considering the original espadrilles were flat, boring and looked like men's slippers, but now they've been given a radical make over to bring them up to date. Woven wedge heels, bright canvas colors and nautical themes are now the new features of this footwear.

This footwear is perfect for hippie-chic vibe that fits right in with the Bohemian fashions that are popular this season. So would you pull-off this trend?