Wearing flip-flops at work can cost you your job. Wearing flip-flops to see the US President can cost you your decency. There is just one problem: flip-flops are the must-have footwear this summer.

Authority figures just can’t handle the jandal. This common idiom out of New Zealand, where No. 1 brandname Jandal (from Japanese sandal) has become the generic term for flip-flops, means to be incapable of dealing with a situation. It can not be more appropriate in this case, where the big guys are picking up a fight against everyone’s favorite shoe.

As we all know, women are emotionally bonded with their shoes.

Flip-flops at Work

It’s summer, and women are trying to get away with wearing flip-flops to the office. That is, they don’t slip into their flip-flops if meeting with clients or if they know bosses who don’t approve will be present. Otherwise, flip-flops are essential to their office summer wardrobe—and that goes for summer jobs, too.

Gap and Old Navy recently did a survey, in which they found that college and high school students planned to wear flip-flops to work, more than any other footwear. Over 31% of women considered flip-flops the single must-have item for work this summer.

US style gurus warn that flip-flops could be damaging to careers. The office dress code often dictates no beach wear, and flip-flops, they say, are technically beach wear. Says footwear expert Meghan Cleary: “Shoes convey the mood of a woman. Wearing flip-flops conveys the mood that you are relaxed and on vacation. That’s not a good message in the office.”

Flip-flophenomenon

Flip-flops are everyday wear in most parts of the globe, especially the Tropics. In the West—where people are arguably less laid-back than in tropical countries—flip-flops are everyday beach wear. These V-strapped, flat sandals became a trend in the present decade because people started to wear them everywhere, including work.

Don’t put it past the poker players of Women’s WSOP to raise or fold in their flip-flops. The trend has got so big that Brazilian Havaianas were included in the Oscar nominee gift basket and at the Red Carpet Oscar Suites in 2005. Fellow Brazilian Dupe and Australian Reef continue to break through global markets. Brides are wearing flip-flops on their wedding day; bridal flip-flops with over 300 Swarovski crystals on the straps will cost you $140 (77 pounds) a pair.

The Flip-flop Flap

Because of flip-flops, Northwestern University’s national champion women’s lacrosse team caused quite an uproar in July 2005. Some lacrosse team members were caught wearing flip-flops in photos of their meet with US President George W. Bush at the White House.

Cleary, a style commentator and the author of The Perfect Fit: What Your Shoes Say About You, criticized the flip-flopping lacrosse athletes for feeling too cozy instead of observing proper decorum by wearing closed-toed shoes. MSNBC’s Connected: Coast to Coast cited Cleary as saying the flip-flop flap indicated a cultural shift just like when blue jeans were first worn in public.

So if women poker players indeed have flip-flops to Women’s WSOP, will the style know-it-alls hold’em to their behavior like the women of lacrosse? Not if they’re playing flip-flops instead of wearing them; Flip-flop is also the name of a gambling game played like Othello.

[Who will be the winning shoe-in at Del Mar and Saratoga horse racing? Bet to win at the HorsesWild Summer Horse Racing Contest for the Del Mar & Saratoga 2006 Race Meets. Visit HorsesWild now!]

[Monaco Gold Casino is an online casino offering a great selection of internet casino games, slots, and video poker, with attractive casino jackpots, bonuses, and contests. Get comfy and wear any footwear you like.]