The 8 Best New Summer Shoes For Setting Your Dogs Free

When men think about their feet, it’s rarely in neutral terms. Opinions can range from coy avoidance, outright disgust, or, occasionally, something approximating pride, but not quite. These insecurities can go unaddressed for a lifetime—leading, presumably, to a higher rate of toenail fungus compared to women, but also, perhaps more tragically, a dearth of embracing fun, toe-forward footwear.

And yet, last summer there was no escaping the mandal. With a revival of vintage styles, it felt only logical that the oldest shoe silhouette in recorded history made a comeback too. On the first night of Paris Fashion Week, GQ’s own Samuel Hine spotted 43 pairs of Havaianas-like sandals at three runway shows. (The Brazilian brand’s parent company, Alpargatas, saw a whopping 429 percent increase in annual net profit in 2025.) Soon, the sandal revolution hit the celebrities: Jonathan Bailey bared toe in a pair of The Row flops at a London photo call for Jurassic World Rebirth; Bad Bunny, before his Tonight Show performance, stepped into a brutal New York City winter barely protected by a shearling hat and a pair of beachy sandals; even Bradley Cooper swapped out his beloved Air Jordans with outdoorsy leather flip-flops for a jaunt around the city last June. Out in the wild, I caught a friend premiering his Balenciaga Zeros—a hardly-there scrap of lightweight foam that clings to the big toe—only to witness one of the most brutal piggie-stompings to ever occur in a nightclub.

Dolce & Gabbana

DOLCE & GABBANA SLIDES

FENDI LOAFERS ($1,900). For the toe shy, consider the net loafer, which also serves as a vehicle for as much inventive bling as you want (jewelry by Bibi van der Velden, Justine Clenquet, and Pandora).

Despite its many urban precarities, the sheer proliferation of the mandal has not only persevered but evolved.

Consider this year’s most adventurous silhouettes. In the first half of 2026, menswear mood board stalwarts like Harry Styles regularly dabbled in daintier silhouettes—Miu Miu ballet flats, low-vamp Chanel slippers—often buffered by a sock. With summer’s swelter, though, the buffer will have to evaporate. Unisex or even women’s footwear is not off the table: In fact, Alaïa’s wide range of women’s sizes are giving men a chance to join the party.