Havianas Slippers: The Queen of Casual Footwear for Women
Havianas slippers or flip-flops are the most popular choice of casual footwear for women right now. This brand is priced higher than other slippers and is more known as a brand name footwear rather than a casual, mid-market product. Slippers manufactured under the brand are offered in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Havianas slippers are manufactured by Sao Paulo Alpargatas, a company named after its founder and designer of the original Havaianas footwear. Alpargatas was inspired by the Zori Japanese sandal and started designing his own version of the Zori in 1962. The name of the brand is taken after the Portuguese word which means Hawaiians. It is called as such because the sandals created under the brand are mostly tropical in design, a reminder of the bright and sunny environment of the island of Hawaii. The brand name is also the same as the term used for flipflops in Australian English.
The slippers or flipflops from Havaianas are made from rubber but of a higher quality than the usual rubber materials used in other brands of sandals. The products are very light, providing comfort to the wearer, and are also durable. They feature bright colors and summer-themed designs and are associated with chic fashion. The sandals from Sao Paulo are featured in high profile fashion shows; a rare occurrence in casual footwear, particularly for slippers. The company has exclusive agreements with distributors which means that the products cannot be sold just by any retailer without a formal contract with the company. In the United States, Havaianas footwear is exclusively distributed by the California-based company, Style West.
Before the emergence of the casual footwear as a fashion trend, slippers are generally regarded as something that a person would wear inside the house, not outside of it. Just a few years ago, wearing rubber sandals was considered a fashion crime. Now, flipflops and slippers are considered cool and trendy and most women are taking advantage of this fashion craze by replacing their usual closed shoes with flipflops and allowing their feet to rest from constricting, high-heeled pumps.
The popularity of flipflops and slippers as fashion footwear has paved the way for various brands to launch their own lines of casual chic sandals, but Havianas slippers have remained the queen among casual footwear brands for women.
