I Bought These $42 Sandals Because of the Olsen Twins, and I Can't Believe How Expensive They Look

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I am admittedly not a The Row person. I am too loud (both actually and aesthetically) for its whispering splendor. Nothing about me is subtle, but I do appreciate how simplicity is imbued into all of its pieces. And often I do find that the brand's footwear sways me over to the dark side. I love kooky ballet flats (like these PVC trash-filled ones just released by Ashley Williams), but nothing is sexier—to me—than sandals that make you unafraid to show some toe.

By now, even the most novice fashion girls know that The Row makes ultra-luxe flip-flops and sexy strappy sandals that retail for over $1000. Naturally, when I saw an image of Mary-Kate Olsen wearing strappy black sandals while smoking a cigarette on the streets of New York in a loose orange hoodie that oozed uncomplicated coolness, I assumed the shoes were from her brand.

Mary Kate Olsen in teva sandals

(Image credit: Backgrid)

So, can you imagine my surprise when I realized that not only were the sandals not The Row, but that they were also from Teva. Oh, and they retail for just under $45. It sent a shiver down my spine. It altered my brain chemistry. It caused me to black out and add to cart immediately. I've never regretted anything less.

The sandals are, for one, extremely comfortable. I take lots of long walks every day because I have a pug that needs to be walked, an in-person vintage shopping addiction, and a job that requires me to visit a bunch of designer showrooms and press previews daily. And even the most comfortable ballet flats can start to hurt after spending nearly eight hours in them.

These Teva sandals are the perfect solution. They barely feel like shoes. They're lightweight enough to give the impression of walking barefoot. And I don't feel like I'm compromising on style when I wear them. If anything, people are constantly asking me where they're from.

A handful of people have assumed they were The Row, just because of their chic, strappy subtlety. And of course, those same people expressed just as much surprise when I told them where they were actually from… that is, just minutes before taking out their phones and ordering their own pair.

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Tara Gonzalez
Tara Gonzalez
Senior Fashion Social Editor

Tara Gonzalez is a senior fashion and social editor at WhoWhatWear. where she is interested in exploring the intersection of fashion and culture and why we are drawn to wearing the things we wear and what that says about the world we live in. Previously she worked as a senior fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar. When she isn't writing trend deep dives for WWW, she's working on her newsletter on Substack, Cult Classic, which explores the very best fashion in film and television. She has a degree in creative writing from The University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Brooklyn with her boyfriend and pug Bjork, the later of which has a very extensive collection of dog-sized Sandy Liang sweaters.