The Ubiquitous Flip-Flop

For many Americans this summer, the next best thing to sinking one's toes into the sand is sliding them between the straps of a pair of flip-flops.

Flip-flops are everywhere, from city sidewalks to the fashion runway. But if you are going to wear them, there are some things to keep in mind:

"I would hope that it goes hand-in-hand with 'Get thee to a pedicurist,'" "Project Runway"'s Tim Gunn told Sunday Morning host Charles Osgood.

Gunn, who is also the chief creative officer of Liz Claiborne, has a few caveats about the current flip-flop frenzy. And if you think it's just a trend, he has some news that may make your toes curl.

"I think they're much more than a trend, and I think that they are so fully embedded into the culture that they're not going anywhere," he said. "And if anything, the number of wearers will expand. Once one experiences a certain degree of comfort, one doesn't want to go back to anything that's binding or constraining."

In fact, history buffs take note: The flip-flop is one of the first types of footwear known to man. The pharaohs wore them. So did the ancient Indians, Assyrians, Romans, Greeks and Japanese. Only in the 20th century, with the cheap mass production of rubber, do flip-flops really become the world's favorite shoe, if only because people couldn't afford anything else.

"After World War II, as billions of people were moving from being barefoot to wearing shoes, this is the basic type of shoe they wore in any sort of warm continent," saaid Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. "But it's fascinating that something so ancient could be considered in a way the most popular form of footwear today in the 21st century. Their simplicity seems to make it extremely modern."

But Steele says even she was taken aback the first time she saw people wearing flip-flops on city streets "because that seemed so inappropriate."

If flip-flops once seemed inappropriate for urban life, they've certainly come a very long way.

Flip-flops for women come in dazzling colors with dizzying price tags. Even high-priced designer Dolce & Gabbana makes some. Or maybe these Havaianas, embellished with thousands of gold feathers and more than 400 diamonds. Just don't try and call them "sandals."

"I mean, once it becomes embellished and dressed up, people start to refer to it as a sandal," Gunn said. "So they take it out of the flip-flop genre. - they try to. But once a flip-flop, always a flip-flop."

Of course, men have more utilitarian needs. A flip-flop from Reef comes complete with a handy bottle opener. So cheers to the humble flip-flop, the very sole of good taste for almost any occasion.