Hey, did any of you Boomers have a pair of these during your hippy-dippy-doo days in the 1960s/70s? I know blogging buddy Mitchell of Moving with Mitchell did because he recently confessed all in a blog post comment.
Not too long ago at Poetry Club, we were given the prompt "feet." Here's the poem I dashed off about my days of wearing these sandals. It's not a particularly good poem, but it brought back a lot of memories!
buffalo sandals --
cheap, sturdy brown leather
from India or somewhere
water buffalo hide, I think
tanned and oiled, perfectly flat,
a special loop for your big toe
you had to soak them in hot water
walk around wearing them
til they dried and took on
the shape of your feet
only one step up from walking barefoot
I wore them incessantly every summer
in my university days
now I walk comfortably
only with expensive custom orthotics
worn in sensible shoes
good arch and heel support a must
to prevent plantar fasciitis flareups
looking back to my buffalo sandal days
I can't help but think:
who WAS that lunatic?
[Poem © Debra She Who Seeks, 2025]
Postscript:
Apparently you can still buy these sandals at an online site called HippieShop but the price is absolutely exorbitant these days -- $45! Even the sale price -- $29.99! Mitchell recalls never paying more than $1.99 US for his and I certainly never paid more than $5 Cdn for mine. But sheesh, I guess those current prices reflect 50 years worth of inflation.
30 comments:
$45??? Oh my gosh! The last time I wore those I discovered they’re no protection when you step in dog poop. I cleaned my feet on the grass and went barefoot. Yeah, now I worry about fit and never go out without my custom insoles. Who WAS that lunatic? (I’m always honored to be mentioned by you. Thanks!)
How did we ever wear such flat shoes? Yes, I had sandals like those. My big toe liked being isolated like that, I think! LOL!
I remember my sister had a pair and wore them constantly.
Back in 1968-69 when I was in Jr year of college in Rome, one of my classmates traveled to Greece and brought me a pair of “gladiator” sandals that had laces that wrapped up around the calves. Cool. Don’t know whatever happened to them.
I lived in Arizona from 1993-2002, and they were popular there at that time.
...and I remember sandals that had tires for soles.
@ Tom -- Yes, I remember those too! I always thought they were so cool looking. An early example of recycling in action!
Oh, no ! Haven't seen before. I was following very strictly fashion in 60/70 s and in shoes it was very 👠 heels and so narrow that my toes are still very agly 😟
Your poem is 👍
I had those, too. For years, after the water buffalo debacle.
I don’t remember them. Well I was a very small child in the seventies. Maybe that’s why. The do look nice but not very supportive at all
I can't wear leather sandals on my skin. Instant blisters. I managed flipflops sometimes.
I remember the tire soles and rope fastening gladiator look! Very interesting tan patterns followed.
Cheap rubber flip-flops were the out of school summer footwear of my childhood. (I believe the the English call them thongs)
I remember them but never wore any. I was a Dr. Scholl's foot sandal girl. Remember those? With the wooden soles? I loved them. And I've always loved flip-flips. I now wear those almost all the time.
$2 CAD! They were shipped in barrels filled with some kind of stinky oil so when we got them home we had to soak them in warm water to get the oil off & then because they were so flat we had to wear them wet so they would dry to the shape of the foot. Custom fitted!
Good times, bay-bee.
@ Travel -- We called them "thongs" in Canada too. Now we also say "flip-flops" for obvious reasons, LOL!
@ Ms. Moon -- Oh yes, I remember those Dr. Scholl's sandals too! They were a lot more expensive than water buffalo sandals, but much better for your arches!
@ Naomi -- Oh, is that why they were always so oily? I never knew why before.
🩴🥺 I couldn't ever master thongs, sandals, or flip-flops! I was always running around as a crazed tomboy (is that still a word?) and I would walk/run right out of them or trip and fall! And, worse, I would not lift my feet high enough to avoid catching the front of the sandal, bending it under and scraping my toes...sidewalk burns on my tippytoes! Oww! 😥 KEDS tennis shoes saved my feet! 😃
In my teenage days if I couldn't go barefoot I'd put on a pair of thongs.
What a walk down Memory Lane! As a free range girl, I wore thongs/flip-flops all summer at the local pool, graduated to those water buffalo sandals in my teens and on to the god-awful "Jelly shoes" in the eighties. Thank Jeebus I wore runners or lightweight hikers with good arch support the rest of the year, LOL!
Whoa, that price is crazy but they are nice sandals.
I have a couple of pairs of sandals in the closet. But I rarely wear either anymore. And neither of them are those crazy Indian buffalo hide ones. Don't think I ever had a pair of those.
I had them and wore them thru college and beyond, til I had a real pair of handmade fit to your foot sandals made that also had a toe loop. Gosh, I thought I looked great, and I think between those and my Dr. Scholls my legs did look great!
LeeAnna
Never wore those sandals but heard ot them. Can't beat the price though.
Just looking at those hurt my feet! Like you, I have to wear very comfortable, supportive shoes 24/7. I remember my Uncle Jim wearing them in the 70's and we always called the Jesus Sandals.
Dear Debra,
I definitely didn't have sandals like that – because I can't stand having something stuck between my toes – so no "special loop for my big toe"...never! It's a shame, because I always liked the look of those shoes – I was VERY "Hippie" in the 70s, even when everyone else wasn't anymore. But I had other leather sandals. We called them "Christuslatschen" (Christian sandals) 😇 AND I had leather clogs with a 16 cm wooden heel. It broke off at some point along the way.
Hugs from Austria, Traude
PS:
I like your poem! It tells me a lot about your feet, then and now. I also know problems with plantar fasciitis, by the way. Always stretch well!
OMG!!!! These are called Kolhapuris. They are made in a region called Kolhapur in India. This is the product that Prada tried to "launch" on the ramp recently and got burnt. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgmwnlnrd1eo
Your poem speaks to my tired feet. Insert fist bump here.
@ How do we know -- Wow, thanks for that completely unknown info to me! It puts these sandals in context. And also thanks for that link about how Prada tried to culturally appropriate them -- glad they got slapped down for that! There's too much of that kind of theft going on.
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