Barefoot Shoes Are the Surprisingly Chic Way to Stay Grounded This Summer

It’s a bit strange to think of barefoot shoes as a relatively new trend considering they’re something of a return to our ancestral origins, when humans used to walk barefoot. Now that every silhouette imaginable is available to us, it seems the only thing to do is go back to the beginning.

For the unfamiliar, barefoot shoes recreate as much as possible the conditions of the foot when walking barefoot. You’ll know these flats by the superthin sole that adapts to the foot (and not the other way around) to protect it. While this style of shoe has been around for a while, we’re only now seeing versions stylish enough to work with the rest of our closet.

More and more brands are adding barefoot sneakers, ballet flats, and sandals that we not only could see ourselves actually wearing, but are actively adding to cart.