If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Robb Report may receive an affiliate commission.
Everything feels freer in the summer. Liberated from coats, boots, and scarves, putting on clothes is just a little bit easier. Layers? Goodbye! You’re feeling unencumbered by the cold weather and your style should follow suit. The uptick in temps invites a certain level of hedonism; strip away excess, because we’re all trying to stay as cool as humanly possible. Up top, your light linen camp shirt will allow a breeze to flow right through it, and roomy shorts will give the kind of ventilation your trousers could never reach. For a moment, let’s cast our eyes downward—what’s happening on your shoes?
The best shoes for summer should have the same easygoing vibes as the rest of your fit. They should let your feet breathe. It’s a design challenge, for sure, but the best footwear brands employ minimal materials to achieve maximum style. Sandals, mules, slides, loafers, and sneakers have soft soles, generally letting you slip them on quickly for whatever reason you’re getting you out the door—a pool day, a backyard hang, a baseball game, or a gloriously air-conditioned movie theater—while elevating the rest of your warm-weather attire in the process.
Here, we’ve combed through the best summer shoes in the market, from go-to classics to swervier open-air options that will complete your sweat-evading fit.
Best Rubber Slides for Summer
Bottega Veneta Rubber Slider
There are no better shoes for a lazy day by the pool than a pair of rubber slides. Bottega Veneta’s fashion-y take are embossed with its signature weaving technique and come in a bunch of colors that echo the house’s subversive approach to the classics.
Materials: Rubber.
Style: Slide sandal.
Buy Now on Bottega Veneta: $520
Buy Now on Matches Fashion: $520
Best Espadrilles for Summer
Manebí Woven Linen Espadrilles
Espadrilles may bring to mind Catalan beaches and sunset glasses of cava (keep the dream alive), but once you add them to your rotation, you’ll find they’re incredibly versatile, too. The soft construction and breathable linen upper make them a perfect alternative to sandals. The ones from Manebí, which are made in Spain, hit that sweet spot between transportive and practical.
Materials: Linen upper, jute midsole, and rubber sole.
Style: Espadrille.
Buy Now on Matches Fashion: $112
Best White Sneakers for Summer
Common Projects Achilles Leather Sneakers
When Common Projects came onto the scene in the late aughts with its Italian-made minimalist leather Achilles, the sneaker game was officially changed. More than a decade later, the brand still offers the best built-to-last, go-with-everything pair you can have in your wardrobe—a year-round staple, but especially great in summer.
Materials: Leather.
Style: Sneaker.
Best Canvas Sneakers for Summer
Stepney Workers Club Dellow Canvas Sneakers
Inspired by traditional worker’s sports clubs, East London–based Stepney Workers Club has, what it toots, is a “free-thinking approach” to classic sneakers. Sounds like it fits right in with the school’s-out-for-summer vibe we’re trying to channel here. These monochrome ecru canvas sneakers will definitely get us to that state of mind.
Materials: Canvas upper with a Vulcanized rubber outsole.
Style: Sneaker.
Best Fisherman Sandals for Summer
The Row Fisherman Leather Sandals
Here’s why you should put a leather fisherman sandal at the top of your summer footwear shopping list: The style is both ventilated and elegant. It comes from humble origins, but it will absolutely elevate any summer fit—especially if you go for the Row’s understated version in grained leather calfskin.
Materials: Calfskin leather with a rubber sole.
Style: Fisherman sandal.
Buy Now on Bergdorf Goodman: $990
Best Driving Shoes for Summer
Tod’s Gommino Driving Shoes
You go to your barber to get your haircut. You go to your mechanic to get your car fixed. You go to your accountant to handle your coins. And you go to Tod’s for a driving moccasin. The Italian label is the expert, the one that always does right by this style.
Materials: Nubuck leather.
Style: Moccasin.
Best Penny Loafers for Summer
Prada Spazzolato Penny Loafers
Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean all formality is out the window. Prada’s classic Spazzolato penny loafers are here for your summer weddings and any other functions. They are equal parts timeless and fresh. You can also wear ‘em with white socks the rest of the year.
Materials: Leather.
Style: Loafer.
Buy Now on Bergdorf Goodman: $1,150
Best Mules for Summer
Marni Raffia Fussbett Sabot Mules
We’ll take Marni’s Fussbett Sabots in any construction—long calfskin, terrycloth, shearling—but we’re eyeing these raffia ones especially for summer. They’re one of those big-flex, low-effort styles that’ll look just as good at a garden party as they do on a bodega run.
Materials: Raffia and leather with a rubber sole.
Style: Mule.
Buy Now on Bergdorf Goodman: $795
Best All-Around Sandals for Summer
Birkenstock Arizona Soft Footbed Sandals
Birkenstock has perfected the just-crunchy-enough, always-right sandals. They’re still the ones to beat. Your soles will make their home in the comfort of the cork footbeds, and the rest of your feet will be breathing easy. Plenty of high-fashion brands have put their spin on Birks, but we’d argue you can’t go wrong with the original Arizona.
Materials: Suede and cork with an EVA sole.
Style: Sandal.
Buy Now on Saks Fifth Avenue: $140
Best Flip-Flops for Summer
Nike On Deck Slides
Are you wearing flip-flops? Is there a body of water nearby? For the times we’d recommend wearing them—beach, pool deck, gym shower—you’ll need something light, comfortable, and uncomplicated. Nike’s no-frills design with a grippy waffle tread gets the job done.
Materials: Foam midsole.
Style: Flip-flop.
Best Loafers for Summer
Loro Piana Summer Walk Loafers
We’re not exactly sure how Loro Piana’s Summer Walk loafers have become the go-to shoe for the Succession-level set, but it isn’t totally surprising. Crafted by hand, they feature supple lightweight (and water-repellent) suede uppers and flexible rubber soles. It’s always yacht season somewhere, right?
Materials: Suede with rubber soles.
Style: Loafer.
Buy Now on Saks Fifth Avenue: $930
Best Boat Shoes for Summer
Sperry Gold Cup Authentic Original Boat Shoes
Again, we head over to the folks who invented the classic style when we want the OGs. Sperry knows its boat shoes, and these ones have the added layer of being handmade in Maine with Horween leather.
Materials: Leather with Vibram outsoles.
Style: Boat shoe.
Best Leather Slides for Summer
Vince Derek Leather Sandals
When you want to go for something slightly sleeker than the Birks (but get the Birks, too), Vince’s Derek sandals ride that line of elevated and easygoing. Pair ‘em with linen pants or shorts and you’re golden.
Materials: Leather.
Style: Sandals.
Buy Now on Saks Fifth Avenue: $230
Buy Now on Bloomingdale’s: $230
Best Slip-On Sneakers for Summer
Visvim Zahra Slub Cotton Canvas Slip On Shoes
Laces seem like a lot of effort for summer, no? Classic skate shoes inform this style, but because it’s from Visvim, the quality is as high as the midday summer temps. We like the extra elevation on the soles, too.
Materials: Cotton canvas with rubber soles.
Style: Sneaker.
Best Sports Sandals for Summer
Suicoke Depa-V2 Sandals
Sporty nylon-webbed sandals rode the gorp-core wave in the past few years, shooting up in popularity. Combined with Suicoke’s Japanese minimalist approach, these Depa-V2 sandals would be welcome on trails and sidewalks alike.
Materials: Nylon webbing with Vibram rubber sole.
Style: Sandal.
