Welcome to the toeaissance
Between toe rings, French pedicures, and peep-toe sandals, it's officially time to let your dogs out.
This summer, I’ve been making a lot of sartorial choices best categorized as “girl who shops at the mall.” At my big age of 33, I got an impromptu belly button piercing. I’ve started wearing Spencer’s Gifts-coded novelty tees, à la the Haim sisters. (This “Junie B. Jones-ing for a cigarette shirt,” in particular. But now I’m just bragging.) And ahead of an upcoming trip to Greece, I somehow ended up on Etsy searching for a gold toe ring to pair with the pink, kitten heel Manolos I’d snagged on eBay.
Apparently, I wasn’t alone. Leandra Medine had kicked off the summer with a carousel announcing, “Welcome back to toe ring season.” Jennifer Lawrence was papped wearing two silver toe rings and peep-toe mules. Just this morning, before sitting down to write, I walked past the Alohas store only to see the window advertising a free toe ring set with every sandal purchase.
My own journey to becoming a foot fetishist actually started this winter, when I interviewed Nou Shoes founder, Alexia Ioannou. I’d reached out because I was obsessed with her zebra-print, ponyhair mules. I came away a convert to the French pedicure she’d worn religiously since she was a preteen, appearing on Real Housewives of New Jersey with her mother, Dina Manzo.
“Everyone’s suddenly hyper-fixating on their toes. People are comparing French pedicures, hunting down toe rings, and planning outfits around open-toe shoes,” Alexia tells me now. (Ioannou dropped a limited edition toe ring collection last week. It sold out within hours.) “I’ve always believed shoes deserve the same attention as handbags or jewelry, so it only felt natural that toes would get in on the fun, too.”
For model and writer Imani Randolph, French pedicures were also a gateway drug. “I’ve been doing French for the better part of a decade for a multitude of reasons! It’s sexy, it can grow out for a while without people noticing,” Imani says. “As for toe rings, I’m a recent adopter. A brand, Simuero, recently offered to send me a few and that’s what kicked it off. My friend says she wears them because she feels they make her feet look daintier. As someone who wears an 11/12, I relate.”
To me, however, accessorizing my toes isn’t about making them look daintier — it’s about making them impossible to ignore. Like my fellow Unsaid contributors, I’ve been embracing push-up bras, dousing my cheeks in blush, and flashing my clavicle in an endless rotation of going-out tops. If I’m decking out every other inch of my body, why should my toes be exempt?
Neverworns writer Liana Satenstein, who underwent her own “French pedicure spiritual awakening” this spring, has a more Freudian explanation. “I think feet are more titillating than cleavage (breast or butt crack). There’s something erotic about the foot, almost as if it is a peephole to the full body…like visual edging. Also, the foot is kind of as heinous as it is pretty, which is ugly-sexy, which is actually peak sexy,” says Liana. “Plus, you can have fun with feet and accessorize them, whether with jewelry or different nail colors. Feet are like the incredible edible egg of fashion — you can do anything with them.”
Below, a few of my favorite toe rings, sandals, and other foot-forward accessories.
Chan Luu: I’m personally more of a yellow gold jewelry girl, but this sterling silver and pearl pairing has me reconsidering.
En Route: This brass-plated toe ring with green, pink, and blue stones is extremely my shit — as is the nail art on the foot model.
Tory Burch: If you’d rather leave the accessorizing to your shoes, the pierced multi-strap heeled sandal is a good compromise. I wore a pair in white everywhere last summer, and could very much be persuaded to purchase the red ones now that they’re on sale.
Etsy: A true treasure trove of toe rings awaits you on Etsy, but some of my favorites include this Indian-inspired set of 10, a pink-and-silver rhinestone heart option, and this turquoise moment.
Alflalo: If you’re looking to ball out, Leandra Medine collaborated with Alflalo on a lab-grown diamond collection — replete with a 3-carat stone toe ring.
Anthropologie: Who says these nail art stickers are strictly for your fingers?
Free People: Last but not least, the one coming in my suitcase.
Samantha Leach is a journalist and the former Special Projects Director at Bustle and NYLON. She has also written for New York, GQ, Harper’s BAZAAR, and many other publications. Her debut book, The Elissas, is being produced by Lena Dunham for Netflix.
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Such a fun one! Thanks for including me. x
long live feet pics