I finally pulled the trigger on a pair of Birkenstock Arizona slides. I think the first time I saw them was on Kayaan Contractor’s feet. I would’ve said my friend Kayaan, but it’s complicated. Lmao. She would wear one around the house and I was like, if anything, 2020 is the year of the slide.

We’ve all invariably spent so much time indoors in 2020. So much in fact, that my home clothes and slides really took a beating over the last 6 months. I needed to get a new pair of slides and decided to experiment with Birkenstock’s Arizona.

PS: To date, all Birkenstocks are manufactured at one of their 4 facilities in Germany.

Here’s a detailed video of the Birkenstock Arizona Eva Sandal from my YouTube channel:

The Birkenstock Arizona that I picked up is an EVA sandal. Unlike their regular, leather-strapped, cork footbed sandals. I needed something that was water-resistant and also kinda cool, and the EVA made sense. If there’s one thing Birkenstocks are famous for, it’s their comfort and that is pushed to the forefront by their specialisation in footbeds. That’s how the brand began, in the first place. Eventually, it found popularity in America.

Birkenstocks have always had this “stigma” if I can call it that, of being old man sandals. All that changed though. It was Marc Jacobs who had his models in Birkenstocks on the runway, that was not received well. As with all things, before their time of course. Subsequently though, Celine and Givenchy made their own luxury version of the German sandals. Birkenstocks have been seen on the feet of the “it” crowd like Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Charlize Theron and my favourite Kaia Gerber too. Either with or without socks, depending on what their personal style is.

PS: Did you know that Birkenstock turned down collabs with Supreme, and Vetements too?!

When I was in Dubai for SoleDXB, I chanced upon the Birkenstock stall there and they had the Rick Owens collab collection back then. Those were hella high on the sticker price though, so I decided to get me a basic pair to beat. And rightly so, because Vogue magazine named the Birkenstock the sandal of the year 2020. Lol. Slide season after all!

As for the sandal itself, it is extremely comfortable. More so because of the way the foot bed conforms to your feet. For sizing, go true to your regular size. If you have broad/narrow feet, you can adjust the fit with the buckles.

I threw them on, when I went shopping for groceries over the weekend.

Outfit Details:

Tee – Lacoste
Shorts – Stone Island
Socks – Undefeated
Tote – Reebok Classics
Wrist Cuff – Miansai
Shades – Akila X Pleasures
Sandals – Birkenstock Arizona EVA

All images shot by @instagramkaran on his iPhone.

What do you think of the Birkenstock Arizona? Would you pick up a pair for yourself? Let me know in the comments.