Impulse Buys: The Fit Flop

Impulse Buys is dedicated to those purchases that we sometimes agonize over, occasionally rue, and generally conceal from the critical eyes of society.

The FitFlop elicited a serious giggle from me when it was first released in the U.S. Don’t get me wrong: I am just as susceptible as any other red-blooded American woman to products that make wild weight loss/get fit promises without having to actually, you know, eat right and exercise (I can’t even begin to tell you what havoc the Mega-T Green Tea “burn belly fat!” commercials wreak on my subconscious). Even though I wanted to believe, there was just something a little too gushy and incredulous about the claims of “get a workout while you walk!” Yet, despite my skepticism, the FitFlop remained.

Then last week, my one pair of house Havaianas broke. As fate would have it, that same day I received a FitFlop-centric newsletter from one of my retail subscriptions, and I had to wonder…would it really be so terrible if I were to buy a pair, just for home usage?

It can be a slippery slope when you designate something comfortable yet unattractive as something that you “will only wear in the house.” Only around the house becomes a trip or three to the grocery store, and then one day you’re wearing these things out to Sunday brunch. And make no mistake: the FitFlop is still as ugly as sin, even if you do slap some sequins on it. User reviews seem to be fairly divided on the fitness claims of the FitFlop, but most seem to agree that they are orthopedically kind to feet.

Final judgment? I will probably break down and buy a pair, but with ghost of Coco Chanel as my witness, only to be worn around the house.

FitFlop’s Walkstar Classic Thong Sandal - $49.95

FitFlop’s Walkstar III Thong Sandal - $59.95

FitFlop’s Electra Thong Sandal - $59.95