The One Thing: The Fishers Espadrilles by Dune London
There are shoes that belong to summer, and then there are shoes that make you feel as though summer has properly arrived.
The espadrille is firmly in the latter camp. It carries with it a certain sense of escape — terraces that run late into the evening, linen shirts, cold drinks, bare ankles and the promise that nobody is keeping track of the time. For our latest The One Thing, we’re looking at Dune London’s Fishers Espadrilles: a quietly handsome summer shoe that gets the balance between ease and polish just right.
Available in navy and taupe, the Fishers is a slip-on with a fabric upper and lining, a rubber sole and a completely flat profile. At £59, it is also refreshingly democratic. There is no preciousness here, no shoe that demands a particular occasion or wardrobe. It is simply an extremely useful thing to have when the temperature rises.
The appeal of the espadrille has always been its informality. Unlike a loafer, it doesn't try to look too considered; unlike a trainer, it doesn't bring the language of sport into an outfit. It occupies that rather wonderful middle ground between dressed and undressed. The Fishers understands this instinctively.
The navy is the sharper of the two. Worn with cream or stone trousers, it gives a little definition to an otherwise pale summer palette. Think cotton trousers, an open-necked shirt and perhaps a lightweight blazer when the evening calls for one. It is particularly good with denim, too — the sort of combination that looks better the less you appear to have thought about it.
The taupe, meanwhile, is the more relaxed proposition. Its soft, neutral tone works almost as an extension of the summer wardrobe itself: linen, ecru, washed blue, olive and faded khaki all make natural companions. It has the useful ability to disappear into an outfit while still making it feel complete. Dune describes the shade as soft taupe and positions the shoe around comfort and understated sophistication; that feels about right.
And that is perhaps the real reason to like them. Summer dressing can be surprisingly difficult. There is a narrow line between looking relaxed and looking as though you have simply given up. The Fishers lands on the right side of it.
Part of that is the silhouette. The shoe has no heel, no elaborate hardware and no unnecessary decoration. It is a simple slip-on, which means it also has the practical advantage that summer footwear ought to have: you can put it on without thinking. The rubber sole gives it enough substance for wandering around town, while the fabric construction keeps the overall impression light.
Most importantly, it doesn't insist on being a holiday shoe. That distinction matters. The best summer pieces aren't the ones that can only be worn beside a pool; they're the ones that still make sense when you're back home and the British weather has decided to behave itself for an afternoon.
Wear the Fishers with tailored shorts and a loose shirt. Wear it with linen trousers. Wear it with jeans and a T-shirt. Take it to the coast, take it to lunch, take it to the pub when the sun is still out at nine. It is the sort of shoe that becomes more useful with every degree the temperature rises.
And when summer has been here for as long as it has, that may be exactly what you want.
Our pick this week:
£59, Dune London