Hear Me Out: The Best Beach Shoe Is a Velvet Slipper

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Women’s Classic Velvet Flats Sherezade Loafer Cotton Easy Loafer Slippers 10mm Marie Antoinette Velvet Slippers Elinor Flat in Brown Modigliani Bicolore

Scrolling through Instagram last year, I noticed interior designer Remy Renzullo, whose style in homes and in clothing is reminiscent of centuries past, repeatedly posting photos of himself wearing a distinct pair of slippers. He wore them with an embroidered vest and red socks in one outfit, a tuxedo and transparent socks in the next. The shoe looked like the grumpier, much older uncle of the soft, velvet Mary Janes that are so on trend right now—and I was hooked.

This specific slipper silhouette is Venetian in heritage, more traditionally referred to as a friulane. Similar in silhouette and make to an espadrille, these velvet slippers feature a rubber sole, contrasting piping, and a peaked vamp slightly lower than that of an espadrille. They were initially handmade in Northern Italy from old scraps of velvet curtains in the 19th century, but are now offered online by brands like Italy-based Vibi Venezia and Piedaterre Venezia, and a similar pair of Spanish espadrilles from Flabelus. (A few seasons ago, The Row also did their own rendition of fiurlanes with a D’Orsay cutaway detail.)

woman on beach on chic clothing — Courtesy of Michèle Ouellet Benson

Intrigued, I kept scrolling and spotting. The dainty footwear popped up on the soles of model and co-founder of Lorenza Rosé, Michèle Ouellet Benson—at the beach! I saved a post from last year where she wore a straw bucket hat, a little yellow dress, and her favorite slippers among the dunes. Benson discovered the slippers after seeing a “very chic” friend wearing a chocolate brown pair on vacation in Umbria about six years ago. She duly hunted for her own pair, selecting the Vibi Venezia black friulanes.

Now, she’s become obsessed, even gifting the slippers to each of her bridesmaids at her wedding. A Euro-summer staple, they flatten down to nothing in her carry-on and can handle walking all over a city. They dress down a slip dress and dress up denim cutoffs. “I wear them to death every summer and refresh with a new pair the next year,” she says. “And the price is right!” (The Vibi Venezia slippers retail for €93 or just over $100.)

woman in pajamas and slippers — Courtesy of Michèle Ouellet Benson

I got my first pair from Flabelus—navy with red piping—and have been wearing them around the neighborhood with eyelet shorts and button-downs and to the office with an LBD and seashell jewelry. I attempted my first beach trial this year at the Rockaways—a city beach day trip is a soft entry into the coastal lifestyle. I will admit, I did avoid getting the velvet shoes wet, but my feet were often dry by the time I left anyway. And sand was no major issue; just shake them off before you go inside. I found myself sliding my foot in, trampling the back heel of the shoe like I used to do—to my mother’s dismay—with Converse when I was eight. (Benson endorses wearing the heel turned down when at the beach.)

woman in velvet slippers — courtesy of camille freestone

Casual wear achieved, I then clocked them on another of my favorite stylistically idiosyncratic Instagram follows, The World of Interiors Style Director Gianluca Longo, posting from a wedding. My mind was blown once more at their versatility. Longo wore a white shirt with a mandarin collar, sharp black trousers, and black Venetian slippers—bare ankle—circular glasses, and a black lace fan also in tow. The slippers look just as perfect at a wedding as they did at the beach.

Satiated in menswear outfit inspiration, I jumped to the Arizona and New York-based vintage store Desert Vintage’s Instagram. They have a pair in heavy rotation (alongside much more upmarket styles like The Row’s Noelle loafers) to style editorially with their unique vintage collection. For a more feminine take, the brand mixed one dark pair with an ankle-length Chloé dress from the ‘70s, another with tights and an oversized peasant blouse worn as a dress, then one more with a striped floor-length caftan. And each pair looks perfectly at home.

Benson ruminates on why this simple pair of elfish slippers can travel from a wedding dancefloor to a beach boardwalk, noting, “I love that they feel like an espadrille, but the velvet elevates them to something beyond.” Her shoes must serve her varied lifestyle, “and that could mean going from a day on a boat to dinner at a beautiful restaurant,” she continues. “I want my footwear to be beautiful and appropriate.”