Spring 2026’s Hot Shoe Trend: Stretch Thong Sandals

I know it’s still winter outside, but in order to get through these very cold (and very snowy) months, I need to look ahead to sunnier climates—and the trends set to join them. One such trend resides in the footwear category and is quickly becoming the shoe to watch for spring 2026, a season that will *fingers crossed* be here before we know it. For years, we’ve leaned on basic flip-flops when it comes to warm-weather sandals, wearing them with jeans, trousers, skirts, and dresses, and rewriting their controversial reputation in the process through strategic styling. Now, they’re getting yet another upgrade, but this time, there will be no rubber or plastic involved.

I’m calling them stretch thong sandals, or thong sandals with an extra-long, well, thong. For some time now, brands like The Row, Proenza Schouler, and Bottega Veneta have been experimenting with this sleeker, more elongated silhouette, and for 2026, other high-end shoe designers like Christen, Jude, and Alexandre Birman are joining the party. Made of sleek leather or supple suede—or, in the case of Alaïa, soft velvet—the stretch thong sandals you’re about to scroll through only share one quality with flip-flops: the thong part. Everything else about them is far more luxurious, which is probably why so many It girls are already buying and wearing them, even despite the cold temps sweeping the globe.