Most sandals look best in the shop and worse every time after that. The leather goes pale and shapeless, the footbed stops holding any real form, and within a season you’ve got something that looks borrowed rather than owned. Two strap sandals made properly do the opposite. The leather darkens where your foot sits, the straps soften and conform, and after a summer of wear they start to look like something with a history. That’s the sandal worth buying.

We’ve been looking specifically at two strap constructions because the proportions are right for most foot shapes and the silhouette reads clean without being fussy. A well made pair works with linen trousers, shorts that aren’t too short, and that particular warm evening where nothing else makes sense. The ones in here are built on proper soles with leather that has enough body to age with some dignity. Buy them now and they’ll look better by September.