There have been many fashion versus comfort atrocities over the years. Most of the seasoned fashionistas are dedicated to the cause of appearance over any pain that may be caused on an evening out – but the towering 12cm heels preferred by many women (and a lack of seating at many functions, it must be noted) can be almost crippling. It one particularly horrifying example, I was actually witness to a group of early twenty somethings who were walking barefoot and carrying their heels on the way OUT– which is really telling the world you have given up.

Personally, I have never been a fan of ‘thongs in the handbag’, because a fabulous dress is not only ruined by the appearance of thongs, but is also ruined by the accompanying handbag the size of a microwave that’s required to contain them.  But, halleluiah, there is a solution at hand.

Welcome the Flipster. It’s not as beach friendly as the thong, but it is cleverly designed. Flipsters, launched in October 2009 is a super slick pair of thong flip flops that thanks to their innovative ‘flip, flop, fold’ design, fold up to the size of an average digital camera and slot into a sleek, black, zip-up pouch to keep in even the smallest of handbags.

These are definitely a product that are for those emergency situations – your podiatrist would not be a fan – but there has been careful consideration given for the aesthetics rather than just the practicality alone. They have an ankle strap, which creates a slightly more elegant aesthetic than thongs and makes for a sturdier position on the foot – particularly useful if there has been one too many champagnes consumed throughout the evening.

It may come as a surprise then, that the heel problems that have plagued women for so long have actually been solved by two enterprising Sydney men. Friends and business partners Ben Lipschitz and Rick Munitz, both aged 25 from Sydney took an innovative idea and designed and developed Flipsters.

 “I was on a night out with some friends and noticed a lot of girls wearing heels and suffering sore feet because of it. This sparked an idea that small but comfortable footwear could temporarily alleviate the pain. I took the idea to my good friend and industrial designer, Rick and Flipsters were born,” says Ben Lipschitz.

Rick Munitz adds: “As soon as Ben came to me with the idea I started working on design. I know lots of girls who take their flip flops out on a night out but complain about having to carry a big handbag rather than a slim evening bag. When I discovered that there was no other folding flip flop on the market, I just knew that potentially we had a great product within our grasp.”

Rick consulted senior designers, footwear manufacturers and podiatrists to ascertain the best materials and most efficient manufacturing process, analysing everything from the motion of walking to variations in feet. He says: “We looked into every single way of designing a folding flip flop. When our prototype started to receive great feedback, the realisation that we could actually take it to market really set in.”

Flipsters launched in October 2009 with a new website and are available to buy online. Their first shipment sold out immediately, with the demand exceeding beyond any expectations that had been set.

With Flipsters now available, taking the long way home doesn’t seem quite so arduous.

www.flipsters.com.au

Tags: Flipsters