Why Not Wear Flip-Flops in Brazil?

@Pablo888

Do not wear flip flops for Carnaval...! Protect your toes and feet in crowded and wet areas as it gets very busy, with lots of trash on the ground. At any other time it is fine - I wear them all the time, but it is illegal to drive in them...

    @Pablo888
Do not wear flip flops for Carnaval...! Protect your toes and feet in crowded and wet areas as it gets very busy, with lots of trash on the ground. At any other time it is fine - I wear them all the time, but it is illegal to drive in them...
   

    -@Peter Itamaraca

Thank you @Peter Itamaraca.  Oh, this is not a fashion statement but rather for protection..... from trash and... bodily fluids discharged.

Why is it illegal to drive with flip-flops?  It is the first time that I hear about that....  I guess that removing the flip-flops will be more comfortable for driving.

        @Pablo888Do not wear flip flops for Carnaval...! Protect your toes and feet in crowded and wet areas as it gets very busy, with lots of trash on the ground. At any other time it is fine - I wear them all the time, but it is illegal to drive in them...        -@Peter Itamaraca

Thank you @Peter Itamaraca.  Oh, this is not a fashion statement but rather for protection..... from trash and... bodily fluids discharged.
Why is it illegal to drive with flip-flops?  It is the first time that I hear about that....  I guess that removing the flip-flops will be more comfortable for driving.
   

    -@Pablo888

You got that right - bodily fluids!

The flip flops are liable to get stuck behind pedals, is the reason - watch for motorcyclists as well with them over the handlebars, riding barefoot...!

@Pablo888

On the street I always wear close toed shoes. I use Flip Flops inside the house.

The sidewalks and streets are almost never level/even, and when wearing sandels it’s very easy to bash your toes. Also if your in a crowd people might step on your feet. If your in an area with street dogs you might pickup a ”Beijo de pé”. Nasty little critters. I’ve had them twice.

Most fashionable Brazillian men will wear a loafer type shoe or designer sneaker when out in the town.

I wear flip flops 90% of the time in the street, or, running shoes with those low cut socks you can't see, if I know I'm going to be walking a lot, like in a mall.

02/05/24  I don't wear flip-flops on the street; I don't like them, but I don't usually wear sandals, which I do like, on the street either.  It's not style; as others have said, it's because of filth, sharp objects, and the possibility of parasites.  Also, I don't like to have to deal with dirty feet at the end of the day when all I want to do is get to bed. 😴

      02/05/24  @Pablo888 Why is it illegal to drive with flip-flops?  It is the first time that I hear about that....  I guess that removing the flip-flops will be more comfortable for driving.        -@Pablo888

This was news to me but believe it or not, it's legal to drive barefoot -- but not in flip-flops or other footwear that doesn't secure the sole firmly to the foot, as @Peter Itamaraca wrote.  The concern apparently is that they'll compromise the driver's control of the pedals:

http://www.detran.pi.gov.br/2020/03/01/ … e-chinelo/

It's a fine and four points on your license.

@abthree

It happens. I recalled the following from my gray matter.

A law enforcement official investigates an accident scene where three pedestrins were killed at St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church in Voorheesville, N.Y., on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011. Acting Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said a 57-year-old woman was driving a vehicle when it accelerated off the road and hit the group at about 8:30 a.m. outside the church in an Albany suburb. He said the driver's foot or a flip-flop she was wearing apparently interfered with the van's gas pedal. The driver was being treated at Albany Medical Center for injuries that weren't life-threatening.

https://www.saratogian.com/2011/08/12/d … wednesday/

So you rather overpay to get two pieces of rubber cobbled together with some fancy stamps. On a flat surface, no arch support. 

If I was going back and forth through the US and Brazil as you do, I would spend the extra money to get a couple pairs of penny loafers.  Black and Burgundy.  The original ones with the exposed stitches, no liner other than the feet cushioning.  All leather sole.

You can wear them without socks, with a bermuda shorts, or with slacks/jeans and a sports coat over a polo.

The original Penny Loafer ( Bass makes them  , I believe ), made since the Post War, is as classy and casual as it can get.   

You won't be accepted into a decent seat in restaurant  or some hip water hole with those flip flops . Penny Loafers will get you in.   Even in Rio.

There is a reason why all of my friends and family in Rio  take their shoes off at the front door. The streets are nasty.

@Peter Itamaraca Thanks for that information.  I always wear flip flops driving locally but will not do that anymore.......

Closed toed shoes for protection from the environment.  Loafers, slip-on shoes, sneakers, etc... are all ok on the streets.  Flip flops are for the "adventurous" and those used to the environment like @gasparzhino 777.

I think that @expat500 would have agreed that Balenciaga loafers would have made a great fashion statement while being practical too.  I will not be wearing anything that flashy in Rio this week.

Great feedback here and thank you.

In Barra Shopping there is a local Brasilian shoe store called SERGIOS.......they make these suede slip on casual loafers that are like wearing socks they are so comfortable. They usually come in 10+ colors.......R$250.......that is as dressy as I get when it comes to shoes here.

On the subject of flip flops, or chinelos as they are called, if you've been to Brasil once you'd think a brand called HAVIANAS are the be all and end all. They are not, they merely have great marketing for garbage footwear.

KENNER is the make you want if you value your feet. My last pair served me for 10 years. They are 3-4 times the price, but, and it's a big but, they have built in shock absorbers in the heel, thick soles, but most importantly the piece that goes between your big toe and index toe is fabric, not plastic, so it is 10X more comfortable.

@Pablo888  I've only been in Rio once, but I was there for a week in 2005. I don't wear flip flops because they hurt my toes, but I wear "slides"  which is almost the same thing without the thing going between the toes.

Who on earth told you not to wear flip flops anyway?  98% of Brazilians wear them daily at least in Manaus, not sure about Rio but I wore my slides there and my wife wore flip flops.  My whole family wears flip flops more than any other foodware.  Oh, yeah, the 2% that don't wear them are likely not Brazilans, but gringos wearing socks with sandals, which in Brazil is considered a form of birth control.

@BrucePatterson

Read the thread! He was advised not to wear flip flops to Carnaval in Rio - that was all...!

They are shower shoes. At best, beach wear. And they flatten your feet's natural arch..

They are not street wear.

Here's a good movie quote about these flip flops. 

https://youtu.be/NY1UbVXzhZE?si=9iRxcenhptJQKs_a

@Droplover

Hey, locally I do it as well, but if you see the yellow Rodoviaria cops... take care of them... legally, of course!

    They are shower shoes. At best, beach wear. And they flatten your feet's natural arch..
They are not street wear.

Here's a good movie quote about these flip flops. 

https://youtu.be/NY1UbVXzhZE?si=9iRxcenhptJQKs_a-@sprealestatebroker

WowI How old are you, and you have been in Brazil for how long? Yet you still think that clip is relevant? If I was in that film I would have been in nappies. If I was lucky! (look it up)!

Havianas, for your information, My Great Oxymoron, were created as a very cheap footwear for the masses in Brazil. The simplest and cheapest footwear that existed to protect the poor and their feet from the rigours of harvesting sugarcane, nothing more nothing less, and were actually invented by a Brit. WOW - not an American in SP! I kid you not... And they saved limbs, feet, maybe even lives...

Nowadays they are worn everywhere in the world, and certainly have a niche market - not in SP from what you say I guess, despite their own figures...

    @BrucePatterson
Read the thread! He was advised not to wear flip flops to Carnaval in Rio - that was all...!
   

    -@Peter Itamaraca

@BrucePatterson and @Peter Itamaraca - I apologize for the confusion as the context of the question is related to my carnaval trip to Rio this week.....  I should have been more specific but I did not know the reason to be specific.

And the question was answered - carnaval is a festival with lots of trash and stuff and that's why it's not recommended on the streets.  At other times, it would be ok.

However, I will be bringing my croc clogs for the pool side and sandy beach activities.....

I guess that I am now "properly attired" for the trip.

Glad to see that people have feelings for foot-wear....

@Pablo888

Lots of people wear flip flops as a daily form of footwear. I have seen people on motorcycles wearing them lots of time. Hell, I even saw a guy on a road crew using a jack hammer wearing them. But as I have said, those side walks are nasty. You can smell urine (especially during Carnival), and people DO NOT clean up after their dogs. So you are going to see dog turds in various levels of decay. Sorry if I have been blunt, but I think you understand why most people remove their shoes before entering their apartment.

@KenAquarius

I think maybe large cities are better, but I do agree with you - especially about Carnaval! I actually choose to walk bare foot at home because I like it, and it seems much more comfortable...

@Peter Itamaraca if you walk in my mother in-law’s apartment with your shoes on you are going to get ” the look”  😂

@KenAquarius

I hesitate to weigh in for my wife is pretty much a Havaianas person and we live (proudly?) in the city that makes them. Havaianas are part of our daily attire, mostly because anything else is too hot (haven't much worn shoes for 14+ years now) but I do highly recommend footwear with toe protection and, in some cases, thorn resistance. The caatinga biome is merciless and pierced flip-flops have me using harder soles these days. Then there's dress code, yep, dress code which requires somewhat (not much) fancier footwear in  better restaurants (flip-flops with fabric bands instead of rubber ones are, somehow, in a different class)

I like/use Crocs and Keens but shift to Havaianas for most of my day. God forbid I ever have to wear Oxfords again - and I used to love my daily work shoes 🤔.......

    There is a reason why all of my friends and family in Rio  take their shoes off at the front door. The streets are nasty.
   

    -@KenAquarius

And one more reason I do my best to stay out of Rio! kkk

Havaianas is the brand name for flip flops made by Sao Paulo Alpargatas. Who used to be  a licensee for foreign brands of sneakers.  It's a large corporation.  I recalll their HQ is by Mooca,Sao Paulo.

If you must wear open toes footwear ( fungus )  then  get your purse, and go to those Arts & Crafts open fairs ( Feiras de Artesanato ), and consider buying one of those Sandalias de Couro ( Leather Sandals ).  Or your local shoe store.

The most common is an affordable handmade, made of strings of cowhide, tire bottom thread soles.

Then there are the more elaborate ones, with feet formed upper soles, padded, softer rubber compound soles.

Think of them as your Birkenstock equivalents. 

Havaianas, they are overpriced, flatten your feet, and show you are a sloppy dresser.

Actually Havianas were the first company to make flip flops in the 1960's, based on an original design (I believe) from Japan. 

Far from being a fashionable item, they were designed to be a very cheap and simple footwear for the masses of poor people in Brazil at the time - infinitely preferable to work in Havianas in the sugar cane fields than barefoot... or in the streets of Sao Paulo...

Many, many years later they became the ubiquitous footwear found all over Brazil and the rest of the world. Then followed many imitators - some of them of better quality and design, to be fair.

    Actually Havianas were the first company to make flip flops in the 1960's, based on an original design (I believe) from Japan. 
Far from being a fashionable item, they were designed to be a very cheap and simple footwear for the masses of poor people in Brazil at the time - infinitely preferable to work in Havianas in the sugar cane fields than barefoot... or in the streets of Sao Paulo...

Many, many years later they became the ubiquitous footwear found all over Brazil and the rest of the world. Then followed many imitators - some of them of better quality and design, to be fair.
   

    -@Peter Itamaraca

Havaiana is not a company. Period. |It's a trademark for a product line.  The company that makes Havaianas is Sao Paulo Alpargatas, now Alpargatas S.A.

Old Headquarters on Mooca, now, it appears they moved into new corporate digs (Av. das Nações Unidas, 14.261 - Cidade Monções, São Paulo - SP, 04794-000.  The factory moved from Mooca to Montes Claros-MG.,

They used to make other brands of cheap footwear ( Conga sneakers, Kichute cheap cleats ), and license the manufacturing of other foreign brands of athletic footwear.

The name implies Hawaiians in Brazilian Portuguese.  The Japanese worse the same type of sandals at home, only with different materials ( Wood soles ), way before the Havaianas ever existed.   There are Japanese folk in Hawaii.  So, I surmised they picked up the inspiration there.

All of this alpargatas talk is actually quite interesting. "Alpargatas" [original] are canvas shoes with cord (often sisal) soles. "Alpargatas" are originally French¹. So, anyhow, Alpargatas S/A is an international company based in São Paulo (1907), originally Argentina (1885)².

Havaianas brand was created by the Alpargatas SP company yet production has most always been produced principally here in Campina Grande, PB³ with an additional factory in Montes Claros, MG³.

My Santos mother-in-law (previous marriage) always had me looking for the original "French-style" alpargatas (canvas top and sisal soles) back in the 1980s. They were really nice (very breathable) and still only exist in the Gaucho markets (search: alpargata rueda). I may have to get another pair of those for around the house.

Alpargatas S/A has a lot of brand names (eg. Timberland until 2017, Havaianas, Dupé, Osklen, Topper, Sete Léguas, Meggashop & Mizuno). It is kind of like Ray-O-Vac [batteries] which is now Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc....... or Pacific Cycle (Schwinn & Mongoose) now part of Dorel.... Who can keep track????

But I can tell you this, I've shared physical therapy space with some Havaianas workers here in Campina Grande. Life at Havaianas is not easy. Our cook used to work in our local/large factory. She has stories about the the repetitive work involved.  Repetitive movement injuries are a problems. I've heard plenty of stories BUT I also know that having Havaianas here in Campina Grande is a blessing for the jobs that they do provide. They are very welcome here.

Just today I stopped at the Assaí mercado and picked up a new pair of basic Havaianas made here in CG (old pair sent to recyclers where that put new straps on them to get more miles from them). They cost R$18 (US$3.63 - where can you get footwear for that price??). They're the best. I find most other footwear just too hot to use. When I go stateside it is the present that everybody wants.

mberigan

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espadrille

² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpargatas_Argentina

³ https://havaianas.com.br/faq2.html

@Pablo888

Ever since I was a Kid, I've hated 'Flip-Flops' / "Chinelas'.

Also, I don't want to become a Chinelao.

Ouch!! LOL.... I had to look up "chinelão."

A more objective look at flip-flops

Although 2023' saw a slight mid-year decrease in net revenue for Alpargatas'  Havaianas brand, their long-term earnings history and future projections outweigh this. (https://in.marketscreener.com/quote/sto … -38654013/).

During the same year, 2023, global sales of flip-flops continued to rise. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/106 … worldwide/)

After spending my lifetime in science and medicine, and earning five degrees, I have come to trust and believe in numbers. Even during the pandemic, flip-flop sales not only never dropped, but averaged a 3.8% annual global increase in sales.  The net revenue just for Alpargatas'  Havaianas  in 2020’ was 3.11 billion Brazilian reals and by 2023 that number had risen to 4.12 billion Brazilian Reals. Not a bad increase for the pandemic years for any industry. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/739 … at%20year.)

Now it seems few people in this group admit to liking or, in wearing them, but their global annual sales for 2022 were at USD $20,260.66 million and are projected to be USD $28,049.68 million in 2030. (https://www.databridgemarketresearch.co … ops-market).

With 250 million pairs of flip-flops sold every year in over 100 countries, that is a lot of flip-flops and Havaianas.

While a number of our Group members may not appreciate flip-flops, the rest of Brazil and the world certainly do cherish and buy them. Objectively speaking, I wish I had invested more in Alpargatas'.

(I do not wear them either, I prefer leather sandals)

FYI last month I was shopping for a deal on the Kenner brand of chinelos. Best deal was a R$50 discount........so, R$200.........

In one very large unbranded store that sold nothing but flip flops of all makes, the sales guy pointed to a huge metal bin with maybe 500 pairs of Havianas on sale.......R$15 a pair !!!

Granted you'd have had to handle 50 pairs before you found your size, but in a color you didn't want kkkkkkkkkk. Corporate margins must be healthy to say the least eh ?