Sandals with biomechanical foot support, robust usability and cost-effectiveness are disclosed. The footwear may comprise a biomechanical sole and a Y-shaped rubber strap anchored to the sole. The sole has a top surface including a raised contour on the medial side of the sandal, and a low profile heel cup. The raised contour on the medial side and the heel cup match the natural anatomic shape of the foot, and thus provides a biomechanical foot support. The bottom surface of the sole may be a roughed surface to provide necessary traction and friction when a wearer/user walks. The bottom surface further comprises a plurality of grooves to allow water to be expelled and increase traction.

Flip flop sandals with a barrier around a perimeter of a sole. The barrier forms a continuous loop, thereby protecting the feet from wind and water in all directions. The flip flops comprise a medial strap, a lateral strap and a toe strap attached to the sole at locations interior to the barrier. The barrier protects the feet from water splashes, puddles, wet grass and wind. The barrier height can be in the range of 0.5-4 inches or 0.7-3 inches. Alternatively, the barrier height can be at least 40% or ½ a length of the toe strap. The barrier can be made of closed cell foam or plastic film. The attachment between the sole and barrier can be water tight.

A shoe in form of a slipper or sandal, includes a body 100 adapted to have a first fluid casing 12 and a second fluid casing 14, each having an elastic property, embedded in the front and rear portions of the body, respectively, and an instep strap 120 supported to the body in such a way as to be rotated in a specific section. A rotating shaft 16 is rotated in conjunction with the instep strap, and it includes a first connecting portion connected to the first fluid casing and a second connecting portion connected to the second fluid casing and an internal passage having respective check ball seating portions formed on the inside of the first and the second connecting portions, and with check ball received in the internal passage. When the rotating shaft is inclined by rotation of the rotating shaft, the check ball closely adheres to any one of the check ball seating portions by gravity or buoyancy and regulates a fluid flow to any one of the first and the second connecting portions.

The present invention teaches a method of making a custom article of footwear. Further, the article of footwear can include a knitted upper and means for cushioning. In addition, the components of the article of footwear can be selected from a wide range of options, and can be easily removed and replaced, as desired.

A first item of footwear is provided including a midsole; an upper, releasably coupled to the midsole; and a sole releasably coupled to the midsole. A second item of footwear is provided including a sole; an upper, releasably coupled to the sole; and a toe support releasably coupled to the sole. A third item of footwear is provided including: a sole; a first upper portion attached to the sole; and a second upper portion releasably coupled to first upper portion, such that the second upper portion can be coupled to the first upper portion while the shoe is being worn.

Provided is footwear whereby it is possible to desirably carry out correction and stretching of a transverse arch of a foot. A transverse arch pressure part which protrudes such that a cross-section in the width direction is an arc shape is formed between portions in a foot contact surface of an article of footwear directly below the ball of the large toe and the ball of the little toe, and a pair of runners which do not support the ball of the large toe or the ball of the little toe are formed in the foot contact surface directly below the ball of the large toe and the ball of the little toe.

An athletic performance shoe with an open toe and an open heal for improved ventilation and comfort. The body of the shoe should be of suitable flexible material, such as the “Flyknit” fabric used by Nike, Inc. The shoe should include standard laces for enclosing the user's foot in the shoe as the laces suitably secure the shoe about the foot. The interior of the shoe should include soft, malleable padding which forms to the user's foot such that users with wide feet, narrow feet, or other factors will be comfortable in the shoe and the shoe will form around their foot without slipping or uncomfortably compressing the foot. A preferred embodiment would have a thin, highly-flexible sole. The open toe and heel being the primary features of the shoe.

Footwear which can be modified and decorated by a wearer includes a sole through which a set of spaced-apart tunnels are formed which extend the full width of the sole. At least one strip of material is wound through the tunnels and along the opposite sides of the sole and the outer perimeter of the heel region to form loops extending between selected tunnel ends along the right and left sides of the sole and the outer perimeter of the heel region. Ribbons of different colors, shapes and fabrics can be attached to and between the loops enabling a wearer to modify the appearance of the footwear.

A footwear article is provided herein. The footwear article may include a sole coupled to a cord structure. The cord structure may include interconnected bights in a vamp cord and a rand cord forming a loop line extending along at least a portion of the footwear article.

A modular sandal. The modular sandal includes a sole having an upper side and a lower side. Slots disposed on the lower side include an interior wall and a width. Channels extending from the lower side of the sole through the upper side of the sole include a diameter. Each of the channels is positioned within one of the slots. A strap including locking tabs is pivotally affixed to the sole. Each locking tab is configured to pivot between a locked position and an unlocked position. Each locking tab is configured to pass through each channel when in an unlocked position. Each locking tab frictionally engages the interior wall of each slot when in a locked position, thereby anchoring the strap to the sole.