Jandals

I have not worn jandals (though have worn my nice sandals) to work yet, but am sorely tempted. As an uptight American, the thought is inconceivable. But I am willing to bet my Kiwi coworkers would not bat an eye at it. You gotta love it.

So, inspired by Ken's recent post enquiring about whether Kiwis wear shorts (which they do at any opportunity, down to 5 celsius even) I decided to post a little bit about the cultural icon that is the Jandal...

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From Wikipedia's link on the topic:

Flip-flops were inspired by the traditional woven soled zori or "Japanese Sandals", (hence "jandals"). Woven Japanese zori had been used as beach wear in New Zealand in the 1930s, (and according to one source, called Jandals then); in the austere immediate post war period in both New Zealand and America versions were briefly popularized by servicemen returning from occupied Japan, but the idea of making them from rubber or plastics, which were relatively new at the time, does not appear to have occurred for another decade. The modern design was invented in Auckland, New Zealand by Maurice Yock in the 50's and patented in 1957.

Despite being commonly used to describe any manufacturer's Jandals, the word Jandal has been a trademark since 1957, for a long time owned by the Skellerup company. At one point a competitor sold Jandels. In countries outside the Pacific, jandals have, for intellectual property reasons, become known by other names, for example thongs in Australia, where the first pair were manufactured by Skellerup rival Dunlop in 1960, or flip-flops (UK and US).

In New Zealand, the phrase "to handle the jandal" is a common idiom. As an example, Ben can't handle the jandal indicates that the subject Ben is incapable of dealing with his particular situation.

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While the jandal is a necessity for intown walking due to the frequency of broken glass on the ground, the truth is that many Kiwis would really rather go barefoot. I am not sure I will ever be able to loosen up enough to go to the supermarket without shoes, but again am tempted. It does not sit well with everyone, however, per this article in the New Zealand Listener.

If you are inclined to own your own pair of trendy New Zealand jandals, here is a link you might be interested in. Or, you can get your butts over here to visit us and we'll take you shopping for some and then hit the beach!!! =)

-William