TKEES Flip Flops Review: Are These Sandals A Flop?

It’s never crossed my mind to spend more than $26 on a pair of flip flops. Rubber Havaianas do the trick and last for years…

But then I saw two pictures of Kate Moss in the 90’s and decided that I needed a pair of leather flip flops.

TKEES Sandals Review ft. Sizing TIps!

My sister has seven pairs of the same TKEES in her closet. She hoards them because she’s scared that they’re going to stop making them.

With her vote of obsession and those Kate Moss photos on my mind, I decided to give these $50 USD flip flops a try.

90's Kate Moss in flip flops

I bought TKEES Liners flip flops in Sable/black and TKEES Gemma slides in Coconut Cream/white.

Let’s review these sandals’ details…


TKEES SIZING

For comparison, my other shoe sizes run:
-Adidas Stan Smiths, US 8
Chanel Shoes, FR 39
Christian Louboutin, IT/EU 39.5
Golden Goose, IT/EU 39
Hermès, FR 39
Isabel Marant, FR 39-40
-Nikes, US 8.5
Repetto, FR 39.5

Liners (or Foundation) Flip Flops

My first pair of Tkees Liner Flip Flops were a size US 8… the US size 8 were a pinch small, but they did the job.

When I got my replacement pair (more on that in a second), I sized up to a size US 9.

Tkees flip flop sizing

For Tkees flip flops, I’d recommend sizing up if you’re between sizes.

Alex Sandals

My Tkees Alex Sandals are a US 9.

Tkees Alex sandals sizing

For slide sandals, I’d recommend sizing either up or down if you’re between sizes.

My Gemmas in a size US 8 fit fine, but as you can see, the US 9 gives me more space.

Gemma Sandals

My Tkees Gemma Sandals are a US 8.

Tkees sandals sizing

Due to the fact that they’re slip on and don’t have a thong that your foot has to meet, a size down fits just fine in these sandals.

TKEES sizing

TKEES QUALITY

I assumed that my sister goes through so many pairs because she wears them in ridiculously strenuous situations (i.e, coastal hikes to waterfalls). Recently though, she confessed that her TKEES (the Foundations Glosses in “Coco Butter”) break relatively easily, even when she isn’t wearing them hiking (note: do not wear flip flops during strenuous activities)… although she does wear them every day.

My Liner flip flops were worn for ~a month.

During that month, they were worn during light/normal activities (i.e. walking to/from the car, to the grocery store, to the mall — you know, regular normal light errands).

until, one day, I was sitting on the bus, tapping my foot to “Despacito” (how can you not lightly tap your foot to that “Dessssspacito” part?), and all of the sudden, the thong strap snapped.

TKEES flip flop quality

As luck would have it, I had my Chanel flats with me… but if I hadn’t, I would have been hoofing it barefoot.

However, TKEES flip flops apparently have a one year warranty against manufacturing defects. It’s unbeknownst to me if my sandals were part of a manufacturing defect or if that’s just the way they are. After my sister’s recent “they break frequently” confession, the jury’s still out.

… whatever the case may be, TKEES sent me a replacement pair of Liner flip flops after reading this review.

I’ve had better luck with my Gemma slides though. While some sand from the beach has scratched off bits of the white leather, none of the straps have snapped.

TKEES Flip Flops Sizing

… basically though, TKEES should not get wet or sandy and (obviously) should not be worn under extreme conditions, i.e, on coastal hikes to waterfalls.


Interested in How to Style Flip Flops?

How to style flip flops fashionably

PROS & CONS

Pros
Light Weight & Non Bulky
No Shoe Box: TKEES packs their flip flops in a material dust bag. It makes it convenient to throw ’em in your suitcase.

Cons
Hit or Miss Quality
Not Totally Waterproof: Getting your TKEES more than moderately wet will loosen the glue & cause the sole to split… also, the dye will transfer onto your toes.
Not Totally Sandproof: Wearing TKEES in the sand will run the risk of rubbing off bits of the leather’s colour…


TKEES flip flops

While these sandals offered a solution to my fashionable flip flop dilemma, they do not solve my fashionable good quality flip flop problems.

My sister still swears by her TKEES flip flops, even though they regularly break, but I’ll just keep searching for a pair of sandals that fits the bill.

If you have any questions about how hard I was walking or if you’re still considering them and want to ask about sizing, let me know in the comments below…

If I haven’t flipped the light off on your want for TKEES, you can find them at a wide range of retailers…

Note: newinspired uses affiliate links which costs you nothing… but means a lot to me. When you use these links, the money newinspired earns gets reinvested in blog content. Absolutely nothing on newinspired is “gifted,” I purchase each item with my own money. Affiliate commissions are used to purchase new items to honestly & thoroughly review. If you found this review helpful, consider using them to support newinspired.

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TIPS
Shopbop has a bi-annual 15-25% off everything sale in the early Spring & Fall. This is a great time to save on basics like TKEES.
-Revolve’s 10% discount for new list subscribers is also a good way to save $5 on these sandals.

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2 responses to “TKEES Flip Flops Review: Are These Sandals A Flop?”

  1. I have just one ❓
    Who in they’re right mind would wear leather shoes like these in sand, near water or hiking?
    So I don’t consider this review of any value.

    • Well, docjeun, I fully agree with you re: hiking (my sister was a real impractical loon to do that).
      … I don’t know about you, but I like to wear flip flop sandals when I go to the beach, in the sand, near water.

      For what it’s worth, I barely wore my Liner sandals when I was in suburbia and San Francisco, and that’s when they initially snapped.

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