The Nostalgic Wedge Sandal Is Officially a Summer Shoe Trend (Again)

The aughts-era shoe trend was due for a comeback.

An image of the celebrity front row at Chloe Fall 2024, a model wearing wedge sandals in Ferragamo's Spring 2024 show, and two women wearing wedge sandals while walking
(Image credit: Lauren Menowitz/startraksphoto.com/Getty Images/Launchmetrics)

The wedge sandal is a powerful shoe, both because of its hefty, chock-shaped heel and the nostalgia that comes with it. The chunky style takes you back to clomping around in the aughts wearing your best wedge sandals—likely a comfy cork style or a bohemian summer espadrille that announces your arrival. In yet another demonstration of its fashion prowess, the wedge sandal has again become a pivotal summer 2024 accessory trend.

The platform's revival can be traced back to the celeb-studded front row of Chloé's Fall 2024 show this past February—starring actresses Sienna Miller and Kiernan Shipka, British It girl Georgia May Jagger, and veteran supermodel Pat Cleveland, who unanimously sported identical open-toe wooden wedges that nod back to the designer's bohemian spirited past. Set on a mammoth mahogany platform with scribbles of arrow-pierced hearts and "I love you"s, Chloé's Maximime platforms are audacious, romantic, and softly '70s—the designer wedge at its very best.

US born British actress Sienna Miller, US actress Kiernan Shipka and British-US model Georgia May Jagger and her mother US actress and model Jerry Hall sit ahead of the presentation of creations by Chloe for the Women Ready-to-wear Fall-Winter 2024/2025 collection as part of the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris on February 29, 2024.

Sienna Miller, Kiernan Shipka, Georgia May Jagger, and Jerry Hall sitting front row at Chloé's Fall 2024 show.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

A TikTok shared by Vogue France chronicling the coordinating FROW moment amassed over three million views, with commenters rejoicing in the wedge sandal's return to fashion's limelight. Replies like, "I can pull mine back out of the closet now?!?! Yeah!!" and "YES!! I'm a wedge girl through and through" flooded the publication's video comment section, indicating a longtime craving for the chunky shoe's comeback.

Sienna Miller attends the Chloé Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on February 29, 2024 in Paris, France.

Sienna Miller wearing Chloé's Maxime Wedge sandal at the fashion house's Fall 2024 show during Paris Fashion Week on February 29, 2024.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Though Chloé's A-list guests and sentimental TikTok commentators are not the only ones who adore the hefty heel, Katie Holmes repeatedly takes the wedge sandal trend out on her signature strolls throughout downtown Manhattan. This March, the star wore a classic rope espadrille by Franco Sarto that boasts an amenable price tag of $115 (Holmes is, after all, a famed fan of affordable basics). Then, in early June, she slipped into a black cross-strap and croc-embossed wedge sandal from Holmes's collection with A.P.C., named the Juliette.

Katie Holmes wearing Franco Sarto's Clemens Wedge Sandal with black trousers and a tan crewneck sweater earlier this spring.

Katie Holmes wearing Franco Sarto's Clemens Wedge Sandal in black and tan earlier this spring.

(Image credit: Lauren Menowitz/startraksphoto.com)

Just as Holmes's wedge sandals span across the style spectrum, 2024’s wedge sandal trend caters to an assortment of aesthetics, ranging from '70s-era bohème to think and strappy kitten heels set on a 45-degree angle.

Ferragamo sells sculptural, slanted, and T-strap heels in a nod to the fashion house’s founder, Salvatore Ferragamo, whose Sardinian cork wedges are widely credited with bringing the shoe into fashion's mainstream circa 1930's. Meanwhile, Khaite offers a mesh iteration of its cult-favorite Marion mule, and Christian Dior has espadrille wedges with lace-up gladiator straps that combine two 2010s fashion trends in one shoe—what a bargain!

A guest wears dress with snake print, black bag, heels outside Alaia on July 02, 2023 in Paris, France.

A Fashion Week show-goer wears Alaïa's architectural wooden wedges, which are another favorite amongst the style set.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

As New York Times chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman wrote in her review of Chloé’s recent runway, “Get ready to wear a lot of wedges again.” It's official—the wedge sandal is back with a bang.

Shop the Wedge Sandal Trend

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Emma Childs
Fashion Features Editor

Emma is the fashion features editor at Marie Claire, where she writes deep-dive trend reports, zeitgeisty fashion featurettes on what style tastemakers are wearing, long-form profiles on emerging designers and the names to know, and human interest vignette-style round-ups. Previously, she was Marie Claire's style editor, where she wrote shopping e-commerce guides and seasonal trend reports, assisted with the market for fashion photo shoots, and assigned and edited fashion celebrity news.

Emma also wrote for The Zoe Report, Editorialist, Elite Daily, Bustle, and Mission Magazine. She studied Fashion Studies and New Media at Fordham University Lincoln Center and launched her own magazine, Childs Play Magazine, in 2015 as a creative pastime. When she's not waxing poetic about niche fashion topics, you'll find her stalking eBay for designer vintage, reading literary fiction on her Kindle, and baking banana bread in her tiny NYC kitchen.