Every summer I go through the same thing. I buy sandals that photograph beautifully, wear them twice, and end up with blisters or a broken strap or that specific kind of disappointment where the shoe looked expensive online and looked exactly like what it cost once I had it in my hands. It’s a predictable cycle and I’m bored of it.
This past spring I made a decision to actually research before buying — not just scroll through search results but genuinely look at what’s getting consistent reviews, what’s being featured by people who actually wear things rather than just photograph them, and what holds up across a full summer of wearing rather than just looking good on day one. I landed on Oasis Society and I want to talk about what I found because it surprised me.
Oasis Society is a California-designed footwear brand that’s been making more noise lately — they’ve been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Marie Claire which I noticed on their site and which, to be fair, can mean anything or nothing depending on the context. What convinced me more than the press mentions was the consistency of the reviews across their styles, specifically the notes about how the shoes feel after a full day of wearing rather than just the first hour.
Available at oasissociety.com (also in Ivory)
The Holland is a block heel raffia mule with pearl details and I realize that description sounds like it could go either direction depending on your taste. On the natural colorway it reads as genuinely summery and considered rather than costume-y — the raffia is textured in a way that looks intentional, the block heel is the right height to add some lift without requiring any particular skill to walk in, and the pearl details are subtle rather than screaming for attention.
I wore these to a garden event and had exactly one person ask me where they were from and two people notice the shoes without saying anything about them, which is the reaction I always want from footwear — present enough to add something, not so loud they’re the whole conversation. The heel held up across a gravel path which I hadn’t anticipated and would normally avoid, and my feet were fine at the end of four hours. That’s the real test for me. Four hours. Anything comfortable for two hours is just a shoe. Four hours on different surfaces means the construction is actually doing its job.
Available at oasissociety.com
The Helena is slightly more casual than the Holland — it’s a strappy block heel sandal rather than a mule, with raffia material and small pearl details on the straps. The open toe and strap construction makes it work better in genuine summer heat than the mule because there’s more air circulation, which matters more than people factor in when buying summer sandals online.
What I like about this alongside the Holland is that they work as a pair in a wardrobe — same material family, same aesthetic, different levels of formality. The Holland is for events and occasions. The Helena is for a regular summer day when you want something that looks like you thought about it without requiring you to think too hard. Both of them are $90-$100 which puts them in that middle range where they’re not throwaway but they’re not precious either — you can actually wear them without being stressed about ruining them.
Available at oasissociety.com (also in Leopard)
The Everlee is the most casual of the three and the most affordable. It’s a flat H-strap sandal in their Rose Garden floral print — small flowers, not overwhelming — and it’s the kind of shoe that handles every low-key summer situation without requiring any thought. Beach day, morning market, casual lunch, errand-heavy day where you still want to look like a person who made an effort. That’s where the Everlee lives and it’s very good at it.
At $60 the expectation is different from a $100 shoe and I want to be honest about that. The construction is not the same level as the block heel styles — the material is lighter, the strap attachment points are simpler. But it’s solid for the price and the floral print is genuinely pretty rather than garish, which is harder to pull off at this price point than it sounds. I’ve had cheap floral sandals that look sad within a month and this doesn’t have that problem so far.
I want to say something about the raffia thing because it’s been everywhere this summer and there’s a reason for it that goes beyond trend-following. Natural materials — raffia, jute, woven grass — read as effortlessly summery in a way that synthetic alternatives genuinely can’t replicate. There’s a warmth and texture to them that works with skin tones, works with the colours people actually wear in summer (linens, cottons, neutrals, brights), and photographs well in natural light without trying.
The problem with raffia shoes historically was durability — the material would fray or lose its shape quickly. The better brands, Oasis Society included, are getting around this by combining raffia with more structural materials underneath — proper soles, reinforced toe boxes, straps that are backed with a more durable material even when the visible surface is woven. It makes the aesthetic work for longer than the original raffia sandal trend, which tended to fall apart after a season.
The pearl detail on both the Holland and the Helena is a specific version of the quiet luxury direction that’s been influencing fashion for a couple of years — not flashy, not obviously branded, just a small elevated detail that makes something look considered. It works on both shoes without being precious. You could wear either of them with jeans and a white t-shirt and they’d elevate the outfit. You could wear them with a sundress to a wedding and they’d fit in perfectly. That kind of flexibility is what makes a shoe worth buying.
Oasis Society ships within the US, offers free shipping on orders over $125, and has a 14-day return policy. The 14 days is shorter than I’d like for sandals specifically — you want to wear them for a day or two before you know whether they work for you — so I’d suggest wearing them on a shorter day first rather than saving them for a big occasion right away.
Sizing runs true to size based on reviews and my own experience — the half-size issue that some brands have isn’t a problem here because they offer half sizes in most styles. If you’re between sizes I’d go true to size for the flat Everlee and true to size or a half size up for the block heel styles depending on your foot width.
The insole on both block heel styles has decent cushioning for the price point — not memory foam, but padded enough that you’re not standing on a thin piece of nothing. The toe box in the Holland is wide enough that my foot doesn’t feel compressed even after a few hours, which is the most common complaint I have about mule styles in general.
The Holland in natural goes with everything I reach for in summer — linen wide leg trousers, midi dresses, denim with a white shirt, cotton co-ords. The natural/pearl combination is genuinely neutral in the way that beige or nude doesn’t always manage, and it doesn’t clash with silver or gold jewellery which means I don’t have to think about matching metals.
The Helena I wear with dresses most of the time. It’s a strappy sandal and it works with hemlines that show the strap detail — mini, midi, anything above the ankle. With trousers it disappears a bit, which isn’t necessarily a problem but means you’re not getting the full effect.
The Everlee I wear on the days when I’m moving around a lot and comfort has to win over everything else. It’s flat, it’s lightweight, and the strap sits comfortably across the top of the foot without needing breaking in. I put these on some mornings and forget I’m wearing shoes, which is always a good sign.
The main one is buying for how sandals photograph rather than how they’ll feel on a different kind of day. A strappy heeled sandal looks extraordinary in a flat-lay. It also, frequently, requires an event where you’ll be sitting more than standing, no gravel, a short to medium walking distance, and ideally a friend willing to carry them for you at some point. If your summer is actually a summer — parks, markets, moving around, multiple hours on your feet — that shoe is not going to serve you well regardless of how it looked in the photo.
The second mistake is not reading the sole description. A thin leather sole on a hard surface is a recipe for aching feet by lunchtime. A rubber or cushioned outsole handles more surface types and lasts longer. Oasis Society’s DreamCloud sole is their branded cushioned outsole — it’s not magic but it’s noticeably better than a flat leather bottom, especially on hard indoor surfaces like restaurant or venue floors.
The third mistake is buying the sale price shoe you’re not quite sure about over the full price shoe you love. Sale price is only a bargain if you actually wear the thing. The $60 Everlee I wear twice a week is a better purchase than the $40 sandal I wore once and donated because I never fully liked it.
The Colette in Rose Garden is on my radar — it’s a pointed-toe block heel in the same floral print as the Everlee and at $90 it’s in the same range as the other block heels I’ve already bought. I’m specifically looking at it for a September wedding I have coming up that’s an outdoor venue and I want something with a bit of heel that won’t sink into the ground. Pointed toe with a broad base heel is usually the answer for outdoor events on grass or gravel. I’ll report back.
The Cathleen in Ivory is also interesting to me for the same event — it’s a raffia wedding slide sandal with pearl details at $70, the bridal version of the aesthetic that the Holland introduced me to. It’s worth knowing Oasis Society has a proper bridal section if you’re shopping for that kind of event, because the options there are genuinely pretty and significantly less expensive than most bridal shoe brands.
Here’s the thing about summer sandals that I’ve eventually made peace with: you need more than one pair and they should be genuinely different from each other. A flat for the days when you’re on your feet all day. A block heel for the days when you want some height but need to be stable. A strappy sandal for evenings and occasions. Three good pairs that cover different situations beats six pairs that all occupy the same function, which is what I used to do before I started thinking about it properly.
The three from Oasis Society above do exactly that — the Everlee is the flat, the Helena is the strappy mid-level option, and the Holland is the block heel occasion shoe. Between those three I’ve handled basically every summer situation I’ve encountered so far without reaching for anything else. That’s not something I say about many brands. It’s worth saying when it’s true.
