‘Is this satire?’: Aussie fashion trend Americans have just discovered

An American influencer has sent her Aussie followers into a spin after describing a quintessentially bogan wardrobe staple as “chic”.

An American influencer has sent her Aussie followers into a spin after describing a quintessentially bogan wardrobe staple as “chic”.

In a TikTokclip that’s been viewed almost 200,000 times, Californian woman Lauren Maile waxed lyrical about the merits of the humble Havaiana thong, going so far as to deem them “the ultimate summer hack”.

Keep in mind, this a shoe whose wear has been historically relegated to taking out the bins, or avoiding contracting tinea from the floor of a public shower.

“You guys have gotta listen for a secon … .All you need the entire summer is a pair of Havaianas–- and let me give you the reason why,” Ms Maile began.

“Lemme put them on really quick just to show you how cute they are.

“So, first of all, they’re super affordable. They literally range from like $15 to $35 depending on the style you ge … .So, very affordable, number one, which is like the number-one thing.

“Number two: they literally go with every single outfit no matter where you’re headed–-especiallyy if you get, like, a solid pair. They’re very chic, so you can honestly wear them out to dinner–- like, I’m about to head out to dinner and I’m wearing my Havaianas.

“Going to the beach? Havaianas. If you’re going to the farmer’s market and you’re in a cute, little, like, (pair of) baggy Levi’s (jeans), they look so cute with a pair of Havaianas.

“So, I’m trying to save you here, help a girl out, Havaianas are your go-to for the summer.”

An American influencer has sent her Australian followers into a spin after describing a quintessentially bogan wardrobe staple as 'chic'. Picture: TikTok

‘They literally go with every single outfit no matter where you’re headed.’ Picture: TikTok

It goes without saying that Ms Maile’s declaration prompted shock from her viewers down under–- with one questioning whether they’d “woken up in an alternate reality”.

“As an Aussie I cried at you calling Havaianas ‘chic’,” another person commented.

“As an Aussi … .is this satire?” a third asked.

“In Australia you wouldn’t get let in to dinner in a lot of places wearing a pair of Havaianas,” someone else pointed out.

“These are an Aussie staple,” one person wrote.

“‘They literally go with every single outfit’ (says) every bogan for the past 30 odd years (it’s me I’m the bogan),” another joked.

Jennifer Lawrence lifted her Christian Dior dress at Cannes last year to reveal pair of flip flops underneath. Picture: Stephane Cardinale-Corbis/Getty Images

The welcoming of Havaianas into the sartorial fold has been on the horizon for some time–- donned by the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski in glamorous locations incongruous with the shoe’s humble origins.

In a piece for Vogue last year, Daniel Rodgers wrote that the Havaiana “simultaneously evokes freedom (a flip-flop is not so much a shoe as it is the absence of restriction), and an exotic strain of hedonism”.

“It is a shoe for people who want to feel the wind between their toes and to live life unconfined by oppressive straps and buckles and laces,” Rodgers said.

“To hit the pavement in a thong sandal that makes the soles of your feet resemble those of a Victorian street urchin might represent the final luxury: laziness.”