Embracing Thailand’s Shoes-Off Culture
I can count on my hand the number of times I wore closed-toed shoes since I relocated to Thailand. After the first few times, I switched to flip flops entirely, as most of the places we go to expect visitors to take their shoes off. Even venues like shops, café, yoga studios, and nail salons expect customers to leave their shops at the entrance. However, flip flops are hardly made for walking for long distances. The sandals I brought with me from Hong Kong are mostly with heels or look too similar to the shoes backpackers like. While in Thailand clothes shopping, I had been on a quest to find a pair of good-looking sandals that were easy to put on and slip off. At the same time, they needed to be weather-proof to endure the hard-core rainy season here in the country I now call home.
It took more than a year until I stumbled across Marmoris on Instagram and found the perfect solution.
What does Marmoris mean?
The Marmoris brand representative shared the following:
“Marmoris (in Latin) means the shining surface of the ocean, which reflects the real beauty of an individual that will shine or reveal themselves when the right time comes. Sometimes, we revert back to being kids, where we were able to enjoy and dress in something that truly represents who we are and want to be. This is the energy that Marmoris would like to bring to our individual customers.”
Love at First Step
What convinced me to buy another (few) pairs of Marmoris sandals were the very first step I took after slipping into my first pair of them. My feet immediately gave a sigh of relief from how comfortable it felt and the cushioning sensation the soles gave, even though they weren’t thick like a pair of trainers. I was super pleasantly surprised that the woven straps did not cause any blisters nor discomfort after a full day of walking! That was the first concern I had when I ordered them online. I was drawn by its looks, to be honest, and since the retail was very reasonable— a bit shy of THB 600. Yes, you read it right. They’re less expensive than a pair of Havaianas! Which gives me foot ache if I walk in them for a bit more than 30 minutes.
After testing the sandals for a while, I can assure you that Marmoris sandals are made for walking, the seaside, as well as adventures.
Handmade and Handwoven with Love
There are 4 primary collections of Marmoris sandals differentiated by the strap patterns, namely: Explore, Slingwind, Seaside and Autumn.
I particularly love the Seaside collection because of their vibrant colours, as well as their stylistic combination of sun, sea and the beach. Marmoris uses only poly cotton and nylon yarn to produce the rope. The poly cotton makes the rope softer while nylon helps increase the rope’s flexibility. Those make Marmoris stand out and superior to their competition.
The Dream Team for the Perfect Sole
Every Marmoris collection uses the same soles, made of vegan leather and rubber. Rubber is a part of functional accessories in many industries, for example, automotive, manufacturing, and air conditioning. Marmoris acquires these recycled materials when they expire and mix them with natural rubber to produce the comfortable insoles of their sandals. They have applied techniques and science to the insoles and soles of the sandals to make their products comfortable even for long walk and all-day activities.
The gorgeous straps with various patterns and wears are hand-woven by local artisans in Thailand. The little difference of woven rope and details is the real beauty of handmade technique. The brand believes that being handmade can tailor the fitting better than machine weaving. So, every pair of Marmoris sandals is one-of-a-kind!
Already Ventured Overseas Yet to Grow Roots in Thailand
I never saw any shop carrying Marmoris while I was in Thailand clothes shopping; so I asked the brand if I have missed any retailers carrying their beautiful products.
“We do have a few retailers abroad such as in Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Australia. We also have online retailers in Japan like Rakuten. We are planning to open a flagship store in Bangkok since we have lots of followers especially from abroad who would like to see and try on our products in person when they come to Thailand.”
Well, I cannot wait for them to be everywhere in Thailand as I believe they are one of the must-buy items for visitors. Owning both Havaianas and Marmoris, I can tell you for certainty that Marmoris are what I would recommend to my friends from now on when they are about to spend money on another pair of the Brazilian flippy floppy.
