Rainbow Sandals
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Rainbow Sandals Inc. was established in 1974 in San Clemente, California by Jay "Sparky" Longley. The company specializes in men's and women's leather, hemp, and rubber flip-flops.
When Longley first started making sandals, he was assembling 15 pairs per day out of leather and Malaysian rubber in the garage of his Laguna Beach home. The company eventually relocated to San Clemente and began manufacturing 1,200 pairs of sandals a day. Since 2002, the majority of the sandals have been produced in China.
Once sold exclusively in California, Rainbow has grown to become one of the top three best-selling brands of sandals in the United States, along with competitors Reef and Teva. Rainbows are generally regarded as high-end flip-flops (as opposed to ordinary foam rubber ones) due to their construction with a leather thong and footbed, with many pairs costing around $40. Coincidentally, there are only two full Rainbow Sandals stores in the US currently, one in Los Angeles and one in New York City. You can also purchase the sandals from the San Clemente warehouse store and online, as well as in various clothing outlets such as Urban Outfitters, Pac Sun, and Journeys.
[edit] Breaking Them In
Unlike most consumer sandals, rainbows have built-in arch support and mold to the wearer's individual foot shape. Rainbow officially recommends a number of procedures to "break them in", as some first time users may find that the straps are too tight, or the toe piece is too far back. These include getting them wet and wearing them wet in order to make the materials more supple to mold to the wearer's feet, as the sandals were originally designed for surfers and longboarders. They also recommend you physically stretch the straps by hand and/or place a round object, such as a water bottle, under the straps at night. Many others also suggest that when wet the leather in the sandals will stretch and mold to your feet faster More tips are available at: inmyflops.com[1]
