Once confined to the beach or summer parties, foot jewelry, chains, toe rings, delicate ornaments are breaking free from their bohemian cliché. Worn with minimalist sandals, clogs, or timeless flip-flops, it has become the standout, unexpected detail of this summer season.
A brief history of the ankle bracelet
Delicate finishing touch or star accessory of the summer? The anklet is everywhere and on every leg. While it instantly recalls the 2000s, along with flowing tunics, quirky bags, think Ashley Tisdale’s piano purse or the infamous skirt-over-jeans combo, it’s now making a comeback with surprising versatility.
Beaded, adorned with seashells, dotted with charms, or even set with rhinestones and diamonds (sometimes real ones), the anklet comes in countless variations. On the beach, it delicately dresses the foot, slipped over a flip-flop or sandal. But this season, it’s climbing all the way to the red carpet, earning its place as a true style statement.
Singer Charlotte Cardin recently wore one at an official ceremony, paired with a Jacquemus dress. Her jewelry creations by stylist and designer Veneda Carter restores the anklet’s full value: that of a precious jewel, worthy of a true adornment.
Like bracelets, anklets are perfect for layering. Delicate chains, mixed styles and materials, travel souvenirs or designer pieces, everything works. The goal? To create a personal mix that shifts with your mood. Even back in the city, the wish to hold on to summer remains. The boldest keep wearing anklets as long as they can, sometimes right up until socks take over with the arrival of autumn.
Say yes to the (toe) ring
Long confined to holiday souvenirs: pearly shells, hot sand and flip-flops, the toe ring is undergoing a radical transformation this summer. It’s leaving the shoreline behind to make its way onto city streets, into fashion editorials, and on the runways.
At the origin of this revival there are a few carefully chosen names. Once again Veneda Certer, the stylist and designer with an audacious aesthetic, has turned foot adornment into a new field of expression. In her catalogue, rings and anklets are envisioned as true ornaments: gilded, chunky, gleaming, sometimes all at once. Modern muses like Charlotte Cardin and Kim Kardashian wear them as others wear couture earrings.
Another sign of this style shift: Miami-based concept store Simonett, renowned for its ultra-curated selection, now carries toe rings from Spanish artisanal label Simuero. This summer, the brand has even dedicated an entire collection to the toe. The message is clear: sculptural volumes, oversized stones, unapologetic shine. The effect is such that the shoe becomes almost secondary, a discreet pedestal designed to exalt the accessory. Priorities are reversed: the foot is adorned; the sandal fades away.
But this contemporary eccentricity doesn’t come out of nowhere. In Hindu culture, the toe ring, traditionally worn on the second toe carries a powerful matrimonial meaning. Among the Marwadi of Rajasthan, it is an essential part of the bridal trousseau. Ayurveda also attributes supposed virtues to it: regulating the female cycle, balancing energy, grounding. Here, the jewel is as much a remedy as a symbol, as much a ritual as a style statement.
From ankle to toe, foot jewelry is making a grand comeback. Ever more precious and ever more visible. Far from the clichés of beach trinkets or holiday souvenirs, these adornments are redefining the way we dress the body. They draw the eye where it was least expected, shifting the style’s center of gravity downward and giving the foot an unprecedented role within the silhouette.
The anklet, oscillating between discreet sensuality and bohemian layering, emerges as the natural extension of the summer silhouette, just as easily on the sand as with an evening dress. The toe ring, meanwhile, draws as much from South Asian cultural heritage as from contemporary design.
Once considered secondary ornaments, they are now jewels capable of defining a silhouette on their own. Subtle yet powerful, rooted as much in ancient traditions as in today’s trends, they remind us that in fashion, it is often the detail that makes all the difference.
