Being summer and all that in the southern hemisphere I figured I should finish up the year with a small homage to summer clothes, Kiwi bloke style. Disclaimer: I have none of these in my own wardrobe.
1. Walk shorts.
Style: Short trousers for men, same style as a business suit but stopping mid-thigh.
Accompanied by: Long socks, pulled up to knee height, with open-toed leather (‘Roman’) sandals.
Used as: Business attire.
Where seen: Napier, a lot.
Cringe factor: High.
2. Jandals
Style: Rubber soles with a double strap sweeping back from a vertical rubber pillar gripped firmly between the big and second toes on each foot, Japanese sandal style.
Used as: Business attire, home-wear, on beaches, and absolutely everywhere at all times in summer.
Where jandals aren’t used: It’s illegal to drive a vehicle when wearing them.
Origin of name: Corruption of ‘Japanese Sandals’.
Most common action when wearing: Stubbing own toes while trying to winkle the jandal back into place under the foot.
Cringe factor: Zero. These things are cool.
3. Stubbies
Style: Ultra-short shorts for men, typically offered in brown or, alternatively, brown.
When popular: 1973. Other things also popular the same year included the Bay City Rollers, Agent Orange and asbestos.
Availability: Mercifully, none.
Cultural place: Iconic, but only for the horror value.
Cringe factor: Infinity.
And here’s a homage to them, inside an advert for another piece of Kiwiana, voiced by Jermaine Clement from ‘Flight of the Conchords’:
Copyright © Matthew Wright 2018
This New Year baby doesn’t have any of these either! Have a good time, Matthew!

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Agree with you on stubbies, but walk shorts can look fine. Maybe it’s those knee socks. And jandals used to be called “thongs” when I was a kid, decades ago. They were popular with mothers as summer footwear for kids, being cheap. Now “thongs” are a kind of underwear, and the rubber sandals are called “flip-flops.” They seem to be universally popular here now, and not just in summer.
Happy New Year!
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Yes, there’s nothing unique about New Zealand jandals other than the name we give them! The US vs Canada/NZ difference in the meaning of ‘thong’ as a garment or shoe seems to hold all kinds of hilarious and absurd possibilities. All the best for a great New Year and here’s to a wonderful 2018!
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Happy New Year, Matthew!
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