Flip Flop Style Sandals with Interchangeable/Removable Decorative Strand or Jewelry Adorned Uppers

Abstract

A flip-flop style sandal with interchangeable decorative strand or jewelry-adorned uppers comprises a sole with attached foot retaining strap. A set of a plurality of fastening faces is provided, which include an upper fastener receiver side, i.e., male snap fastener, which is coupled with the top face of the foot-retaining strap, extending the upper receiver side. A decorative strand accessory is provided. The decorative strand is made of a string ornamented or decorated between a plurality of fastening faces. Individual fastening faces on the strand have an upper flat side and a lower fastener receiver side, i.e., female snap fastener. The lower fastener receiver side on the decorative strand is adapted to releasably couple with the upper fastener receiver side of the fastener faces connected to the foot-retaining strap. The decorative strand accessory fastener faces, and the fastener faces connected with the foot-retaining strap are coextensive in spacing.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1—Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of footwear and more particularly to footwear that can be modified by the wearer.[0002]2—Description of Prior Art[0003]The use of footwear of known designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, footwear of known designs and configurations previously devised and utilized for the purpose of selectively changing the appearance of apparel through conventional methods and apparatuses are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.[0004]By way of example U.S. Pat. No. 7,200,959 to Spann discloses a modifiable footwear invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,612 to Ransbottom discloses an ornamental attachment for a shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,896 discloses a convertible ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]It is one object of the present invention to overcome the difficulty of providing a type of shoe that can be easily and simply changed to match the accessories worn by the wearer. These accessories such as a necklace or bracelet may have strings or ornaments such as beads made of a variety of materials apart from woven fabrications. Such materials may include wood, pearls, gemstones, metal, glass, resins or plastics. The object of the present invention would be to allow such common jewelry design materials easy attachment and removal from the retaining strap of the shoe.

[0013]Another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe of the aforesaid type, which is simple in construction and contains a minimal plurality of connection points between the ornamented strings and the retaining strap. By using a minimal plurality of fastening faces, a section of ornamental materials to be placed within space on a strand separated from the foot-retaining strap but connected by coextensively spaced fastening faces on both the strand and the foot-retaining strap.

[0014]The present invention also allows a single pair of shoes to convert to appear to be many different shoes utilizing varying colors and materials to accomplish this. Further, the sandals would simplify outfit coordination, free up storage space, ease and lessen the expense of packing for travel, allow group customization / branding with appropriate colors (such as for schools or dance teams, allowing one pair of shoes to transition, thus matching different required attire, while substantially decreasing investment, etc). It would allow a bride shoes that could be transitioned easily and therefore utilized for additional occasions after the wedding. Because purchasing a single ornamental upper that effectively converts the decorative sandal into a different style to match a different outfit without the cost of purchasing an entirely different shoe, the wearer can effectively match their shoes to a larger wardrobe without incurring the cost of purchasing multiple pairs of other entire shoe sets.

[0015]In addition, because all adult straps fit all related adult shoe sizes, and all children straps fit all related sizes of children shoes, a consumer can simply replace the shoe portion once it has worn out or been grown out of, without incurring the cost of purchasing an entire shoe set in multiple pairs of other footwear because the interchangeable tops will accommodate all sizes of relative replacement shoes. Similarly as the sole of the shoe wears down, the present invention allows the wearer to purchase new shoes comprising of only a sole and a foot retaining strap that will releasably engage with previously purchased ornamental strand uppers without incurring the cost of purchasing multiple complete shoe sets year-after-year.

[0016]Another object of the present invention would be to allow individuals to store a single shoe and a plurality of uppers in a much smaller space than would be required for the same number of entire shoe sets.

Problems solved by technology

While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a decorative strand accessory that allows providing a plurality of interchangeable ornamented strings by a minimal plurality of fastening faces such as spaced snaps for the foot retaining straps of sandals.

While some shoes may easily match a purse or belt, few allow an ability to match additional accessories such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces, etc.

Having such a variety and collection of footwear is expensive.

Investing in footwear for special occasions or requirements is largely expensive and wasteful.

Additionally, having numerous footwear options is also bulky and requires a great deal of storage space.

Airports now have restrictions on the pieces of luggage and the weight of that luggage, making it difficult and unaffordable to pack multiple pairs of shoes that serve the purpose of matching attire.

Children grow quickly out of footwear and all components of normal footwear are no longer useable when a child no longer fits into the shoe.

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