Whether with stones or studs, bejeweled flip-flops can spruce up any outfit while still maintaining comfortability as you take on your daily activities in the summer heat.
You’ve seen Kim Kardashian and Miranda Kerr pair them with maxi dresses, Keira Knightley with a summer dress, and Jessica Alba and Hayden Panettiere with skinny jeans. That just goes to show how versatile everyday pairs of flip-flops can be when you add some pizzazz.
For Allison Angbetic, owner of Bejeweled by Allison—the first and only distributor of such pairs in the Philippines—it was love at first sight when she laid eyes on the blinged Havaianas from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“The first time I saw the flip-flops through photos, my heart skipped a beat! I knew this would be a winning product to sell. At the same time, I was really looking for a different business as my food business didn’t have the usual demand it had during the lockdown,” she shared.
All pairs are original Havaianas with handstitched Thai acrylic rhinestones. Each style comes in only 20 pairs, adding to the exclusive feel of the product. The slippers or “Chanel-as,” as Allison playfully calls them, come in sizes 4 to 10 (US). The stones, color patterns and threading are handpicked by Bejeweled by Allison, and then brought to life by expert craftswomen in Brazil who have been doing this for quite some time.
While they are durable enough for beach and shopping trips, dinner dates or girls’ night, Allison does not recommend dipping them too long in sea water. “I tested and wore mine to the beach and I personally do not recommend immersion due to the silk thread that is used in wrapping the metal pieces on. Silk tends to loosen as it comes in contact with water,” she explained. For easy cleanup, just apply a small amount of hand soap or dish detergent and dry them properly before storing them.
Because the sourcing of stones and the shipping can take a while, orders are placed each month with a seasonal line for that month.
“Once a design is sold out, it’s retired. If it was a hot seller, we might revisit that design at a later date,” Allison said.
This may be a first in the country but the business has been operational for four years starting in Florida and South Carolina, catering mostly to beach towns. Miami and New York followed suit.
Bejeweled by Allison also supplies to small boutiques in California and North Carolina. To check out more of its designs, follow its social media pages: @bejeweled_by_allison on Facebook and Instagram.