Sand and Booze in Your Shoes

As April showers wane and spring becomes summer, much of Washington looks toward the shore for respite from city life. Just a few hours (and one long bridge) separate us from Ocean City, Md., home of crabs, boardwalk fries and recently-transplanted Fractured Prune donuts. Local Ocean City businessmen, unwilling to rest on these laurels, have begun stocking the ideal summertime accessory: the flask/flip flop hybrid. WUSA told us about it last night, but the shoe has been on the market for a few months.

The flip flops, made by Reef and dubbed the Dram, hold 3 oz. of liquid in the heels through the miracle of a "polyurethane encapsulated canteen... with screw cap". The owner of Ocean City's Endless Summer Surf Shop -- which carries the shoes -- Bobby "Salty" Selt, says the Dram doesn't necessarily have to house alcohol. "When you're surfing, right after you get out of the water you're always thirsty. So if you have a Coke, Pepsi, or Gatorade you can put it in the flip flop. I mean, what's more convenient than that?" Selt added that the shoe compliments existing Reef styles, which include a bottle opener or hidden pocket for money in the sole.

We're not certain what Reef expects wearers to transport, but the sandal is adorned with a picture of a shaker and the word dram has long been legally and culturally associated with the consumption of alcohol. To wit, it's unlikely you've ever been offered Gatorade from a flask.

Obviously DCist is brimming with questions about this innovation on a stalwart style. If you're driving back from the beach with fully-loaded flip flops, do they count as open containers? Will co-eds abandon their Nalgene bottles in favor of a covert mid-lecture pick-me-up? Will Hollywood party girls sport the sandals in LA hot spots? Do they come in my size?

Photo by Flickr user WinVictorious.