Ms Maud O’Keeffe, Mr P. footwear design manager

Caesar was ambitious, and he wore sandals. What did the Romans ever do for us? Well, the rather useful roads, aqueducts, baths – none of which they could have done without wearing sandals. Their legions bestrode the empire bringing civilisation, much of it imported from the sandal-wearing Greeks, who in turn borrowed them from the ancient Egyptians. In today’s office, the sandal, which was once the summer choice for women, is now just as acceptable for all genders. If the ancients wore them to work, then 2022 man certainly can.

Not since the Flintstones has a choice of footwear been so debated and created such a storm, mainly from the objection to hairy claws peeping over the straps of a Birkenstock. My advice: keep your toenails super short and clean and moisturise your feet before bed to avoid the gnarly look.

Closed-toe sandals are more slipper-like, but for many men who prefer to hide their manly toes, they are the only option. Try not to leave them under your desk and wander round the office barefoot. This behaviour deserves a rap on the toe knuckles.

Invest in a pair of good-quality sandals that can withstand city street walks to work and have ergonomic footbeds with a good-quality weight-bearing recycled Vibram sole. Suede can be a more comfortable option. This season’s colour palette of subtle pastels can be worn for beach weddings and parties as well as to the office.

I like sandals with and without socks, although I probably prefer with, as in the Japanese vibe, the retro 1970s geography teacher look and the most recent version in the normcore aesthetic. Go for bright, block colours or chunky-knit socks.

My father, who was 6ft 5in and a demon hurling player, always wore sandals with socks. It would have taken a bold man to question his style choice. It’s another reason why I like this combination.

However, I do believe there should be an annual start and stop date for sandal wearing to the office, perhaps when the clocks go back and forward, wearing sandals in line with Greenwich Mean Time.

Sandals, mules, slides or mandals – call them what you will – can be worn in the office with anything as long as your company rules are fluid. Let’s not get this muddled, though. I would request that you avoid wearing flip-flops of any kind to the office and there are some places you really should not wear a sandal at all: funerals, foundries, on military exercises, skiing, professional kitchens and especially when receiving your OBE from the Queen.

Mr Rob Nowill, Content Director

There’s a 2010 episode of the American sitcom 30 Rock in which Liz Lemon, the show’s protagonist, defends her unwillingness to go barefoot. “I’ll have you know,” she says, “that I wore sandals this summer. Over socks. In a dream.”

I can relate. Open-toed shoes are anathema to me. I have been known to wear a pair of socks on the beach. So, a caveat to my side of this debate: I might be the freak here.

But I’d argue that in keeping my feet firmly laced into sneakers, I’m performing a public service. Even the most buffed, treated, manicured and moisturised of men’s feet tend to look a little ungainly and most men (myself included) stand atop a pair of hairy, hammer-toed monstrosities.

On a summer holiday, at the beach, or sitting poolside, I can excuse it. Holidays are, if nothing else, a fine excuse to let standards slide. Anywhere else, though, and all bets are off. I am not especially prim about office attire – I wear a baseball cap and sneakers almost every working day – but there’s something inherently unsettling about seeing an exposed toe on the morning commute. And I can’t be the only one with an aversion to the sound of a sandal thwacking against a heel.

They’re impractical, too, for anything beyond a gentle saunter down to the deckchairs. I remember one particularly fraught former assistant who, while running for the bus in a pair of rope-tied sandals, reached the stop just in time to notice that his left shoe had fallen off halfway up the road.

I get that when the weather is pleasant, the prospect of wedging your feet into uncomfortably laced shoes can be unappealing and uncomfortable. But there’s never been a better time for summer footwear. Gucci’s backless leather loafers and Bottega Veneta’s slingback rubber clogs both boomed over lockdown, thanks to their slouchy, slipper-adjacent style that still feels considered. Elsewhere, that 1980s stalwart, the deck shoe, is enjoying a revival. Vinny’s heavy-soled mock-croc pair feels less restrictive than a “smart” shoe, but retain a satisfying heft.

The combination of socks with sandals, too, has been reframed in the past few years, and does manage to make a sandal look a little smarter (as long as the sock choice is well-considered – a thicker weave is better, as are patterns, prints and unexpected colours, and it should go without saying, no holes). Besides, if the weather is really great, shorts just look better with socks. There’s something about a ballooning short leg that can make even the most well-toned ankles look rather spindly.

Above all, it is a matter of everything in its rightful place. The joy of a sandal should be in what it signifies when you wear it – that you’re off-duty, away from emails with the Out Of Office switched on. Where’s the fun in that, if you’re wearing the same pair that you’ve taken up and down the Tube platform?