An example of Zen simplicty run amok, flip-flops have taken an ancient Asian slipper and put them on beach feet as a Design and Business Classic.

When it comes to footwear, what could be simpler than a flat sheet of rubber or plastic with a V-shaped thong? Flip-flops are a tribute to minimalism.

This popular summer sandal fulfills its purpose in the most practical and unpretentious way. It protects the soles, lets the feet breathe naturally without sweating, and can be worn in water or on land..

The forerunner of flip-flops can be traced back to Asia, where zori sandals have been worn in Japan for well over twelve hundred years. Easy to slip on and off, zoris suited the Japanese custom of removing one's shoes before entering a home. Traditional Japanese zoris are made from tightly woven straw or reeds with a cloth thong and worn with a cotton tabi, a "mitten-like" sock with the big toe separated from the other toes, matching exactly how the toes are divided by the thong.

The thousands of Japanese who immigrated to Hawaii at the start of the twentieth century to work in the sugar cane fields introduced the tropical island to this style of footwear. Hawaiians still refer to flip-flops as zoris or "slippahs" (a Japan-ized term for slippers).

But it wasn't until zoris were produced from rubber or plastic after World War II that they found mass appeal in the U.S. Some sources suggest that the idea to use rubber instead of straw came from Japanese soldiers posted in the steaming jungle who improvised using old tire casings for the soles. Commercial possibilities as beach wear began to be realized in the 1950s, when such rubber sandals were playfully named "flip-flops" and produced in flamboyant colors to appeal to the youth market. Cheap, casual and convenient, flip-flops quickly caught on with surfers and vacation crowds. Today flip-flops are a ubiquitous sign of summer.