A jelly sandal looks like it should cost nine dollars at a chain store. A mesh flat looks like it should fall apart. A rubber shoe looks like beachwear. Somehow, all three materials have found their way into legitimate fashion, worn by people who do not have questionable taste. The trick is understanding that these materials read differently depending on price point and execution. A fifty-dollar jelly sandal from a fast fashion store reads as exactly that. A six-hundred-dollar jelly sandal from a designer reads like a deliberate statement. Below are the versions that actually work because they are made well and styled with intention.

Veronica Beard's Clea and Maris jelly sandals read as luxe and expensive because the construction is intentional and precise and the brand carries significant weight and authority. Cult Gaia's Mahina sandal in clear bauble reads as a true statement piece rather than mere beachwear or budget-looking material. Anine Bing's Isla slides in sea foam are refined enough that the rubber material does not read as cheap or disposable to observers. These pieces work because you are paying for a designer's thoughtful decision to use these unexpected materials.

A mesh flat does not sound like it should work at all, but Veronica Beard's Bancroft mesh flat and her Prilla woven loafer prove it can work beautifully when styled just right. Mansur Gavriel's dream ballerina in raffia and Sperry's gold cup authentic original are unexpected material choices that read beautiful and intentional. These work because the designer chose good proportion and good shape, and the unexpected material becomes part of the overall appeal. Craftsmanship transforms the material entirely into something truly desirable and special.

Cheap-looking materials can read luxe if the execution is good and you pair them with pieces that read intentional. A mesh flat worn with St. Agni's stretch silk dress or Ulla Johnson's Sabrina silk dress or Staud's Angelique linen suddenly reads like the whole outfit was styled as one piece. If you take one thing away, it is that the material is only cheap-looking if everything else looks cheap too. Pair an unexpected shoe with an expensive, well-cut garment and suddenly the shoe reads luxe by association.