The bare sandal is the shoe that looks like nothing, and getting it right is harder than it sounds. With almost no upper, everything depends on where the straps fall and how the footbed is shaped. A strap in the wrong place cuts across the widest part of the foot and the shoe looks and feels wrong regardless of price.

The flat version is the one that gets worn most. It is the shoe for a long day on hot ground and the only category here that goes from morning to evening without comment.

The eight here run $200 to $845, which is the widest price band in this edit. A.Emery's Kinto at $200 and STAUD's Carrie at $295 are the accessible end and both are plain leather. Toteme's T-strap is $620 and Khaite's Archer thong is $780. Valentino Garavani's Rockstud thong at $750 and Christopher Esber's Aura Quartz at $745 are the decorated pair. Alexandre Birman's Giulietta is $595 and Gianvito Rossi's Gwyneth at $845 is the most expensive thing in this edit.

A heeled sandal on holiday has to clear a specific bar, which is that you can walk in it on ground that is not flat. That rules out most of what the category offers and leaves kitten heels, low blocks and wedges.

The wedge is the underrated answer. It gives height with a continuous sole, so the weight spreads and the heel does not sink into grass or slip between deck boards. It has an unfashionable reputation and it is the shoe that actually works.

The eight here run $375 to $590. STAUD's Flynn kitten heel at $375 and Britt Netta's Seline mesh kitten at $425 are the lowest and the easiest to walk in. Studio Amelia's Wishbone is $410 and Aeyde's Zelia snake-printed is $500. SIMKHAI's Hazel thong wedge at $495 and LUCASHEVA's Audokia mesh wedge at $548 are the two wedges and the two most stable shoes here. Cult Gaia's Abi is $558 and Toteme's satin slingback at $590 is the dressiest and the least suited to a garden.

Slides and mules are the shoes you actually wear most on a trip, because they go on without bending down and come off at a door without a thought. The backless construction is the whole point and also the limitation. Nothing holds the heel, so anything involving stairs or speed is unpleasant.

The useful distinction is sole thickness. A thick moulded sole handles hot ground and rough paving without complaint. A thin leather sole is more elegant to look at and transmits every stone underneath it.

The eight here run $258 to $795. Marc Jacobs' Daisy leather slide at $258 and Amiri's MA Quad pool slide at $290 are the two that can get wet. St. Agni's Opanka slide is also $290. Black Suede Studio's Analisa eel-printed mules are $300. Stuart Weitzman's Lotus crochet slide at $650 and Dries Van Noten's suede sneaker mules at $560 are the more structured options. Gucci's GG canvas Siaga is $770 and Dolce and Gabbana's 40mm cutout leather slide at $795 tops the range.