cycled past British Vogue’s headquarters while heading to a Jurassic Park photocall. I noticed him not because he was a famous actor, but because he was wearing a neon-pink shirt that, when caught in the flash of a lime-green bike, had a sort of retina-burning effect. He, strangely, changed into something far more inconspicuous by the time he met the cameras at the Corinthia Hotel: a full look from The Row’s spring/summer 2025 collection.

Jonathan Bailey at a photocall for Jurassic World Rebirth.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

It was an outfit that could have almost slipped by unnoticed, were it not for the flashback sighting of his grosgrain flip-flops – the same pair that had been dissected by nearly every fashion publication earlier this spring for their supposedly outrageous £670 price tag. The official party line went something like: “The Olsens make expensive clothes! Here are some affordable alternatives you can purchase!” I wouldn’t be surprised if Alexa Chung had been taking notes.

Alexa Chung shopping at Doctor Vintage in Naples.

That is because she was yesterday afternoon spotted vintage shopping in Naples – where she’d been deployed for Max Mara’s Resort 2026 presentation – in a silk minidress anchored to £10 Muji flip-flops. Ie: the exact shoes stylist Kate Hazell offered up as the antidote in this magazine. “The Row has made it acceptable to wear flip-flops with any outfit, in any setting,” she said, adding that Muji’s equally neutral sandals make it easier to get dressed. “The true appeal of the cheap flip-flop is that it lets everything else in your outfit shine.” Not recommended, obviously, for Lime biking around London.