Lauren Cardinale, 25, who works at West Glen Communications, wears beaded or other fancy flip-flops to the office when she can get away with it.

"Occasionally I wear flip-flops to work," she said. "I wear nicer shoes if I'm meeting with clients or if I know there will be someone in the office who doesn't approve of flip flops."

Cardinale is one of thousands of young women in New York who consider flip-flops an essential part of their summer wardrobe.

An online survey conducted for retailers Old Navy and Gap found flip-flops topped the list of wardrobe items that college and high school students planned to wear to work this summer.

More than 31 per cent of women said flip-flops were the single "must have" item for work this summer. But many companies disagree.

"The dress code says no beach wear and flip-flops are considered beach wear," said a spokeswoman for BNP Paribas.

Style gurus warn that flip-flops, which are worn mainly by younger women, could be harmful to a career.

"Shoes convey the mood of a woman. Wearing flip-flops conveys the mood that you are relaxed and on vacation. That's not a good message in the office," said Meghan Cleary, a style commentator who wrote the book "The Perfect Fit: What Your Shoes Say About You."

And doctors say it's not just careers they could harm.

Physicians at the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons say flip-flops are linked to a growing number of heel problems among teens and young adults.

"We're seeing more heel pain than ever in patients 15 to 25 years old, a group that usually doesn't have this problem," said spokeswoman Marybeth Crane in a recent statement.

She said flip-flops with thin soles have no arch support and can accentuate abnormal biomechanics in foot motion which eventually brings pain and inflammation.

Flip-flops are far from new, dating back at least 70 years and believed to have developed out of traditional Japanese woven or wooden soled sandals in New Zealand.

The basic flat sole with a Y-shaped strap, that passes between the toes and around either side of the foot, is known in every nation and to every social class.

In developing countries, they are the cheapest and often only form of footwear, easy to make and easy to fit.

The term "flip-flop" derives from the noise they make while slapping against the wearer's heels and the floor but they are also known as thongs in Australia, jandals in New Zealand, and slippers in Hawaii.

(China Daily 07/03/2006 page1)