K'Jacques

Saint-Tropez sandal maker since 1933. Leather, crossed straps, made in Saint-Tropez. From fishermen to Bardot without changing the product. EPV since 2011. Family business.

Saint-Tropez, 1933. Jacques opens a small sandal workshop in the port. At the time, Saint-Tropez was not yet Saint-Tropez. It was a fishing village, a quiet port in the Var. Jacques' clients were the locals: fishermen, sailors, inhabitants. The sandals were leather, with crossed straps, inspired by ancient Mediterranean sandals. Simple, solid, made for walking on the quays and beaches.

Then came the 50s. Bardot arrived. Picasso settled in. Movie stars, artists, writers transformed Saint-Tropez into the capital of relaxed glamour. And they all wore the same sandals: Jacques'. The tropeziennes became a uniform, a sign of belonging to the Riviera. K'Jacques went from fisherman to star without changing its product.

The K before Jacques stands for "Chez Jacques" – the Provencal contraction. The company remains family-owned, manufacturing remains in Saint-Tropez. In 2011, K'Jacques obtained the EPV (Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant) label, renewed in 2022. This is official recognition of artisanal know-how.

K'Jacques is not the only tropeziennes sandal maker. Rondini, founded in 1927, is the predecessor and remains more purely artisanal, with a more confidential production. K'Jacques has wider distribution, larger production, and an international presence. It's the tropeziennes you find in Paris, New York, online. Rondini is the tropeziennes you find only in Saint-Tropez.

Prices are around 200-250 euros. It's leather, made in France, a family workshop with an EPV label. For a sandal that lasts through summers, that's fair.