Wonder from down under

In my opinion, one of the most underrated shoe brands in the country is this quiet brand called Australian. No, it's not an Australian brand. In fact, it's very Pinoy.

It's a brand that's been around for decades. In fact, as early as the 90s, I would buy Australian shoes for my sisters at Robinson's Department Store. The shoe section was still on the 2nd floor back then, and Australian was at the left end of the store. Even back then, they had very nice designs and my sisters found their shoes very comfortable.

More than 20 years after, Australian still makes awesome shoes. Their designs are very updated and they're always on-trend. When spikes were in fashion, they came out with a whole slew of spiked shoes. When neon flats were in vogue, they came out with neon shoes in every shade imaginable. They had cork wedges, stacked platforms - you name it, they had it.

On a recent visit to The Landmark, I chanced upon these smoking slippers at Australian. Knowing that the smoking slipper trend isn't slowing down anytime soon, I found myself getting these 2 pairs.

What makes it different is the uncommon range of colors that were available. Their pinks weren't the usual pink but a combination of salmon and coral. The orange was a combination of mandarin and sunset. Then, there's this blue which is a cross between cerulean and spanish blue. The yellow, on the other hand, is like marigold meets maize.

As a final touch, it has an embroidered seal in front. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it looks like a royal crest of some sort. Which is very old school cool.

The best part is that these shoes were uber cheap. To begin with, Australian shoes are so affordable. Then, The Landmark was on sale, so these were sold at 50% off. So, who can resist?

As usual, Ate Bullet loved the shoes so much that she wore them immediately. Once again, she swore by how comfortable they were and how chic they looked.

With so much going for the brand, I wonder how Australian can still be under the radar after all these years. It sometimes feel like only a select few know of the merits of this brand.

Then again, that's not necessarily a bad thing.