Espadrilles are a typical form of Spanish summer footwear, with strong historical ties to the regions of Catalonia, Aragon, and the Basque Country.

The word derives from the Catalan "espardenya" and refers to esparto grass, a plant indigenous to the south of Spain that is used to make ropes and basketry.

[3] Originally peasant footwear,[4][5] they were popularised throughout the 20th century by many cultural figures including Picasso, Salvador Dalí and later John F. Kennedy and Yves Saint Laurent.

The term espadrille is French and derives from the word in the Occitan language, which comes from espardenya in Catalan or alpargata and esparteña in Spanish.

Both espardenya and esparteña refer to a type of shoes made with esparto, a tough, wiry Mediterranean grass used in making rope.

Both in Argentina and Uruguay, espadrilles (known as alpargatas) were adopted by rural workers as a substitute for the "bota de potro", part of the traditional gaucho attire, made with leather from the lower leg of the horse.

In the first half of the 20th century, the use of espadrilles was so common among the lower classes of the population that the company called Fábrica Argentina de Alpargatas took great importance, which used to be promoted with the artistic almanacs illustrated by Florencio Molina Campos.

Espadrilles entered the Argentine political scene prior to the presidency of Juan Domingo Perón by associating it with the working class.

Castañer managed to interpret Yves Saint Laurent's vision and the wedge espadrilles were an instant hit, influencing fashion even today.

The espadrille style was revived in the United States in the 1980s, due to the success of Miami Vice—the shoe was worn by the character Sonny Crockett (played by Don Johnson).