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Usage of sandals in England is a little complicated and varies somewhast even in Britain. Sandals for example were less common in Scotland than in England. Usage varies with age and over time. The general pattern is that they were more popular seasonlly during the warm summer weather. This was especially the case during the first half of the 20 century until sneakers (trainers) began to become popular (1970s). They were very common in Britain for warm weather summer wear and often worn without socks. There was also an age difference. Children, especially boys, often can not master tieing shoe laces until they are about 7 or 8 yeas old. Thus sandals which have no laces, but often buckles, are more manageable for the little ones. As a result, these children often wore strap shoes that look like or actually are sandals. Sandals or strap shoes were commonly worn by younger children as a dress shoe. Here only the material might make the difference. Older boys almost always wore shoes when dressing up. And sandals in England, unlike America, had no gender association in primary schools. It is why close-toe sandals became such a common footwear type in English schools--becoming known as school sandals. And were commonly worn even during the winter term. The confusion with sandals and shoes comes in part because girls footear inckluded strap shoes done in various styled. And were not referred to as sandals. And here we are not talking about summer styles, but footwear worn throughout the year.
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