This is my second pair of black canvas flats from K-Mart's house label, Basic Editions. The first pair cost me about six dollars and change two years ago, and this pair cost about the same, two weeks ago. Sorry, they aren't available online, but if you drop by your friendly neighborhood K-mart, you should find them among the flipflops and summer shoes, in black, white and tan.

The cut is flattering and they look great with nearly everything. I've worn them downtown with cropped jeans, uptown with a designer pencil skirt and out of town with my swim cover-up.

Now, for under ten bucks, you don't get much in the way of engineering. These are thin rubber soles with a canvas lining, and I wouldn't wear them beating the pavement for hours. But for another few dollars, you could pimp them out with cushion insoles. Still cheap, still chic.

Kyran Pittman is a writer and blogger whose essays have been published in Good Housekeeping magazine and elsewhere. She writes about life, family, culture, and anything else she feels like at Notes To Self.