se faire

Question

I see in an exercise that "I'm having new sandals made." is translated as "Je me fais faire de nouvelles sandales." I don't understand why the "me" is necessary in this case. I can see why for verbs like brosser, couper, raser, doucher, and so on. But not in this case. What am I missing?

Accepted Answer

Andrew,
As I understand it, if you made them for yourself it would be ‘ Je me fais de nouvelle sandales ‘. 
Without the ‘ me ‘ the sandals could be for anyone or anything. English often leaves out the ‘ for me ‘, French doesn’t ( informal casual speech where context is clear, an exception sometimes  ).
Adding the causative ‘ faire ‘ to indicate ‘having (someone else) make them for me’ gives ‘ Je me fais faire de nouvelles sandales ‘, as per the examples in the lesson.
 https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/faire-plus-infinitive-means-to-have-something-done

Answer

Bonjour Andrew,I agree that using an indirect object pronoun (me) should not be necessary  --  Perhaps to reinforce who the sandals were for.https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/faire-reflexive-causative/Bonne journéeJim

Answer

Thanks. The faire-reflexive-causitive link explained it best. J'ai apprécié votre aide.