Remember when you got your first pair of clogs in, like, 1980 and your parents were all tsk-tsk about it, saying that they were stupid, dangerous shoes and that you were sure to fall and break your neck wearing them? And you were just so thrilled because they were CLOGS and clogs were SO COOL then?
Well, they’re back. They’re back in a big way this season. So let’s review:
This is what the new clog looks like: cute and high-heeled. My manicurist was wearing these yesterday and they were darned adorable. Franco Sarto, available at Macy’s. I don’t love the rubber sole but they certainly are non-slip!
Very sharp. Very appropriate for a minister’s wardrobe.
Also nice. By Born.
Suede can be really nice, but you have to keep it clean. These heels aren’t quite so high.
You know what I think of these: frumpy and you can do better. And no, this doesn’t make them less frumpy:
I know there are a few of you out there who can carry these off, but there are many more of you who think they’re FUN and who aren’t at all carrying them off. Especially not with big, floppy linen pants and jackets, long beaded necklaces and “creative” specs. There’s a fine line between creative and kooky/eccentric/who could possibly take her seriously?
Wait. I take it back. No one can get away with those. Those are just plain hideous.
These clog Mary Janes are FRUMPY! ALWAYS FRUMPY!!! PERIOD!! No more Miz NiceBang on these!! They. Are. FRUMPOLA.
These are so much better!
Very sophisticated for summer days at the office.
Keep your clogs all polished and nice, now. They get dingy fast and you want those little hooves to look like they didn’t just come in from the barn.
(All the photos came from the Zappos.com website. Do a keyword search for “high-heeled clogs” to find them for yourself.)
I’m seeing a theme here: closed-heel clogs are frumpy. I wear podiatrist-prescribed orthotics that have to be held in place by closed-heel shoes. Does this mean no clogs for me?
I got my first clogs in 1972! They were black leather with REAL WOODEN SOLES, and they were so ugly I wore them as part of a Frankenstein costume a couple of years later. I also tried to wear clogs in Europe and killed my ankles on the cobblestone streets…but I do miss them. These are cute, too, but most I see have the synthetic soles — kind of takes the danger out of them!
(((they were so ugly I wore them as part of a Frankenstein costume a couple of years later)))
Love this.
I have been wearing clogs my entire adult life they are actually good for your feet as well as back in now. I like PB’s selections but there is also the swedish clog cabin in vail, CO which has more colorful ones including some reasonably subdued metallic pewter ones.
I’ll let you have your way on clogs if you grant us this one caveat: for those of us who are hospital chaplains who work 16 hour plus shifts sometimes and cover an emergency room, all clogs are ok. Including my closed back petrol colored danskos. Because baby spew (and more) washes right off. I follow my boss’s example of keeping cute shoes for meetings.
Sorry, but I think every shoe in this post is ugly and frumpy. The closed heel isn’t what does it. The rounded, solid, thick covered toe and carved wooden soles are just awful. The higher the heel, the uglier they get because they then proclaim painful frump.
Clogs were horrible in 1980 and they are horrible today. They also make most people sound like a pony let loose in the hallway…CLONK CLONK CLONK 🙂 At least crocs are quiet.
Just my opinion, of course. Yours may vary.
Full disclosure: I wear orthotics inside ugly shoes, Merrell mocs. Frump is part of how I keep my feet from being in agony every day. So I recognize major ugly when I see it…!
With multiple foot issues I consider myself fortunate to be able to wear Danskos. The other shoes you picture wouldn’t work at all for me. I’ve received many compliments on my leopard print patent Danskos; not everyone thinks they’re frumpy.
These (http://www.zappos.com/indigo-by-clarks-carle-chestnut) don’t seem to be classified as clogs, but I just bought them yesterday in black. Love them, even though I fell off one last night while dancing. Youch.
[LOVE THEM. I have serious shoe envy. – PB]
Just found a fun website about shoes for people with bad feet:
http://www.barkingdogshoes.com
Some cute stuff there, but also the clumpy and ugly. Sigh.
so, i’m a seminary student and the other week one of my ministry classes had a full class on “what not to wear” as a pastor. of course, we talked about footwear. and one of the rules for women was NO open-toed or open-heeled shoes — at least on sundays. what are y’all’s thoughts? [First of all, I’m so glad this topic was covered. As for the shoes rule, I think it’s a good rule for newbies. No open toes. Slingbacks and clogs (both open-heeled shoes) vary so much in style that you’ll have to use your best judgment. Certainly a slingback pump is elegant. Clogs are sporty and young and I think you can make better choices. I wear open-toed shoes and dressy sandals in the pulpit now and then, but I’ve been in my current setting for 8 years and serve a very liberal, progressive congregation. Pedicures are a MUST, though. – PB ]
I may get taken behind the PeaceBang woodshed, but you can pry my cordovan open-backed Danskos from my cold dead feet.
I wear them only with pants or super casual, i.e., denim skirts. They are like these, but leather with cut-outs on the instep.http://www.dansko.com/#detail,Solitaire,Sausalito,2
Oh, by the way, on those Mary Jane Danskos? I have a pair (Yes! And they are mine, mine, mine!) and I wore them around the hospital until I literally wore the metal part right through. But my footsies were happy. One of these days I will wear a pedometer to work. I did that once in parish ministry and turned it off once I clocked 16,000 steps between 8AM and 1130AM. Yowch.