(Just a heads up: Andy is taking the helm for today’s blog while Ann is over in AnnD’s Corner).
In case you missed the news, Birkenstock went public last week. I don’t know about you, but when I saw the headline I felt a twinge of regret. It was like the company was selling its sole to the devil.
Although I haven’t worn Birkenstock sandals for a number of years, somewhere in the back of my mind the Birkenstock allure still lingers. That’s probably why every time we drive by the now empty Birkenstock facility in Novato just off Highway 101, I experience a fleeting nostalgic “Birkenstock moment.”
By “Birkenstock moment” I’m referring to my mental image of those iconic sandals and a vague pleasant feeling about what seems to have been a less complicated and hopeful time in our world. It was a time when there was a clear distinction between those who wore wingtips and those who wore Birkenstocks. It was a time when you could figure out who to trust with the future of our planet by what they wore on their feet.
My attachment to Birkenstocks began sometime after I got home from Vietnam in 1970. I was just starting graduate school and wanted to appear to be at least somewhat “alternative” but could never let my hair grow long enough for a ponytail (it always looked like crap once it grew over my ears). So, as a proxy, I got a pair of Birkenstocks, which among my sociology grad student colleagues was the right (actually left) thing to do. I should mention here that Ann, in today’s AnnD’s Corner, writes about another thing that changed our post-army lives in a big way -Sansui. For those not familiar with Sansui you will find that it speaks for itself!
Clearly, back in the 1970’s sporting a pair of Birkenstocks was a statement. A NY Times editorialist in 1992 described the sandals as the “deja shoe” with a history of being the shoe equivalent of “granola” or the “hippie penny loafer,” in addition to being the “antithesis of style.” Robert Klara, in an AdWeek.com piece, claims that it’s hard to name a brand that elicits more “slurs and rolled eyes” than a basic pair of Birks which have been badmouthed as “Geekenstocks,” “Jesus sandals,” “Flintstone feet” and “Granolas”.
To my mind these “slurs” reflect the meaning (or soul, if you will) of the Birkenstocks I knew and loved. Their tragic transformation into a trendy fashion statement, in my opinion, was their fall from grace. We have Kate Moss to thank for that.
Klara, in his AdWeek.com article, provides this account:
Early in the summer of 1990, the British photographer Corinne Day took a then-unknown model named Kate Moss onto the beaches of Camber Sands for a photo shoot…
…when the photo feature appeared in the pages of U.K. culture mag The Face, a tremor rumbled through the fashion world. One reason was because Moss, then 15 years old, happened to be topless.
The other reason: She was wearing Birkenstocks.
My beloved Birkenstocks were never the same. As Elizabeth Patton recently noted in the NY Times, “They went from being sandals associated with “hippies and off-duty hikers, eccentric aunts and science teachers with a penchant for pairing them with ankle socks” to being “the informal footwear of choice for people everywhere who once wouldn’t have been caught dead in them.”
And it gets worse. In 2021 MSCHF, a Brooklyn fashion outfit, created the “Birkinstock,” a Birk-style shoe made from chopped-up Hermès Birkin bags. A pair can be yours for only $76,000.
Or consider that a pair of Birkenstocks worn by Steve Jobs sold at auction last year for $218,750. And to think that my last pair of worn-down Birkenstocks probably ended up at the Good Will thrift shop.
Birkenstock sandals even made a cameo appearance this year on the smash hit movie, Barbie. Evidently, sales went up appreciably because of this scene.
And when I thought that things couldn’t get any worse, I discovered that our grandson Silas has jumped on the Birkenstock band wagon and he now sports a pair Birkenstock clogs (I didn’t even know they made clogs!). He finds them very comfortable and likes them. I don’t have the heart to tell him that he’s wearing a soul-less shoe that’s an empty shell of what it used to be.
I came to Birkenstocks late… bought a pair of their injection-molded slippers about 6 years ago and really liked them (my third pair are now nearing their end of life). So, I bit the bullet and bought a pair of the basic sandals about 3 years ago, and find they are the only sandals I’ve ever been comfortable with. Of course, being an old fart, I wear them with short white socks. Being flat of foot, and prone to pronate, shoes have always been a problem (except during my army days with combat boots).
Glad to learn that you like Birkenstocks. Perhaps they will come out with a combat version for future generations (which, of course, would be the epitome of their moral decline!). Thanks for the comment.
I cannot pass a Birkenstock store without stopping in and asking them if they have Birkenstock cowboy boots. It hasn’t discouraged me that nobody seems to find this especially amusing but me. Birkenstock doesn’t have cowboy boots, or at least they haven’t up to now. But I recently noticed that one can buy Crocs cowboy boots (https://www.crocs.com/p/crocs-classic-cowboy-boot/208695.html) and it worries me that Birkenstock will follow suit and spoil the fun. I enjoy this almost as much as going in to an upscale organic market and asking if they have organic pork rinds. A time or two I’ve actually persuaded a clerk to go look for them on the shelf. I had thought to ask for vegan pork rinds, but such actually do exist (https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/spicy-porkless-plant-based-snack-rinds–070643). Be assured that I haven’t tried them and won’t. As for Birkenstocks, I wore out two or three pairs over the course of several years and have now changed to Chacos (https://www.chacos.com/US/en/z-1-classic-sandal/635841062421.html?), which are better for hiking in the mountains.
Thanks for your comments. I would guess that folks at the organic market cringe whenever you darken their door. The next time I think about hiking in the mountains (which could be a long time) I’ll consider checking out Chacos. Perhaps if Birkenstock came out with a good cycling sandal I may return to the fold. (btw David, I think I fixed the comments options on our blog and you can now reveal your name).
Never been able to figure out how to keep a pair of Birkenstocks on my feet, even with my weirdly elfish big toes that point straight towards the skies. As with most of the world, whenever I put them on, they end up out in front of me.
I was trying to find out what “elfish” toes were all about and came across this at comunitymade.com — “Elf shoes were inspired by the shoe styles in medieval Europe, hence the curly and pointy toes. Curly and pointy toes were trendy at the time, and they were a symbol of wealth and luxury.” You may be on to something big for Birkenstock designers.
Birkenstocks are fine and dandy, but for a political statement, how about EARTH SHOES ? Nothing stuck it to the Man better! Traveled to SF for these, my wedding shoes, in ‘75, and quickly got a case of Achilles tendinitis. Didn’t wear them after that, but boy , they rocked!
I had forgotten about those Earth shoes that made you walk heel first. I didn’t realize that they were a flash in the pan, though. This is from a 2002 article in the Orlando Sentinel: “Earth shoes were advertised for the first time in 1974, and chaos resulted. Lines formed outside Earth stores coast-to-coast, the Los Angeles store changed its phone number four times to avoid incessant customer calls, and the mail-order operation was backlogged by 3,500 pairs. By 1975, there were 135 Earth stores in the United States… Just a year later, however, the company closed, a victim of lawsuits by store owners squabbling over store locations and upset that the factory could not fill orders fast enough.”
However, your dreaded Earth Shoes are back big time (https://footwearnews.com/shoes/womens-footwear/earth-brand-relaunch-marc-fisher-footwear-1203421780/). Marc Fisher Footwear — which obtained the license for Earth men’s and women’s footwear in June 2022 — quietly relaunched the brand with a product collection “that nods to Earth’s comfort heritage and embraces a sustainable vision”. The article didn’t mention anything about Achilles tendinitis side effects!
I believe that Birkenstock lost its “sole” when it switched from a rubber sole to EVA. I can’t find a pair of Birkenstock sandals with rubber soles now!