A farewell to clogs

And other seismic shifts of late middle age

These clogs are from No. 6, where quite a few of mine came from. Looking at this picture now makes my feet hurt.

There was a time, not too long ago, when literally 90% of my footwear was clogs: clog sandals in the summer, clog boots in the winter, and traditional clogs the rest of the time. I walked all over creation in them, and thought they were the most comfortable things ever. I was such a clog aficionado that I became a semi-expert on them, sought after for my insights into the best and coolest brands.

I wasn’t alone in this: many, many women were clomping around in clogs back then (many still are). Occasionally I’d do a post on them, and hear from some of you that you couldn’t possibly wear clogs without pain. I didn’t get what you were talking about. I loved them because they gave me height without pain.

Then, a couple of years ago, I found that after walking around in clogs for an hour or so, my knees started bothering me. Not too long after that, my feet would ache almost immediately after I put them on. The wood soles were simply too unforgiving on my aging feet. Then I discovered these clogs, from a Danish brand called Magnafied—they have a rubber insert in the wood sole, giving them some flexibility. That extended my clog-wearing for a couple of years, but just lately, I’ve sadly found even them unwearable. I gave all my pairs to a fashionable 20 year-old of my acquaintance, not without some sadness. I still think of one truly perfect gold Rachel Comey pair with great affection.