If you're like me, when you think of Swedish clogs, you think of, well, Swedish clogs. You know, with the usual rounded toe and broad heel. To be honest, I'm a little dumbfounded by the number of versions of this style that are being manufactured today, each one not all that much different from the next. But thanks to one of my readers in Germany I've gotten acquainted with a truly unique clog from Sweden: the clogs of Joey Sixfinger.
No question about it, these are not your parents' clogs. The heels are the typical low heeled look, but the toes come to a very distinctive point. And they're primarily targeted for men, too, coming only in sizes 39 through 46. But ladies, if your cash is green, I'm sure they wouldn't turn you away. Given the brass knuckle logo and the pointed toes, I'm thinking the idea was to create some sort of bad boy gangster clog. If they had a little more heel to them, I know I'd be typing in my credit card number now.
A big thank you to magicaster from Germany for introducing me to this designer and for supplying a picture of his own cowhide pair. The tiny photos Joey Sixfinger has posted don't do their shoes justice. Nor do the translations via Google from their Swedish language only website. Consider this cryptic caption for the spotted pair: Exclusive mosquitoes chase clogs with shaggy cow skin. How zen!
If the original Swedish content of their website has you feeling mystified, do a Google search for Joey Sixfinger and you should be provided with a translated page to browse. Not perfect, but certainly more user friendly.
Ha ha ha! Oh man. Exclusive mosquitoes... I wonder what that was actually supposed to mean. :)
Posted by: Tea | 12/30/2009 at 08:49 AM
Well, here's rather more information than you probably wanted!
As near as I could make out, the word that was being translated as mosquitoes was the word they were using for their unique clog styles. Several other captions translate with other variations on the "mosquito" theme. Or to be more specific, the "mosquito chase" theme. At first I thought it might be related to the pointed toe boot style known as "cockroach killers". But no, apparently there was a German WWII aircraft that was nicknamed "The Mosquito Chaser" due to its skinny design. One model building fan's photos can be found here:
http://hsfeatures.com/features04/bf109g632ir_3.htm
Given the European origin of these sleek clogs, I'm betting the term used frequently on the Joey Sixfinger site, träskomyggjagare (literally "clog mosquito chaser") refers to that.
Posted by: Lindsey Cochran | 12/30/2009 at 11:22 AM
Aha! Well that makes a lot more sense.
Posted by: Tea | 12/31/2009 at 08:57 AM
Yeah, the explanation kinda takes the magic out of it, doesnt it?
Posted by: Lindsey Cochran | 12/31/2009 at 10:33 AM