Every Clog Has Its Day

Calou Clogs

From time to time I discover a clog maker who has fallen through the cracks. This blog, as you might guess, is run by a staff of one. And more often than not, ambition and desire outstrip ability and opportunity. Many have been the times that I've noticed some intriguing line of clogs on the internet and tucked away the URL in my To Feature folder only to have weeks and months pass without making any headway lining up an interview or gathering more information. If you think that's frustrating for you, my patient readers, think how I must. This blog is a labor of love. And therefore I would love to make it the best that it can be. But staff of one that I am, I have to occasionally lower my sites and simply count my blessings that I have a blog and readers like you at all. Which brings me to this tasty collection of clogs and clog boots from Sweden.

 

Just about a year ago I ran across an article about Calou Clogs on the all things Swedish appreciation site, FromSthlm. Blogger Tiffany gave the Calou collection a quick overview in March of 2010 noting that

Calou’s clogs are a bit different. While they do have a couple of wood-heeled clogs, Calou’s main focus is on comfort. That’s why most of their clogs feature a springy polyurethane sole and heel instead of traditional wood.

No cautionary warnings about manmade midsoles needed today. I think the fresh spin that Calou gives to the standard Swedish clog deserves a closer look. And so that's what I'll treat you to today. Sadly distribution is limited...as a glimpse at their Stores page reveals. 

It's good to know that they do have an information packed Contact Us page. After you browse through everything they have to offer on the Calou website, I'm thinking it could come in handy.

 

Knyta clog in Red (glossy)

 

Knyta clog in Cognac leather

 

 

Knyta clog in Brown leather

 

Gaby clog in White leather

 

Gaby clog in Bordeaux (glossy)

 

Gaby clog in Black (leather)

 

Sara clog in Aqua

 

Paula clog in Beige (leather)

 

Laila clog bootie in Pink leather

 

Laila clog bootie in Black (nubuck)

 

Laila clog bootie in Green (nubuck)

Moa clog boot in Grey (nubuck)

 

Hilda clog boot in Green (nubuck)

 

Blinka clog boot in Black (leather)

 

_____________________________________

 

 

[On my feet as I blog:  when the weather gets this nice (in the 80s, believe it or not), all thoughts of clog boots disappear. Come to me, my funkis clog sandals, and we shall enjoy the sunshine together!]

 

Peace (from the archives)

A few thoughts on finding one's authentic self...and living it out.

 

_______________________________________

 

Peace

originally posted on Every Clog Has Its Day on 02/01/10

 

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.

 --Coco Chanel

 

Fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are.
 --Quentin Crisp

 

To be happy, it first takes being comfortable in your own shoes. The rest can work up from there. 
 --Sophia Bush 

 

I don't design clothes. I design dreams.

 --Ralph Lauren

 

I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty. 
 --Imelda Marcos

 

You want to fall in love with a shoe, go ahead. A shoe can't love you back. But, on the other hand, a shoe can't hurt you too deeply either. And there are so many nice-looking shoes. 

 --Allan Sherman 

 

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire. You will what you imagine. And at last, you create what you will.

 --George Bernard Shaw

 

You don`t necessarily live for the moment; you live for hope-what you`re going to get, what you`re going to say, what you`re going to think.

 --Isaac Mizrahi

 

You put high heels on and you change.

 --Manolo Blahnik

You'll never find peace of mind 'til you listen to your heart.

 --George Michael

 

 

 

 

Insights courtesy of a few famous people who probably knew what they were talking about. Mia clog courtesy of frequent contributor clogboy. Style name: Peace.

 
 
 
 

A New Listing for the Encyclopædia Internetica

Surf over to Dictionary.com and you'll find one of the web's most worthwhile resources. Meanings, pronunciations, etymology—all just a click away.

 

Handy, no?

This Memorial Day weekend in the U. S., I paired the word "picnic" with the word "clog" in my search engine just to see what I'd come up with. Lo and behold, I thought I'd discovered a previously unknown corner of the wooden footwear world. Two different manufacturers appear to be offering shoes under the description "Picnic Clogs". And what could be more delightful than a pair of wood soled shoes you could slip into before heading out to dine al fresco?  

 

Picnic clogs in Black and Pink from Gorman

 

Sveaborg Picnic clogs in Red and Blue from Lucky Penny, available through Anthropologie

 

And then it dawned on me:  Picnic may be nothing more than the style name.

Phooey.

I thought I had uncovered a whole new genre of clogs to add to my closet. A new style to take its place alongside my winter clogs and my dress clogs and my casual clogs and my garden clogs and my...well, you get the idea.

Happy Memorial Day weekend, if you observed it where you live. If not, may you have a restful and rejuvenating Sunday...picnic or no.

 

_____________________________________

 

[On my feet as I blog:  my new funkis sandal clogs. I helped a dear friend move 300 feet Saturday morning...from her 2nd floor studio apartment to her 2nd floor one bedroom apartment in the next building. Needless to say, no moving van was involved. But lots of stair climbing and descending. LOTS of stair climbing and descending. And I wore a pair of rain boots to provide some protection and traction on that cloudy, rain-threatening morning in Chicago. That is, until my knees screamed, "No more!" It was good to get home and put a pair of orthopedically molded wooden soles under my feet. A little massage with every step.]

 

More Lita Than You Can Shake a Stick At

I am fascinated by and drawn irresistibly to clogs. That much is clear and indisputable to any regular visitors to this blog. I think you can tell from the number of wood soled shoes I purchased in 2010 that my commitment to clogs is passionate. However, with very little provocation, I could very easily spend myself into bankruptcy over a) platform shoes and sandals, b) boots that are knee-high and higher, or c) even more clogs. So I hope you'll pardon me on these rare occasions when my other shoe fascinations surface and shoulder to the side my main footwear fetish. Such is the case today. Just yesterday I posted about the new Jeffery Campbell design, Lita for Men. This led me to doing a little deeper into what JC and Co. had been coming up with to push the boundaries of this successful style even further. Needless to say, my mind was boggled. I know they're not clogs. But if you love shoes built atop a few bits of wood, how could you not be mesmerized by the range and scope of this simple shoe design. In an ideal world I would also be emptying my bank account for the sake of owning as many variations of this near iconic design as I could. Pardon me while I take a day's post to just stare at these in wonder. (You can visit my previous drool fests here and here and here.)

First, though, a wee bit of the back story. The consensus on the web seems to be that the massive platform and massive heel of the the Lita was inspired by an even weightier creation that London-based French-Armenian designer Charles Anastase sent down the runway as part of his Fall Winter 2009 collection.

 

File these boots along with your works on galactic science: the design is certainly stellar but the prices are probably astronomical. Fortunately, Jeffrey Campbell is intent on pleasing those of us stranded here on planet Earth. Enter the Lita and all its colorful siblings. 

 

_________________________________

 

Lita in Denim available through Singer22

 

Lita in Black Patent available through Singer22

 

Lita with Studs in Black/Silver available through Singer22

 

Lita in Black Cherry available through EnviShoes

 

Lita in Cheetah and Fuschia available through LuLu's

 

 

Evita in Khaki/Tan from Jeffrey Campbell

 

 

Wonder2 in Wine Velvet available through LuLu's

 

Lana in Distressed Navy available through Karmaloop

 

Wrecker in Red for Andres Sarda from Jeffrey Campbell

 

_________________________________

 

 

[On my mind as I blog:  as enamored as I am of the Jeffrey Campbell Lita design, I feel reluctant to invest in a pair owing to the fact that I picked up these goth beauties from the Magic Shoe Co. on a trip to London years ago. (The salesperson sold them to me for about 20 pounds off the retail price because I wanted them so badly and didn't have the full amount. Imagine that happening where you like to buy shoes!) I dig the look of the Lita, no question. But to me they would just feel like pale imitations next to these babies. If you at all feel smitten with the look of these, Pennangalan sells a decent remake.]