For about eight years now, most all of my shoes have been Rockports. They’re not cheap, but given how comfortable and sturdily constructed I’ve found them to be, to me, they’re worth the cost. I’ll pay maybe $50.00 for a pair of them, and wear them daily for a full fall, winter and spring; switch to Rockport sandals in the summer, then in the fall, go back to the shoes. I wear the same shoes for about two years, so the cost per wearing turns out to be pretty darned reasonable.
I used to think Birkenstock’s were about the ugliest shoes going, but now I actually like them. I don’t know what that says about me. But they’re pricey. I’ve found some I like on QVC.com for about $80.00. That’s not so out of line with what I’d pay for a pair of Rockports. But the question is, are the Birkenstock’s worth it? Are they really as comfy as they are rumored to be? Do they hold up well? I don’t want to pay that kind of money for a pair of shoes I’ll end up hating, is all.
I have had pairs last for years and years, wearing them constantly through the summer, and as indoor shoes through the winter.
The trick is to get them resoled as soon as the rubber wears away; once the cork starts to wear it gets more expensive to fix them. I’ve had the same pair re-soled about four times.
I got the Soft Footbed on my most recent pair because I found that extra bit of give makes a comfortable shoe so much more comfortable.
I have one pair that is at least 8 years old, those I don’t wear so much. Another pair I wear every day all summer long and have had for about 5 years, and I have yet to need to replace the soles on either pair. My husband wears his all summer long too and is harder on his shoes and yet has not replaced the soles on his 4-year-old pair.
Don’t buy online. Or if you do, go try on at a store first to figure out exactly what you want.
Obviously, you don’t know anything about my sleepy little town of Cumberland, MD. There is no where close to me that sells Birkie’s. I’ve found the style I want, and one of the things that appeals to me about ordering from QVC.com is their liberal return policy. So I can keep sendin’ 'em back til I get it right!
I have 2 pairs of Birks, it isn’t enough. I have a pair of Arizonas that I wear all summer and a pair of Bostons that I wear in the winter. I wear almost nothing else. I have them resoled periodically, but they are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. And because of the way they fit, my knee problems seem to have gotten much better. I recommend them, just make go to the store and try them on. The first time I did that, I left wearing them. They rock.
The only shoes I own are a closet full of expensive Italian leather pleather Austrian whatever fancy-shmancy shoes that I wear to work, and my birks. If my place burns down, I’m grabbing the sandals.
Caution: these will put a callus on your feet like you wouldn’t believe. I razor off maybe a quarter pound of dead skin from my feet every few months. My heels are overdue and it’s like I’ve grown hooves. But this is after nearly a decade of wearing them.
Caution: lots of chicks hate them and think they’re ugly.
They’re awesome. I had a pair that I bought in high school for eleven years; I finally replaced them because the dye had faded on the leather (they were green - sob, I can’t find that color anymore) - could have resoled them, but decided to get new ones because they’d invented narrow sizes in the intervening decade. And I wore those things every day from March to November in that decade and change. They’re absolutely worth the cash - comfortable, durable, easy to kick off.
Yes they’re worth the money. I have been wearing Birks almost exclusively for at least 10 years now. I have 4 pairs - 2 sandals in black and brown, and two clogs in black and brown. The only time I can’t wear them is if it’s raining or snowing. Other than that, even for work, I have my Birks on. I need to get a couple of them resoled soon though.
One downside is that since they’re so comfortable and non-binding, and don’t have a heel, when I do actually have to wear “real” shoes, it’s really hard on my feet. My heels don’t have tough skin on them, so if I wear heeled shoes, my heels turn into a bloody mess.
Also, I don’t think they’re ugly at all. I think they’re really cute and much better looking than most shoes out there.
Birks are worth every penny and more. I’m usually barefoot, but if I have to wear shoes I wear my Birks. Unless there’s snow–and sometimes even then; I figured I was safe on Tuesday and wore my Birks to work and then it dumped a couple of inches of snow. I’m a sandals kind of gal; I don’t own a pair of clogs, though I’m thinking of getting some for next winter so I won’t be trudging through the snow in my socks if I misjudge the weather again.
I usually buy a pair, wear them a couple of years and then get them resoled. We have a store locally that sells Birks and Doc Martens and not much else; the owner does all the repairs on the Docs and Birks and he is awesome.
Currently, I have two pairs–my everyday pair and my garage/outside pair. The outside pair were too far gone for resoling so last summer I bought the new everyday ones.
I used to wear Arizonas, but now I wear Floridas because I have duck feet (wide at the toe, narrow at the heel) and they seem to fit a little better.
I always say that Birkenstocks are the official Washington State Shoe.
If you’re looking for good prices on clearance Birks* you can try Sierra Trading Post.
*or Docs for that matter; I’ve bought my daughter a several pairs of Docs from that site and she’s always been happy.
The only pair of Birks I ever owned I loaned to a friend. I never got them back, so we agreed they were my present to her. She wore them daily at work (she’s a nurses aide) for well over two years.
A few years later, in my quest for comfortable shoes another friend recommended Teva shoes. Basically the same idea as Birkenstocks, only more sporty.
I sure love my Teva’s ! In winter, I wear them indoors because they’re comfy, anti-slip and ultra quiet to the downstairs neighbours.
I can not say enough good things about my Birkenstocks. The company also owns other brands in their “family” which make more than just the trademark sandals. I have Cambrias which are from the Footprints line.
I have horrible feet and knee problems resulting from fallen arches. Make me stand on my feet in “normal” shoes for an hour or two and I’m practically crying from the pain. But with my Birkies, I am actually able to teach which requires me to be on my feet for hours at a time 5 days a week. These shoes actually allow me to pursue teaching.
I also have insoles for my sneakers and they are great as well. They’re not quite as good as my Birkies, since the soles aren’t custum fit to the shoe, but I’ll take what I can get for now.
Great, actually–it’s one reason why people think they’re so ugly, because they are correctly proportioned to the human foot. Yeah, they kinda make your feet look like a duck’s, especially the closed shoes, but who the hell cares?
I have a pair of birkie shoes that I have worn in the snow, rain and bitter cold–amazingly enough, they’re not only waterproof when you polish them with proper birkie polish, but they are also incredibly warm. One pair of wool socks and birkie shoes and I’m good to go for up to three inches of snow or slush. I used to work as an inventory counter, on my feet squatting and walking all day and those shoes saved my life. I tried sneakers but they weren’t nearly as good for my feet as the birks. I paid about 140.00 for them nine years ago and they’re still in pretty good shape, but I do need to resole them. I’ve done one partial resole and I think I’ll go ahead and spring for a recorking too, just to pamper them. My summer sandals are in poopy shape, I need to resole, recork and new footbed them–I just hate to have them gone long enough to fix.
A friend of mine has a pair that are eleven years old, one had a rip in the upper but they repaired it so well you can’t tell where the damage was. The incredible thing about birks is that they’re so unbelievably tough and can be remanufactured almost ad infinitum. I swear, if you bring in just the buckles you can have another pair built around them!
On an odd note, they also don’t stink even when you wear them all the time without socks, I suspect magic is involved…
I had a pair. They were not comfortable at all. They gave me blisters. After I wore them 6-8 times I gave them to my mother. She wore them twice–didn’t like them either. Admittedly, she has narrow feet and I have wide, flat feet, so if they fit me properly, they shouldn’t have fit her properly.
I would be strongly disinclined to buy another pair of Birkenstocks. I have no problem paying at least $80 for Clarks or SAS sandals, which I wear until they fall apart, so if you like them, go for it. I just didn’t find them to be comfortable, and would not be inclined to try again.
