Ugh! Birkensicks

[loujareth]

And are the uppers made of leather because they didn't resemble any leather I'm used to.

It's the soles that are leather, thats what your walking on and what gives the comfort. There are some leather 'uppered' ones as well but they tend to be mostly shoes.

I love my Birki's but then I can't buy other brands as they don't fit. As a diabetic too it's important to look after your feet as best you can and I just know with Birks I am in safe hands. Just took delivery of my new summer pair today, gizehs but still have 4 different style pairs on the go that I wear for different tasks. For me I think theyr'e great and yet my first pair I hated, a year later I tried them again and they were heaven. Some are quick to be comfortable, some arn't.

I have a pair of traditional Crocs but I feel like a clown when I wear them and they do rub and also Mary Jane style, I love them but they have bruised my big toe so I can't wear them any more. So for comfort/love and my only choice, I'll stick to Birks.

 

[Julie]

I bought a few, well a lot of pairs of Birkenstocks off QVC when they were fashionable, more fool me !!

They kill my feet tbh, just because your feet are a certain size doesn't mean your toes, arches and heels fit in the footbed. Also think they are hugely overpriced.

As for Crocs, dear oh dear I won't even go there. God once saw a man wearing them, would be the divorce courts here if my husband ever took to wearing them !!

 

[rosielinks]

Birkis are OK for wearing with casual trousers in the summer. I have three pairs of madrids in bright colours. I find Rockport wedges are my favourite, very comfortable and stylish. Crocs, IMHO are the most revolting shoes on the planet - ghastly.

 

[mariecat]

I like my Birkies. I have 2 pairs - toe post gizeh - and found I needed to adjust the strap to a tighter fitting so my feet didn't slip around when I walked (which was painful): that made all the difference and I find I can really walk fair distances in them outside now. I like the clumpy aspect to them because they balance out my hips lol! (I don't like shoes that are too small and neat around my feet because of the miss piggy effect!) Love the arch supports on the Birkies too and the cup around the sides because at the heel this hides any unsightly cracked heel skin (I DO moisturise etc my feet, but you know what I mean!).

 

[boffy]

i love birkis and i like the look so much i have several pairs in most styles from mules to madrid to gizeh and multiple straps.
some folks dont look good in them and most people look great in them.
comfortable and trendy they are all i wear in the summer!

 

[Calvin]

I love my Birkenstocks! I have 'problem' feet and they're the most comfortable footwear I own. I've 3 or 4 pairs of the Madrids and 1 pair of the Floridas and I hate the start of the cold Autumn days when I have to get back into socks and 'proper' shoes.

I saw a podiatrist talking on a TV show last year (sorry, can't remember which show) and he thought Birkis were the most beneficial shoes for your feet.

 

[Buttercorn]

I've got pretty feet. No lumps, bumps, bunions, callouses, hard skin, dry skin, funny toes or dropped arches. The main reason? Apart from genetics, I've never crammed them into pointy, high uncomfortable shoes. I love my Birkis!!!! :heart:

Oh petpixie, how I envy you. I have arthritis in my left heel, which causes a large unsightly lump on the back of my foot, and my foot swells up quite a lot. So I can't wear a normal shoe, I can only wear flip flop types. It is really annoying, I look at all these lovely sandals and summer shoes (Like I used to wear). :dull:

 

[Buttercorn]

sorry, missed a bit off. (like I used to wear) and think 'oh well those were the days.'

There did it right this time.J.

 

[susygrace]

I purchased a pair of birkies a little while back from QVC and they made my feet look like a hobbit.

I know some people love them but they were awful on me.

Also, I dont mean to sound mean but the lady who guests for the birkies show scares me a little, she has a strong look to put it mildly.

 

[Aranlady]

I have a serious lifelong problem in one foot and the Podiatrist recommended Birkis - they're the only thing I wear in summer and wear the slippers in the house in winter. Have to say they're the best thing I've ever worn and the only way I manage the pain in my foot.
Pauline x

 

[BurlyBeaR]

i do not want to see feet exposed, unless its the foot of a petite lady who has had a pedicure and is wearing high heeled sandals so gossamer-fine in their strappiness that they look like something a fairy would go to a disco in.

anyone else - please keep them covered.

this is why i dislike birkenstocks and positively hate flip flops which should be illegal on anyone over the age of 5 except for use on beaches and by pools only. the way they make the wearer shlep around lazilly dragging their feet along is unattractive in the extreme. ive tried some on and it was impossible to walk and keep them on without making the toes into a claw. i dont see how that is good for the feet.

as for men in flip flops walking around town or in shopping malls... *GAG*. i do not want to see peoples big hairy toes. ive even seen people doing it when they have fungal nail infections. its truly disgusting.

i keep my feet in clean cotton socks and nice clean trainers which do not smell. thank you.

 

[alter ego]

I like my Birkies. I have 2 pairs - toe post gizeh - and found I needed to adjust the strap to a tighter fitting so my feet didn't slip around when I walked (which was painful): that made all the difference and I find I can really walk fair distances in them outside now. I like the clumpy aspect to them because they balance out my hips lol! (I don't like shoes that are too small and neat around my feet because of the miss piggy effect!) Love the arch supports on the Birkies too and the cup around the sides because at the heel this hides any unsightly cracked heel skin (I DO moisturise etc my feet, but you know what I mean!).

I have tiny feet on a big-hipped frame, too, and also suffer with the "trotter" effect if I'm not careful! DH calls me "Fred" as in Flintstone!!

I lived in Birkis for years - summer as sandals and winter as slippers. They helped my back, but eventually contributed to the horribly painful Plantar Fasciitis. I now wear FitFlops as they're the only thing that help with both my back and PF pain. I'm dying to try Skechers Tone Ups, though.

Does anyone remember when Birkis were mildly pretty? I had a pair similar to the Siwas that can occasionally be found on eBay or Baumhouse (I think that's the name). They had very fine straps with tiny gold buckles (that haven't lost their colour) and a strap over the big toe (too much toe exposure - as in the FitFlops - makes my feet look really ugly!). They were actually flattering and quite attractive. I'm really surprised they don't make them any more.

 

[petpixie]

i do not want to see feet exposed, unless its the foot of a petite lady who has had a pedicure and is wearing high heeled sandals so gossamer-fine in their strappiness that they look like something a fairy would go to a disco in.

The trouble with that BB is that, if said petite lady stuffs her perfect tootsies into the kind of shoes you find acceptable, very soon her trotters will resemble Victoria Beckam's which are an affront to feet! One sure fire way to deform feet is by forcing them into unnaturally shaped, high, poorly fitted shoes. Not only does it make for ugly feet, it potentially sets the wearer up for a whole host of knee, back and ankle problems.

 

[Polly Esther]

I like SOME Birkenstocks, but not many. A couple of years ago I bought the TSV which was a single strap style in pink and whilst I would't dream of wearing them to work or to a "do" I do wear them for a day at the beach. They are easy to slip on and off, comfortable and with jeans etc, don't look too frumpy. However in a moment of madness earlier in the year, I bought the TSV, which had straps and to say they looked disgusting was an understatement. Must be the most singularly unflattering shoe I have ever tried on and made my feet look both enormous (I'm only a 5!) flat as if they belonged to a 90 year old. Has put me off now. I may get another pair of the single strap style for holidays (though I am coveting a pair of those Fit Flops now!) but will be very cautious about ordering them again.

I have a job that requires me to wear "heels" for most of the week so sometimes slopping about in my Birkenstocks in my own time is a bit of a relief. Just not ALL the Birkenstocks and not ALL the time!

 

[BurlyBeaR]

The trouble with that BB is that, if said petite lady stuffs her perfect tootsies into the kind of shoes you find acceptable, very soon her trotters will resemble Victoria Beckam's which are an affront to feet! One sure fire way to deform feet is by forcing them into unnaturally shaped, high, poorly fitted shoes. Not only does it make for ugly feet, it potentially sets the wearer up for a whole host of knee, back and ankle problems.

*sticks fingers in ears and goes la la la la*

 

[Brissles]

i do not want to see feet exposed, unless its the foot of a petite lady who has had a pedicure and is wearing high heeled sandals so gossamer-fine in their strappiness that they look like something a fairy would go to a disco in.

anyone else - please keep them covered.

this is why i dislike birkenstocks and positively hate flip flops which should be illegal on anyone over the age of 5 except for use on beaches and by pools only. the way they make the wearer shlep around lazilly dragging their feet along is unattractive in the extreme. ive tried some on and it was impossible to walk and keep them on without making the toes into a claw. i dont see how that is good for the feet.

as for men in flip flops walking around town or in shopping malls... *GAG*. i do not want to see peoples big hairy toes. ive even seen people doing it when they have fungal nail infections. its truly disgusting.




I SO AGREE ! Men in this country should be banned from wearing any type of footwear that exposes their feet, unless they are at the seaside. To be in a supermarket and be confronted by a naked size 11s is enough to put you off your dinner !!!!

And come on ladies, be honest, EVEN if you lurve your birkis - just stand sideways on and look in the mirror at your feet - comfy or not - they aint pleasant on the eye, despite all the marketing hype.

I am lucky that I have reached 62 without so much as a corn - having survived the various foot fashions from the 60's onwards - no heel too high, no platform elevated enough, and as for sandals - for the past 15 years I have worn around the house and in the summer - Jones the Bootmaker Levina model - feminine and fabulously comfy (no toe posts)

 

[petpixie]

*sticks fingers in ears and goes la la la la*

I know! I came over all foot fascist there :blush:....I said foot fascist !:wink:

 

[happy35]

I have a pair of silver Gizeh's and I think they look ok with a kaftan over your bikini to walk around on holiday or a pair of linen pants to walk around at night.

I agree they are not dressy and therefore if I want something more dressy and flat I would wear some gladiator sandals, but the soles on these are very thin and they are not the comfiest for walking any distance.

i do have very small feet size3 but friend is a size8 and we both think the Gizeh style is flattering.

 

[rosey]

I used to always wear Birkis all the time in the summer and have several pairs of them - mostly the toe post ones. But I did find that I had to 'break them in' as they would give me blisters if I wore them for a long time on the first wear of the year.

UNTIL i found Fit flops - now I own 4 pairs of them and have even got my hubby some. They are are the most comfortable shoes ever and you can put a brand new pair on and walk for miles without any problems. Don't know if the toning thing works but I just wear them for the comfort factor.

 

[happy35]

I have a pair of fit flops on order, I am trying to lose about a stone with slimming world before August and thought I would wear these when I am walking the dog hopefully get double the toning effect from the walking