Birkenstock is a German brand of sandals and other shoes, famous for their contoured cork and rubber "footbeds," which conform somewhat to the shape of their wearers' feet. Birkenstock's classic two-strap sandal, the Arizona, has become an icon of comfort footwear. The popular Boston clog is worn with or without socks, the choice generally based on outside temperature.
The brand has a long history tracing its roots back to 1774 and a German cobbler named Johann Birkenstock. But it was over a hundred years later that his grandson really started the current company. In 1897, Konrad Birkenstock designed the first shoe with a contoured insole.
Since 1966, these shoes have been sold in the USA. American Margot Fraser "discovered" Birkenstock sandals while on a holiday in Germany. She gained relief from a foot condition, and founded a trading company called Birkenstock Footprint Sandals, Inc. in Novato, California, based on her enthusiasm for the sandals. Renamed Birkenstock Distribution USA, Inc. in 2005, it remains the exclusive importer and distributor of Birkenstock name-brand products in the United States.
Since the 1980s, Birkenstock footwear has become popular among medical professionals (e.g. dentists, nurses) and others who work on their feet. In Germany, the sandals are most often used as houseslippers, but in the United States they have become a part of everyday clothing from professionals to blue collar workers, even to the entertainment industry. Heidi Klum designs footwear for Birkenstock, and wears them as well.
In the United States, Birkenstocks were first popular among young adults, a group traditionally associated with American liberalism;[1]; in the early 1990s "Birks" enjoyed a surge of popularity among college-aged Generation Xers comparable to the current (2000s) popularity of flip-flops. During the 2004 U.S. presidential primary, some conservatives derided Howard Dean's supporters as "Birkenstock liberals." [2] In Germany and Austria they are associated with housewives or the environmental movement, while in the United States they remain popular on Cape Cod and in Vermont.
Certain members of the Birkenstock family also market other brands of footwear, under license from the original Birkenstock company, featuring contoured footbeds. These brands include Betula, Tatami, Papillio, Birki's and Footprints.
References
- ^ New York Times article: Thank You for Insulting Our Sandals
- ^ Classical Values article: Who's afraid of Howard Dean?
External links
- Birkenstock - Official website
Categories: Goods manufactured in Germany | Shoe companies | Fashion stubs
