Birkie - Sneaker Hybrid - YouLookFab Forum

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Birkie - Sneaker Hybrid

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Or something like that.

It TOTALLY fits into 2014 fashion to my eye. Worn with fashionable intention, I think it could be fabulous. There is something very Euro looking about the shoe - a similar style seems quite common every season in that neck of the woods. I can see people in the Netherlands wearing this shoe without thinking twice - sans socks and with just about anything in the Summer time.

Birkies don't work for my feet at all - will not be getting this shoe.

What do you think?

Birkenstock Linz Super Grip

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34 replies

Latest reply was from CocoLion

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

If zappos delivered to Canada, this would be on its way to me - love it!

barbaraq

Interesting idea, but not on my size 10, high volume feet! I think I would look like an old, tired nurse just getting off a very long shift.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Oh no, not here! Reminds me of the felt clog birks my old hippie BF used to wear. I do see how it could be a Danish look, but I can't see it as intentional fashion on US city streets.

Joyce B

Veteran

Ugly but comfy.

Vildy

Veteran

alas it reminds me of the "space shoes" old women wore when I was a teenager. Now I'm their age but not quite ready to give in yet.

ETA: http://www.vme.net/spaceshoe/

marianna

Veteran

More and more I realize that I am very classic and conservative with my fashion preferences.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

Looks a little too Smurf shoe for my taste. But I feel it would fit right in at the organic people co-op store.

Astrid

Veteran

I can't help it, they scream "nurse" to me. Every nurse in Germany wears closed white Birks, at least it seems that way to me.

abc

Veteran

Ditto what Marianna said. And fwiw my first thought was nursing shoes too. To each their own, though! I'm sure we will see some ylf'ers rock them well.

Eliza

Veteran

Not anything my feet could wear, but also not my style.

I do enjoy seeing how others rock this look.

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

Yes, they looked like Dutch clogs to me even from the thumbnail. Great fashionable shoe and I really like them - I even dare say they are here to stay. These are actually the only Birks I like so far (except Astrid's sandals).

Funnily, I was recently thinking how come we don't see more of Birkenstock's own products which build up on the principle of their signature shoes. Same like when the Crocs started appearing everywhere, a whole range of other products followed, from flip-flops to rain boots - what were Birkenstock people doing all this time? Seems like they have actually been doing something and I can't wait to see what is the next thing they'll bring to the market.

I can't help wondering though what happens once that key product which made some brands iconic gets competition from its own company? Does the status of that very first thing water down a bit?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

What's wrong with wearing shoes that nurses wear?

High five, Shannon.

Ornella, great thoughts. Personally, I think the iconic style of those brands stays King - as Crocs, Converse, Dr. Martens, RayBan and Gucci demonstrate year after year.

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

Thanks Angie for putting my mind at ease

Astrid

Veteran

Well, nothing, Angie. But the association is so clearly there that people just don't wear those shoes out of work. I do think you'd get some strange looks styling them fashionably! Of course there's always the option of ignoring that.

Ornella, there have been Birkenstock shoes for quite some time, they're just not as present in stores. Here's the link to the official page:
http://www.birkenstock.com/col.....-shoes.htm

Adelfa

Veteran

You know me and my Birks, Angie, but I have to draw the line somewhere.... They look like Earth shoes but not as good.

Deborah

Veteran

I can definitely see the appeal and could see these as a sneaker alternative with dresses. Not for me though, unless of course the come in black

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

Interesting. I work in a hospital and didn't get the nurse vibe from these at all. Besides, wouldn't it all depend on the styling? Pair them with scrubs and yeah, you got nurse. But pair them with rolled white linen trousers and a beautiful knit top, or with khaki BF shorts and a simple tank, or even with a fab linen summer dress and Angie's gorgeous white backpack and IMHO they function the same way as other white footwear...no?

Ledonna N.

Veteran

The black actually remind me of the shoes the nuns would wear at my catholic elementary school. Very comfortable and ver serviceable. These just do not appeal to me but I am sure that someone will rock them.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

In the styling for sure - I love TS's suggestion

Kat

I don't groove on white shoes -- or fashion sneakers, really -- but I like these. I can also see the Euro vibe. I'd like them in another color, but they remind me of the comfort shoe/edgy, avant garde look I saw on women in Germany and Switzerland. I really liked that and the women rocked it. Agreed that it all depends on the styling.

Astrid

Veteran

Shannon, I had a look and it's just like I thought, they are part of the Birkenstock 'Professional' line. That means they are TÜV tested so that they comply with standards set in hospitals or by other professional institutions. People here buy those shoes for work. I can definitely see people elsewhere in the world rocking these shoes in an outfit like you described, but it's not a look that would work here in Germany.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Oh they do look very Dutch clogs to me too! Would love to see them on someone.

Meredith

Veteran

Torn on this one. I could see these working with something like Anna's maximalist floral look, so I can appreciate the carefully styled possibilities. But I think I'd look frumpy if I tried to pull them off.

Missey

Veteran

That's what I wear for nursing...though not in white, gets too dirty looking too quickly. My Birks clogs are my avorite nursing shoes ever, I never get sore, achy feet or legs when I wear them, even on 12 hour shifts!

Debora

Veteran

Interesting shoe, Angie. Birkies don't work for my low volume feet, either, but I'll be watching to see if any forum members try it and how it will be styled. We can always depend on you to keep us up-to-date on the cutting edge trends.

Neel

Veteran

My feet scream with delight ... They look soooo comfy. They look like refined sneakers to me and I would wear it if they weren't white (too much white for me). But I also understand the nurse associations with it. Its hard to shake off such things that are etched in the head. For example, I wouldn't wear a particular combination of color of clothes in India because one of the airline staffs of India wears it. O_O

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

I don't think I'd wear them, but then I have a hard time wearing any white shoes. I just have never liked how they look on my feet for some reason--at least so far. I have learned never to say never.

deb

Veteran

They remind me of hospital shoes. The ones that nurses wear. I will not be sporting these.

Echo

Veteran

I agree that they read as medical professional shoes (my doc wears these in a different colour). I suppose they could be worn as fashion, but then again, a scrubs shirt is just a simple v-neck in that case, too. But most people wouldn't read that as fashion because of its strong association with medical professionals. Nothing technically wrong with it; it just wouldn't be the look I was after.

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