Why I Wear My Clogs All Summer, Every Summer

If you’ve seen me this summer (or, indeed, at any point over the past three summers), I’ve probably been wearing my clogs. They’re my go-to shoe of choice for the warmer months, unless I’m walking the dogs, or need to get from A to B very quickly (my Veja trainers are the more practical choice here).

Considering the fact that the average British woman owns a staggering 30 to 35 pairs of shoes, many have been surprised by my commitment to my Ancient Greek Sandals clogs, which aren’t actually sandals at all. “Still obsessed with those clogs,” a fellow editor commented under a recent Instagram post, in which I was–yet again–wearing the style.

I first bought them in the summer of 2022, when this very magazine declared clogs to be the new Birkenstocks. I was looking for a pair of shoes that’d be smart enough to wear to the office post lockdown, but could equally be dressed down with a pair of jeans at the weekend.

In many ways, they are the perfect summer footwear choice: at 5ft 3in, I struggle with flats, but the chunky wooden platform makes them comfortable to walk in. The only challenge is stairs, which requires me to cling onto them with my toes lest they fall off my feet (the style does also come with a strap, but I found them to be too small for my ankles).

Thanks to Chemena Kamali’s debut Chloé show, my clogs–which have been re-soled twice over the past three years–still feel very of the moment, with Sienna Miller and Lily Collins both spotted in the French fashion house’s towering Jeanette style in recent months. Meanwhile, Sarah Jessica Parker was also spotted in her Cape Clogs in the spring–proof that there’s still plenty of mileage in the old clackers yet.

I did feel personally attacked, however, when my colleague Daniel Rodgers shared his styling tips for the still-trending shoe. “Best to keep the milkmaid dresses at an arm’s distance… lest you want to be mistaken for a 19th-century Swedish farm hand,” he wrote. Swedish milkmaid… c’est moi? A big dress teamed with clogs is my signature summer look.

In fact, another one of my colleagues, Vogue Business’s sustainability editor Bella Webb, once joked she could instantly spot me from behind thanks to the “Emily Chan silhouette”. I felt vindicated though, when she recently wrote that “developing a stronger sense of personal style could help people resist the urge to over-consume”–meaning that it pays to have go-to staples.

While some people, especially those working in fashion, may be embarrassed to be seen in the same shoes so frequently, I consider it a badge of honor. After all, who really needs more than one pair of shoes for summer, and another pair for winter (plus a set of heels for the evening, and the aforementioned trainers)? I’ll be wearing my clogs until they’re quite literally falling apart.