Having a Moment: Birkenstocks

Before you start shaking your head and rolling your eyes, just hear me out.  It would *seem* that Birkenstocks are having a bit of a fashion moment these days.  Now, I know what you are thinking.  Aren't those the same ugly sandals that the hippies wore back in the 60's?  And grungy college kids tried to repopularize in the 90's?  Yes, yes, those are the ones.  In fact, I was one of those grungy college kids, and I too sported my own pair.  In fact, I still have them.  More on that in just a bit.  

Back to the fashion side of all this.  For some unexplained reason, these shoes are making a bit of a resurgence.  In fact, I have seen them all over my trusted fashion blogs and magazines recently.  And Good Morning America even did a piece on them recently.  And unlike other fashion trends that come and go, these shoes look exactly like they always did.  They haven't been updated to make them more fashion friendly for a new generation of wearers at all.  Hmmm, it got me thinking- maybe I should dig out my trusty old kicks and see what happens.  

Well, this is what happened.  My husband threw a fit.  I haven't seen him this passionate about anything in quite some time.  He just wasn't having it, and certainly wasn't down with me wearing my Birkenstocks out in public when we were together.  So I just thought to myself, maybe I will just wear them during the day when he's not around.  Yeah, that's the ticket.  Or it was, until I actually dug them out and slipped them on.  And it brought  back a flood of memories.  Memories of college professors who religiously wore their Birkenstocks with socks, regardless of the weather.  Memories of my fellow liberal arts college students clunking around campus in these gunboats.  Oh well, I put them on anyway, and studied myself in the mirror.  Oh dear.  Maybe I will put these away for another 20 years and see how I feel about them then.  My husband will be rejoicing right about now.  

I must admit that these are the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned EVER!!  However, they are also the widest and flatest shoes I have ever owned, the likes of which we haven't seen since Crocs hit the scene.  In any case, I have long since learned that I would rather suffer for fashion than wear ugly footwear.  There, I said it.  These shoes are ugly, no doubt about it.  But I still think I will just tuck them away for a rainy day.  Who knows?  Maybe someone will pay me a fortune one day for my *vintage* Birkenstocks.  Here's hoping...