Whatever you think about the ubiquitous cork-and-leather sandal (and its new polymer counterpart), Birkenstocks are here to stay. As Cathy Horyn reported in a recent Cut article, the humble orthopedic sandal has experienced an unprecedented rise in popularity over the last few years, a craze that was perhaps jump-started when Phoebe Philo sent a mink-lined Arizona down a Céline runway in 2012.
Of course, the German company has been around since the 1770s, but the sandals weren’t introduced to a U.S. audience until about the ’60s. Today, they’re everywhere, and dare we say, have even tread onto “iconic” territory. We should have known: Kate Moss sported Birks in a spread for British magazine The Face back in 1990. If you’re still not convinced, here are 27 Birkenstocks for every kind of person in a range of styles to get you in the mood.
For the classicist
For the unnecessarily withholding dog trainer
For the Phoebe Philo Céline-era stan
For the Phoebe Philo Céline-era stan (but in black)
For the sound-bath instructor
For the fashion person
For the Fashion Person
For the waitress at Sur
For the unemployed MFA grad/hobbit
For the off-duty model walking her dog in Tompkins Square Park
For the aggressively hype hypebeast
For the subtly hype hypebeast
For the woman who wears a lot of linen
For the mom who loves statement jewelry
For the person who doesn’t mind wildly impractical suede sandals
For the person whose wildly impractical suede sandals got ruined in the rain
For the person who’ll wear these with socks
For the sixth grader on summer break
For the industrial designer
For the person who just learned about “hygge”
For the clogerati
For the Dansko-rejecting registered nurse
For the person who’s coined these her “Party Birkenstocks”
For the cool mom, not a regular mom
For the very cute but entirely age-inappropriate camp counselor
For the European tourist having lunch at Tavern on the Green
For Paris Hilton
For the person who wants to be very strapped in
And a little set for anyone who wants to keep their Birkenstocks fresh
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