My New Favorite Shoe Comes Straight From the Garden

When I was a child, maybe around 7 or 8, my mom bought me a pair of clogs. Back then, I thought they were ugly and refused to wear them. Now, I know they’re ugly, and I yearn for them.

Clogs have enjoyed a recent renaissance alongside the boho revival. Chemena Kamali planted the seeds when she dressed front-row guests at her inaugural Chloé show in matching wooden footwear. Since then, other designers have offered their own interpretation, from Lauren Manoogian to Anna Sui, and even The Row. And lest we forget the enduring popularity of the Birkenstocks Boston clog.

On a recent trip to Northern California, I spent a day loafing around the Russian River with friends, where topics of conversation drifted to preferred kombucha brands and mindfulness-oriented tech startups. As we packed up our spot on the riverbank, I noticed my friend, Serafina, wearing a pair of sepia Plasticana gardening clogs. Not only was I jealous of her practicality (rocks and sand were flooding into my ancient Vans slip-ons), I felt a magnetic pull toward the ugly, yet kind of fabulous shoe.

That’s how I found myself planted on my friend’s couch in San Francisco, hunting for a pair of gardening clogs of my very own. But instead of Serafina’s translucent Plasticanas or the wooden boho-chic, I settled on a rubber fuchsia pair with a slight heel from Merry People. Even while I was typing in my credit card information, I knew this was a deeply out of character move for me. (My colleague Laia Garcia-Furtado confirmed this with her response to the photo I texted her: “Oh wow sooo wackadoodle.”)

Despite my reporting on the freaky shoe beat, my own footwear has stayed largely classic: nude ballet flats, black leather boots, slim flip-flops, and lace-up sneakers are all part of my regular rotation. But now, my ultra-comfy hot pink gardening clogs feel like a way to step out of my comfort zone, bringing some pizzazz to my largely neutral wardrobe. Already, I’ve been styling them with jeans and T-shirts, miniskirts, and romantic blouses alike.