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Clomp clomp clomp. Do you hear that? It’s me, clomping my way around the island of Manhattan in my wooden-heeled, well-worn Dansko clogs. I love them, it’s true, it’s on the record. But when I saw Jelly Belly expert Claire Saffitz wearing a pair of ventilated, Smurf-blue Calzuro clogs recently, I had to have a pair. Unlike my bulbous Danskos, these have a sleeker shape and a short heel that helps “reduce fatigue,” but most of all, they’re lightweight and quiet. Order up!
Others have written Calzuro appreciations before me. The high-tech co-polymer composition plastic clogs are beloved especially by medical professionals (you can easily clean them in the washing machine—or dishwasher, and bleach to de-germ as needed). There’s something cooler-than-a-Croc about Calzuros—because they’re made in Italy??—but they’re still decidedly oogly. You can get them with ventilation holes if you have sweaty feet, or not, if you plan on spilling soup on them.
The, ahem, practical design gets overshadowed by the bright Matisse blue color I got them in; it’s cheerful and inviting. They have a subtle glitter, like my eyeshadow primer and concrete sidewalks. Senior food editor Anna Stockwell has a pair that’s Starbucks-straw green, to which she added some yellow straps (sold separately!). A Calzuro rep told me that people really like to express themselves with different strap colors. That stayed with me for a while.
(Fun fact: Some people refer to the straps on the back of clogs as “sport mode.” Recently, I saw a TikTok where a guy says, “Gotta put these into four-wheel drive,” and then he pulls down the heel strap on his Crocs and walks through some snow. Great news: The straps on the Calzuro give you that option too.)
Claire was wearing hers with tiny no-show socks and the whole fit, as they say at Gentlemen’s Quarterly, was strong. It said, “Don’t worry about my feet, worry about my food.” Free from distractions, we can strive towards greatness, ya know?
(Don’t forget a comfort insole!)
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