A clog is a type of footwear made in part or completely from wood.
The Oxford English Dictionary[1] defines a clog as a "thick piece of wood", and later as a "wooden soled overshoe" and a "shoe with a thick wooden sole". Clogs are found in three main varieties: whole foot, wooden soled and overshoes. Whole foot clogs make the complete shoe out of wood, such as the familiar Dutch pattern clogs. Wooden soled clogs use wood for the sole only, the uppers are made from leather or similar material (for instance Swedish and English clogs). Overshoes are wooden soles with straps designed to be worn over other footwear for protection.
Whole foot clogs need to be close fitting and can be secured by curling the toes. Wooden soled clogs are fastened by laces or buckles on the welt and therefore the toes are relaxed as in shoes. Most clogs have a rounded sole, the toe rising upwards. This enables the wearer to roll the foot when walking or running, rather than flexing it as with shoes. Some overshoes do not have this feature, relying instead on raised "feet" on the sole about which the foot can pivot.
Clogs were traditionally worn in heavy labor. They remain in use as protective clothing in some factories, mines and farms. Wooden soled clogs may have steel toecaps and/or steel reinforcing inserts in the undersides of the soles. Whole foot clogs can give sufficient protection to be used without additional reinforcements.
Several different styles of dance use clogs. When worn for dancing an important feature is the sound of the clog against the floor. This is one of the fundamental roots of tap, but with the tap shoes the taps are free to click against each other and produce different sound to clogs.
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The origin of wooden footwear in Europe is not precisely known. De Boer-Olij reference to the high, thick-soled boots of the Greek tragedy actors in Antiquity (the buskin) and to the shoes worn by Roman soldiers (the caligae).[2] However, there is a possibility that the Celtic and Germanic peoples from Southern- and Northern Europe were familiar with some sort of wooden foot covering. Archeological finds of these are not known. Wooden footwear often ended up as firewood and, because of its nature, wood will rot away in the long run. The oldest surviving wooden footwear in Europe is found in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the Netherlands and dates from 1230 and 1280.[3] These finds look very similar to the wooden shoes as they are still worn in The Netherlands.
Since wooden footwear was a hand-made product, the shape of the footwear, as well as its production process showed great local and regional diversity in style. At the beginning of the 20th century machine-made wooden footwear was introduced. After WW2, in particular, wooden shoes disappeared from sight. They were replaced by more fashionable, all-leather and synthetic footwear. At present, only the so-called Swedish clogs (wooden bottom and leather top) is still seen as a trendy fashion item. Often as ladies’ high heel boots. Nevertheless, traditional wooden footwear is still popular in several regions in Europe and with some occupations. This for its practical use. Some historic local variations have been replaced by national models today.
The French wooden shoe or clog (sabot) was, in the 18th and 19th century, associated with the lower classes. During this period, the years of the Industrial Revolution, the word sabotage gained currency. Allegedly derived from sabot, sabotage described the actions of disgruntled workers who willfully damaged workplace machinery by throwing their sabots into the works. However, according to some accounts, sabot-clad workers were simply considered less productive than others who had switched to leather shoes, roughly equating the term "sabotage" with "inefficiency".[4]
German clogs are like Dutch and French clogs in that they cover the top of the foot. Compare them to Swedish or British clogs which have wooden soles and leather uppers.
Clogs are traditional also in northern Italy and southern Switzerland, where they are part of the traditional local costumes. In Friuli, clogs are called, palotis, galosis or dalminis. They are traditionally made with an upward-pointing wooden sole and a leather hood.
Because of the long association of Dutch people and clogs, Dutch people are sometimes nicknamed clog-wearers or cloggies (although in England this term can refer to Lancashire, see below).[5] The long association of the Dutch with wooden clogs can be traced to the traditional creation myths of ancient Germanic tribes who originally occupied the Netherlands. Today, Dutch clogs are primarily a beloved tourist souvenir.[6]
Despite the fact that most Dutch no longer wear klompen (clogs) for everyday use, clogs remain popular among farmers, market gardeners and gardeners. The traditional all-wooden Dutch clogs have been officially accredited as safety shoes with the CE mark and can withstand almost any penetration including sharp objects and/or concentrated acids. They are actually safer than steelcapped protective shoes in some circumstances, as the wood cracks rather than dents in extreme accidents, allowing easy removal of the clog and not continued pressure on the toes by the (edge of) the steel nose. [7] Some of the Dutch also consider wearing clogs as being healthy for the wearers' feet.
In Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia, the self-governing territories in northwestern Spain, there is a long tradition of making and wearing clogs. These Asturian and Cantabrian clogs are unusual in that they have two 'feet' on the ball of the foot (see picture of the Cantabrian clog, below); so that with the heel, the whole clog is elevated from the ground as a short elevated tripod. This is said to be useful when working outside or in the barn. These clogs are still worn in many rural northern Spanish villages today. Traditionally, this form of clog is worn as a patten-type overshoe: the dirty clog being kicked off at the door before entering the house (a slipper is worn inside the clog).
The Swedish Clog has gained recognition as being one of the more popular styles of clogs. This is mostly due to the vast popularity Swedish clogs received in the 1970s and 80s. This popular trend phased out; however, the Swedish clog style remains a commonly worn footwear. Historically, Swedish clogs were a simple construction of a leather upper secured to a wooden footbed. Although the quality has considerably changed since, the basic construction of the Swedish clog still remains today.
In England, slats of wood held in place by thonging or similar strapping were known as "Pattens" and they were usually worn over leather or fabric shoes to raise the wearer's foot above the mud of the unmade road, not to mention commonly dumped human effluent and animal dung. Those too poor to afford shoes wore wood directly against the skin, and thus the clog was developed, made of part leather and part wood. The English tended to employ Welsh and West Country alder, Scottish birch and Lincolnshire willow for the soles. The Welsh favoured alder, birch & sycamore.[8] for their clog soles.
The wearing of clogs in Britain really took off with the Industrial Revolution, when workers in the mills, mines, shipyards, iron, steel, and chemical works, workshops and factories needed strong, cheap footwear. Men and women wore laced and clasped clogs respectively, the fastening clasps being of engraved brass. Nailed under the sole at toe and heel were clog irons, called calkers[9]:101 or cokers, 3/8" wide x 1/4" thick with a groove down the middle to protected the nail heads from wear. The heyday of the clog in Britain was between the 1840s and 1920s and, although traditionally associated with Lancashire, they were worn all over the country, not just in the industrial North of England.[10][11]
The Cloggies was a long running cartoon strip satirising Northerners. The cartoon popularised the existing use of cloggie to refer to people from the Northern industrial areas, particularly Lancashire.
Although associated in the popular mind with dancing, clogs are still used in industry and are available tested to EN345.[12] Such clogs are particularly advantageous in metal working industries where hot swarf or spashes of molten metal may be found on the floor.
Clog dancing should not be confused with Morris dancing which may be performed in clogs.
There is a theory that clogging or clog dancing arose in these industrial textiles mills as a result of the mill workers entertaining themselves by syncopating foot taps with the rhythmic sounds made by the loom shuttles. Clog dancing became a widespread pastime during this period in England. During the nineteenth century, competitions were held and professional clog dancers performed in the music halls.
Clog dancing is a continuing tradition in Wales. The difference between Welsh clogging and other step dance traditions is that the performance will not only include complicated stepping, but also 'tricks'. For example, snuffing out a lit candle with the dancer's feet, toby stepping - similar to Cossack dancing— and high leaps into the air.
Clog fighting, known in Lancashire as 'purring', was a combative means of settling disputes. Clog fighting and its associated betting by spectators was illegal.
It is all up and down fighting here. They fought quite naked, excepting their clogs. When one has the other down on the ground he first endeavors to choke him by squeezing his throat, then he kicks him on the head with his clogs. Sometimes they are very severely injured.—Chris Brady[13]
To prevent their long kimonos and yukatas from getting dirty, Japanese people traditionally wear elevated wooden footwear called getas. This sandals type of wooden footwear is worn bare footed, although in winter sometimes toe socks (tabi) are used. Getas remain popular and are in summer time also worn with Western clothing.
Pattens are an overshoe variant of sandals or clogs meant to protect other footwear by either covering or elevating it above the street.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Swedish clogs became popular fashion accessories for both sexes. They were usually worn without socks and were considered suitable attire for the avant-garde man.
In the 1980s and 1990s clogs based on Swedish clogs returned in fashion for women. Platform clogs or sandals, often raised as high as 6 or even 8 inches right through between sole and insole, were worn in many western countries. The large mid layer was often made of solid cork, although some were merely of plastic with a cork covering. The sole, more often than not, was made of a light sandy-colored rubber. Some of the platforms of these clogs were encompassed about with a string-laced effect.
In 2007 Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf introduced high heeled Dutch clogs on the catwalk, with their winter collection of 2007/08.[14] In 2010, Swedish clogs for women returned again in Chanel's and Louis Vuitton's Spring / Summer 2010 collection.[15]
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