Clogs Evolution Through The Years, Photos

Amina Ayoud
·4 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Clogs have gone through many changes over the years. Carved wooden clogs can be traced back to the 1300s in Europe and were mostly worn by peasants and the lower classes. The footwear was traditionally made out of a singular block of wood and made by craftsmen known as bodgers. By the 14th century, clogs became a stylish choice, adopted and upgraded by the upper classes. Clogs of the 21st century mix traditional silhouettes with modernized materials embellished with buckle and horsebit detailing. The shoe style now comes in a variety of inventive prints and colorways. Designer brands like Viktor & Rolf, Chanel, Anna Sui, Maison Margiela and Balenciaga have come to include the footwear style in their runway shows, remixing the historic silhouette in unique ways.

More from Footwear News

Best of Footwear News

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Pottery Peddler, 1738. Artist Caylus, Anne-Claude-Philippe de.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Paul Gauguin, (artist), French, 1848 – 1903, Pair of Wooden Shoes (Sabots), 1889/1890, polychromed oak, leather, and iron nails, overall: 12.8 x 32.7 x 11.2 cm (5 1/16 x 12 7/8 x 4 7/16 in.)

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Belgian women coal miners dressed in trousers. They wear workers’ clogs and headscarves, and tight belts that emphasize their waists. Between 1900-1920.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

British sailors wearing Dutch clogs, First World War, 1914-1918, (1933). ‘Some 2,000 of the sailors who were sent over by Mr. Churchill to aid in the defence of Antwerp were cut off and only saved their liberty and their lives by crossing the frontier to Holland, where they were interned.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Clogs as bathing shoes 1936.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

French refugees in the town of Corcieux, France, eat their noon meal. The Germans executed citizens and leveled Corcieux, in retaliation for French resistance activity on the eve of D-Day during World War 2. Ca. late 1944.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

The Netherlands circa 1950, wooden shoes in front of a doorway. Clogs in front of aan entrance to a house.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Italian singer Peppino di Capri (Giuseppe Faiella) putting a clog on his wife Roberta Stoppa’s foot. 1964.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

German schlager singer Mary Roos on vacation, circa 1979.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

“My Girl 2” actress Anna Chlumsky, 1994. Chlumsky, who plays Vada Sultenfuss in the film, wore a variety of clog styles during the film’s shooting.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Whoopi Goldberg, producer of Hollywood Squares, posed inside the center square, 1998.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Clogs from Kokids. April. 24 2002.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Leather clogs from Pedder Red Feb. 13 2004.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Ugg clogs in a light lavender available at TJ Maxx. 2006.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Jessica Szohr shooting “Gossip Girl” episode “Belles de Jour”, season 4, ep. 401, aired Sept. 13, 2010. taken in 2007. Many characters, including Vanessa, wore clogs during the filming of the hit show.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

A model walks down the catwalk during the Viktor & Rolf fashion show as part of Paris Fashion Week fall 2008 on Feb. 26, 2007 in Paris.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

A model presents an outfit by German designer Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel as British singer Lily Allen performs during a ready-to-wear spring 2010 fashion show on Oct. 6, 2009 in Paris.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Alexa Chung (shoe detail) attends a screening of “A Glimpse Inside The Mind Of Charles Swan III” at Landmark Sunshine Cinema on Jan. 9, 2013 in New York. Chung was a huge advocate of the clog style.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

A model walks the runway during the Balenciaga ready-to-wear spring 2018 fashion show as part of the Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 1, 2017 in Paris.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

A model walks the runway for Anna Sui during New York Fashion Week The Shows at Gallery I at Spring Studios on Sept. 09, 2019 in New York.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Tina Haase is seen wearing beige creme white dress Iris & Ink, black bag Jacquemus, sunglasses Joseph, Clogs Scholl on June 10, 2021 in Berlin.

Clogs Over the Years

Clogs Over the Years
Clogs Over the Years

Influencer Grece Ghanem wearing a yellow net bag by Longchamp, purple gloves by Prada and peach-colored rubber clogs by Bottega Veneta, seen during Paris Fashion Week fall 22/23 on March 2, 2022 in Paris.