Cute Clarks (no joke!)

I have to admit, I felt a little sheepish leaving the shoe store with a pair of Indigo by Clarks Sylvie heels. After all, Clarks have always been for sensible English women of a certain age; these were meant to be worn with my new silk dress. On New Year’s Eve.

Sylvie by Clarks

Apparently I’m not alone in my new found appreciation of the staple comfort shoe brand, though. “When did Clarks get so cute?” asks Shoeblog. Yep, it’s true: The brand’s Indigo line is suddenly packed with not just sensible but whimsical/fun/cute/crush-worthy/oh-my-god-am-I-old-or-are-these-actually-hip pumps and booties.

Rae booties by Clarks

On a Yelp thread about San Francisco shoe stores, one commenter wrote, “I used to date a podiatrist and he told me that Clarks makes some of the best shoes. They actually have really cute shoes now as well.”

Flash by Clarks

Söfft is another company that’s ramped up the style aspect of its comfort shoes. High but walkable wedges, patent leathers, stacked wooden heels, metallics and straps number among the options.

Cally by Sofft

One reviewer on review site Tumblr wrote, “These surprised me the most because I tend to get the mental image of orthopedic shoes when I think of this Söfft, but this style is really cute.”

Redondo by Sofft

Still not sure? Even Project Runway’s Tim Gunn gives Sofft the thumbs up, according to a video posted by the shoe manufacturer. “Angela has wide feet and had given up on finding cute and stylish shoes for her hard-to-fit feet. That is until Tim Gunn and Gretta Monahan open her eyes to the world of Söfft Shoes,” reads the intro text.

All of this, of course, beg the question, What other formerly-frumpy brands have suddenly gone cute?