I have a new addiction. It’s probably less expensive and causes less long-term damage than other things I could have become addicted to, but it’s impossible to hide from those around me.
The Swanx.
In my defense, I have bad feet. I had to wear sneakers for at least a year to get rid of the plantar fasciitis I had in both feet. I can wear Dansko or Sanita clogs without the inserts that I have to wear with other shoes, but the typical clogs are kind of plain. I have distressed brown clogs, black suede mary jane clogs, and patterned leather ones. I even have a pair of wooden-soled clogs from HIGH SCHOOL! Seriously!
Just before my birthday I found The Swanx. They are Sanita clogs that are handpainted with a variety of gorgeous designs. Ben bought me a pair for my birthday and I bought myself another pair because they were being discontinued – only 48 pairs of each design are sold before they are retired. Then they had their twice-annual sale, and I bought another pair. So the total currently stands at 3 pairs, but my birthday pair came with a $20 coupon which I will just HAVE to use at some point. Yesterday one of my friends’ husbands saw me wearing a pair and said, “Hey – that’s a different pair from the ones you were wearing last week, isn’t it?” Like I said, I can’t hide it so I’m just going to be honest.
The Swanx aren’t cheap, and they’re addicting, so be prepared when you go to their website. They do have a “last chance” page where some designs are available at a reduced price in limited sizes. Some of their designs are related to nursing or the medical field, because there are so many medical professionals that wear clogs. I got lots of compliments on them when we were in the hospital last week. The company was started by a husband and wife, when the husband wanted to help his wife (a nurse) spruce up her clogs, and the company is on track to hit $700,000 in sales in 2010. Each pair is hand-painted by an artist, so I like to think of my addiction as supporting the art community. I don’t feel as guilty for spending the kids’ college fund on shoes that way.
They have great customer service too…I had to return my first two pairs because the sizes are European and I needed a different size. They exchanged them for me even though both designs had been discontinued and my original pairs are now on the last chance page at 20% off. If you buy a pair of Swanx, put my name in the “referred by” box and I’ll eventually earn a free pair! I’ve got my eye on these:
5 comments
Good lord, thanks a lot. I whipped off my 10 year old pair of Danskos to see what European size I take and found a giant crack all the way through the sole. Kismet! Can’t believe I finally wore these puppies out. I LOVE The Swanx, can’t decide what pair to get. I love both the Peek A Boo and the Good Cat Bad Cat. Hummmmmmm, Like I said, thanks a lot! There’s also a kitty one on the last chance page in my size.
WOO-HOO! Don’t forget to put my name in the box for each pair that you order! 🙂
The problem with The Swanx is that once you have a pair in one color, you need other pairs to coordinate with the rest of your outfits!
Hey Lori: What SIZE do you wear ?? -Santa 😉
Too late! I just used my Swanx gift certificate. I couldn’t wait any longer!
LOL, so, you no longer want any OTHER pairs ? We are ALWAYS looking for ANY good ideas for you! It sounds like these might be a winner, ANY time in the future?