Nevertheless, I can't help but love them, even if I'm now about 4x the actual age I wore this style most. To be honest, Clarks has been selling similar styles to sensible-shoe-wearing folks like myself for a good few years in the shape of various clumpy Active Air styles (my burgundy patent cross-strap clumpers being my very favourite day to day shoes), and so they're not a huge departure from what some people wear day to day. They're practical (kids wear them for a reason!), they're kooky-sweet and they're a sturdy alternative to the often pathetically unsupportive ballet pump, and I do love the nostalgia-factor. I think they go perfectly with little printed dresses and cardigans, just as I paired them in my ode to Bernie.
Anyway, so here's a round up of the different versions around on the high street at the moment.My favourite so far have to be the navy Shellys' version on the left (but in red) - they're real leather, unlike the shiny red Schuh ones, they're not super-clumpy (the Red Or Dead ones are like having dreadnoughts strapped to your feet) and the T-bar is just right (the white Topshop ones and the YMC navy ones just look a bit too orthopaedic and not quite cute enough).
And here's the original ad that made so many girls' walks to school infinitely better as a result of a genius little bit of marketing:
Weirdly enough, it seems impossible to get these actual styles in larger-sized kids' sizes now. Which is a shame because for the smaller-footed among us, it'd be a much cheaper option than any of the above. But I'm guessing it's all about the Kickers loafers now. (I'm so *down* with them kids.)
