Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Can we just talk about Dansko for a minute?

I've always worked in the service industry. I thought that aching feet and a sore back were always a part of working a shift. Depending on my footwear, sometimes my back would hurt a lot, usually my feet. I tried Earth shoes because they promised an end to my misery, but they just made me sore elsewhere. Just this year, I thought I'd give Dansko clogs a try and goddamnit, these are the answer. I'm still physically tired after work, but it isn't specifically my feet.

I wore my purple "Volley" clogs all summer. Now I'm looking for something for cooler weather. I hate that so many of the "Pro" clogs are so fancy! I need something dark and simple. I think I'll just go with the black Pro. Does anyone know if the sizing in the Volley is the same as the Dansko Pro?

danskos are still some of my last non-vegan shoes I have held on to for all this time. I started wearing them when i was teaching 10+ hours a day and they are indeed awesome. i'll be watching this thread because next year when i'm up north i need to buy something to replace them. preferably in the dark and simple department.

I had foot surgery a bit over a year ago and I have two pairs of vegan Danskos. My orthopedic surgeon recommended them.

I have the coated canvas Volley clogs and and the lace-up Veda Danskos (I love that this pair actually says "VEGAN" on the inside).

I don't know about the Pro vs. the Volley, but the sizing between the Volley and the Veda was consistent.

I have a few pairs of vegan Danskos and I like them. I just wish they would just make a plain black and brown clog in a vegan material that goes with everything (not the sneaker looking ones - I need to look professional!). The vegan clogs offered thus far have been in mostly wacky patterns... bright stripes, paisley, multicolor.... Please Dansko, we are not all kooky hippies here in vegan land, I just want some professional looking clogs. I have emailed Dansko re this in the past.

(OK, I am kind of a wacky hippie, but not at work.)

The coated canvas Volley clogs come in plain black, that's what I have. I think the bright paisley ones look awesome, but it's not something I would want to wear at work every day.

Yeah, I have looked at those... I just think they still look a little... sneakery... I do have one of the subtler paisley pairs ... they are like greens and browns with gold sparkles. but they just do not go with lots of things.

That's fair, they do look a little sneakery. I don't wear them on days that I want to look fancy at a meeting or anything.

Are the Volley or Veda clogs at all water-resistant? I have some beautiful vegan felt Danskos (discontinued model) that I love, but the felt upper soaks up water like a sponge.

I don't like to wear shoes that are all plastic construction, so that's not an option.

The coated canvas Volleys are. My Vedas are the non-coated canvas so they wouldn't be. They might make a coated canvas version of the Veda, I'm not sure.

Thanks lobsteriffic! I think I'll give the coated canvas Volleys a try! I don't need rainboots; I just want a pair of shoes that will let me walk through a puddled parking lot with dry toes.

I really miss the felt ones, but yes, they were no good in the rain (and it rains here pretty regularly when it's cool enough to wear felt shoes!).

I find that Danskos are really consistently sized. The downside of them is that you can't have them resoled, so you have to either buy a whole bunch of pairs at once or trust that there will still be vegan ones in two years when your current pair(s)' soles get off-balance.

I am not fond of the paisley at all. The coated canvas are okay looking, but I'd really love for them to make some with a breathable vegan leather or suede.

That would be so great.

So are these good for people who are on their feet a lot? I have to stand for about 12 hrs straight and at the end of the day my feet and back really hurt. I had bought crocs since I know surgeons, etc wear them a lot but they didn't fit right and made my feet sweaty. Now I'm just back to Converse or Vans, which are not great except for the fact that they breathe.

When I started teaching those long days I actually first bought myself a set of wooden chef's clogs, and they were amazing. (sadly, this was pre-vegan and i've never seen the wooden ones). I chose my footwear based what all my daughter's doctors were wearing, since they were the only people i knew who were on their feet more than me. I had a pair of birkis too, and then the danskos when the chef clogs wore out.

Dansko's "thing" is "all-day comfort" or something like that. I've walked in them a LOT and my feet were fine, but I rarely stand in one spot all day.

My feeling about Dansko is that they actually suck if you're walking a lot, but they're great if you just stand still all day. The rocking motion and heft of the shoe makes it more difficult than it should be to walk and there is absolutely no ankle or side-to-side support so if you supinate at all or pronate a lot, you're going to wind up twisting your ankle (this has happened to me quite a few times in Dansko). If you're walking a lot all day and there's anything not totally normal about your feet or gait, I'd go for sneakers if possible. But for just standing still, I haven't found much better than Dansko or similar clogs.

So I would say: nurses, elementary teachers - sneakers. Chefs, lecturing teachers, clergy, gas station attendants, etc. - Dansko.

that's a really good point, they are very heavy shoes. [coming to them after wooden clogs was like walking on air though!]

I've seen the Dansko pros in coated canvas, which are a little more business looking than the volleys, on Zappo's.
I've been wanting a pair of Danskos for a while but I'm nervous about the bunion on my left foot. Do they have a pretty wide toe box? Sometimes I don't know how bad a shoe is for my bunion until I wear it for a day or two. Earth shoes killed it, so painful.

Very wide toe box.

As a guy, I'm having a lot of trouble finding vegan shoes/clogs for medical professionals. I start my clinical year in a few weeks and I heard Dansko had vegan shoes, but they only make the vegan ones in women's sizes. I wanted to order the women's Vegan Pros in black, but I'm just one size larger than the largest women's size and when I called the company they said they don't do custom sizes. Seems kind of silly because as a pretty short guy, I'm sure some woman out there has to have feet bigger than mine (10.5 men's). Does anyone here have any suggestions for other brands to look at that make professional-looking vegan men's shoes for lots of standing around?

Can you wear sneakers? My husband is in nursing school and he wears a pair of New Balance walking shoes.

These ones? http://www.veganstore.com/product/1045/mens-vegan-shoes

I think I could get away with them. They're about as assuming as danskos. Does your husband like them?

I don't think those are the same, he has these http://www.newbalance.com/New-Balance-8 ... gid=102000 He hasn't worn them yet, but we have other shoes from New Balance and love them, they're pretty much my go to casual shoe company, I have bad feet but I never have problems in New Balances. The ones from Pangea are probably fine too.

I've had two pairs of the canvas Danskos in the past. The Volley in coated canvas and the Veda (which I thought ran a little smaller). My main problem with them was I wore them 5 days a week for work and the canvas does not stand up to continual wear. Both pairs started coming apart where the canvas meets the rubber toe covered area after about 3 months. I like my vegan Pro ones, though the swirly red colors really don't go with everything I wear them with, and I have to have black for work. I also have a pair of Valerie sandals, but I haven't worn them yet because of the weather, hopefully I don't wear them out this summer!