A Humbly Beautiful Birkenstock Clog Is Now Deliciously Luxe
Birkenstock's masterpiece sandals are always in season but never more so than when it's hot outside. Forget about socks — heat means it's time to slip into a laceless Birkenstock.
But while most folks rock Birkenstock's Arizona sandal or Boston clog, Japanese chain retailer Journal Standard is stepping into the wildly underrated Birkenstock Tokio clog, a handsome riff on the Boston that straps around the wearer's heel.
Typically only available in a modest smooth leather makeup — or, if you're Christian Dior, felted wool — the Birkenstock Tokio has been given a well-deserved suede upgrade as a Journal Standard-exclusive design, taking the killer clog into deliciously luxe territory.
Not that there's anything wrong with the conventional leather iterations always available on Birkenstock's website, but isn't it nice to see the Tokio clog in more classic styling?
Note that Birkenstock also sometimes issues the Tokio as part of its high-end 1774 line — this included the Spring/Summer 2023 versions and Dior collab — but doesn't always offer it as part of its mainline collection.
Luckily, should you be willing to buy from afar, Journal Standard's exclusive Tokio clog isn't much more expensive than the widely available iterations.
That being said, don't expect it to stick around for long when the suede Tokio sandal hits Journal Standard's web store in July for ¥24,200 ($154).
If it's any condolence, Birkenstock has dished a delightful assortment of interesting heel-strapped clogs as of late.
There's the industrial-friendly Birki Air 2, a style intended for service workers that makes sense for, really, anyone, an outdoorsy style called the Shinjuku, and the Reykjavik clog, a chunky soon-to-be streetstyle favorite. Probably.
But the thing about Birkenstock is that all of these styles are so good that I'm only left wanting even more.
There's room for the functional Birki Air 2, the fashion-forward Reykjavik, and Journal Standard's classy suede Tokio because they're all so different and all so good.
I say bring it all on.
