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Clark Shoes
 Hal Manogue- Author Essayist and Poet
The shoe business is one of those businesses that understands that the only thing that is constant in life is change. Shoe fashions set the trend for clothing even though the clothing manufacturers like to say it's the other way around.
Shoes tell a lot about the person wearing them so most consumers spend a great deal of time finding comfortable shoes that speak for themselves. The C and J Clark Shoe Company, based in Somerset, England, has been making comfortable Clark shoes that speak for themselves for almost two centuries.
Clark shoes need no introduction. Almost every boy that grew up in the 1950s had to have a pair of Desert Boots, and the girls were not in fashion unless they wore a pair of Playdeck sandals. Both Clark styles have withstood the test of time.
The Desert Boot and Playdeck are made in factories around the globe. The Desert Boot is still a two-eyelet suede or leather upper lace-up ankle boot. It has a round toe, and a gummy plantation crepe sole. The Playdeck is a leather two-piece, two-buckle sandal. One big buckle closes the ankle strap, and the other buckle adjusts the strap over the top of the foot. The sole is still gummy crepe, but the heel is now a wedge.
But the rock star in the Clark shoes lineup is the iconic 1965 Clark Wallabee. This geek trend setter is detailed with a tan suede upper, a heavy moccasin stitched around the slightly oblique toe, and it sits on a genuine plantation crepe wedge.
The Wallabee is as ugly now as it was then. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it is gorgeous in the eyes of Clark International. It is considered one of the best selling shoes ever, and it is a major reason why Clark International is the fourth largest shoe company in the world.
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