Wooden Heeled Clogs: A Reflection of the Dutch Culture

The word clogs is popular among the English, but the Dutch are familiar with Klompen. They are culturally attached with the wooden heeled clogs. Every year they manufacture around 3 million pairs. If a traveller has to take back home a souvenir from Amsterdam then it has to be a painted wooden clog. Even the famous Shirley Temple wore clogs for the first time on celluloid with aplomb in her much appreciated film Heidi, which garnered much popularity among the Dutch.

During the Roman era, Netherlands was a land of mud. The locals followed the practice of pumping out water from mud in order to shrivel up the land. The excessive water pumping and dredging pushed the land a bit under the sea level. To work around a sludgy, and muddy terrain, a specialized and multipurpose footwear was need of the hour. In this way the Dutch feet landed in wooden heeled clogs. Since then, the Dutch have been proudly sporting these shoes. 

Traditionally, clogs were identified with a wooden sole and a leather top, but as the time went by, the whole shoe was being made out of wood to enhance the comfort. High quality timber extracted from alder, and willow were primarily used to manufacture clogs. They were specifically carved out for wedding, and visiting churches. To make them look trendy, the design on top often featured laces and the lace holes.

The Dutch also has a flare for Clog dancing or clogging (“Klompendansen”) and follows it ardently as it is a flag bearer of their creative expression. Also, tap dancing that eventually evolved into a popular American dance form, is an off-shoot of clogging.

In Holland, the wooden clogs are largely worn by farmers, fishermen, factory workers, and artisans to stay away from the harm’s way. The wood provides protection from nails, fishing hooks and razor-sharp instruments that may make a light work of a regular boot. As clogs also help in keeping the feet pat dry, people can easily roam around docks and muddy fields. 

For different professions, specific wooden shoes are being carved out. For fishing purposes, clogs were designed with pointed nose so that they can be used to unclutter the fishing nets. If the work involves digging out peats, then a broader base is designed for the clogs to provide a larger spread over the soggy soil. Ironically, only 12 clog makers are left in the whole Netherlands at present time. The advent of machines has expedited the manufacturing process, but people working in gardens or farms still find pleasure in the old school ways of wearing the hand-made clogs.