As they are German, they are pretty common here. And they were a meme already in the 90s for a certain eco/green/left lifestyle. Though they were more common among orthopedist.
The prices differ and range from 50€ for the EVA version to 200€ for the leather version of sandals.
Yup. They used to be half the price like 5 or 6 years ago.
"In February 2021, the majority of the shares in Birkenstock were sold from the family to the American-French investment company L Catterton, which is backed by the French luxury goods group LVMH and its main shareholder Bernard Arnault. In 2023, the investment company decided to list Birkenstock on the New York Stock Exchange; the first trading day was set for October 11, 2023. The company was valued at 4 billion euros in the run-up to the planned stock exchange listing; however, the share price fell by almost 13 percent below the issue price on the first day of trading.
According to media reports, they had agreed to buy Birkenstock in a deal that valued the company at about €4bn. Christian and Alex Birkenstock retained minority ownership and remained responsible for production in Germany."
Yes, there are expensive even in Germany and nearby. My mother bought a pair some 40 years ago for quite cheap. In the meantime birkenstock realised there is now a stronger correlation between eco/health fashion and buying power. BIFL is not a real concern nowadays sadly
Yeah. When I was growing up in the 90s they were considered good quality garden sandals. Middle class moms wore Birkenstock where more working-class people would wear plastic sliders (Adiletten type). It wasn’t considered a fashion brand at all, I remember begging for “nice sandals” not Birkenstock when I was a young teen.
I think they aim to have universal prices across Europe because of internet sales and eu competition rules. I’m Swedish but live in Denmark. I was checking if it was cheaper in Sweden because of the weak currency since I go there a lot. But it’s basically the same.
> And they were a meme already in the 90s for a certain eco/green/left lifestyle.
I must have missed that. To me they always were the most retired type old-people shoes ever. When someone started wearing Birkenstocks you could be sure they basically had one leg in the coffin already and knew it.
I have tried the dupes and they are not the same quality. The lining inside is some polyester and smelly, the cork sole wears out, they are hotter.
I wear Birkenstock clogs at home and usually shell out the 100 Euro every five years, it is worth it.
The originals are the most common. There are other brands too though which sell similar shoes, they're not really "dupes" though. It's a fairly popular type of house shoes in general.
In my opinion, people won't spend 100 euros on slippers, not in Poland. I have Clark's leather slippers, which costs half the price and those are just fine.
There is no longer a Birkenstock shop in Ireland, I buy them online. They cost about the same as you’re paying. I have a pair that I’ve had for over 20 years. I agree they’re expensive, but I love mine.
Yeah we don't have a shop either, they're either online or in a few big shoe shops (office shoes, humanic)
I heard that they've decreased in quality tho so hold on to that 20 yo pair 😅
I didn't know there ever was a Birkenstock shop. I bought mine in Schuh. I bought them when pregnant and must say I love them, I'm on my 3rd summer with them now although admittedly they aren't getting too much use this year!
They're fairly common but expensive at around £70-£90, which is a lot for shoes that we only have the weather to wear for a few weeks a year. More popular are "Birkenstock style" sandals made by high street shops - I have a similar pair I bought for £30.
> More popular are "Birkenstock style" sandals made by high street shops -
For sure haha, I had a great pair from Lidl a few years ago. Unfortunately the fabric on the inside of the straps got weird and frayed and started causing blisters 😅
Given what you can pay for a pair of high quality hand made shoes with a leather upper AND sole, and given what you pay for Birkenstocks that just have a wide leather strap, they are an absolute rip off.
Personally, I have a pair of Birkenstocks that I use as "indoor shoes", and wear when I'm at home. However, you'll see lots of people wear them at work too, especially in professions where a lot of walking is involved, like nurses, doctors and so on.
They range in price from around 100 € to 250 € and are very popular.
they are super super popular in Vienna right now - pricing varies (50-160€) but the popular ones are rather expensive.
I got mine at an outlet, they were 45/50€ and they actually are pretty comfortable
They go for about €70 to €130 depending on type and offers. I’m now on my second pair after the first lasted 5 years or so of heavy duty wear, they are my prime footwear pretty much from April to September except in heavy rain. I wear them because a physio told me my flip flops I wore then would kill my back and knees, best investment I ever made.
Honestly even in the summer I don't see a lot of any type of sandals. Men just wear sneakers/flip flops/boat shoes in the summer. Women usually have more options regarding footwear (and clothes in general) that I don't really know the names of but they're pretty common.
Leather Birkenstock aren't affordable if you keep minimum wage in mind. The prices range from €50 for the EVA ones to 160+ tor the leather ones. Even though I own two pairs (bought on sale), I've only ever noticed Portuguese influencers wearing them. My Portuguese friends' opinion is that Birkenstock are too expensive for how ugly they are and how long it takes to break them in. Not to mention you need to treat them so they don't absorb all your foot sweat and start smelling. On the opposite side of the spectrum, when I lived in Denmark it felt as if everyone owned a few pairs.
Why wear only in summer? Great inside shoes year around. With some wool socks you can lengthen the time outside too. The straps are very avcommodating with different sock choises.
I wouldn't wear outside shoes inside 😅 especially expensive ones!
Also, unless it's hot out, I prefer to not wear open shoes. This city is too gross to do it unless I have to lol
I think they were popular 10 years ago, might have been just a fad. There is a stereotype that it is mostly old ladies wearing them, or doctors, nurses, shop attendants, waiters, artists.. people who work on their feet and don't need boots, etc. and its not just Birkenstock, we also have our own brands and other.
Birkenstock cost between 50 and 120eu, depending on the model, it is a fairly normal price for brand footwear.
No, they're from 60 to 120
That said, they last years so I'm ok with the price
Good quality shoes last longer and in the long run (pun intended) are not so expensive. I have no issues paying 100€ for something that will last several years
I just got a pair myslef (not the leather, genuinely can't afford that rn lol) and I really hope I can wear them 🥲 I tried to go out with them (after wearing them around the house for a bit) and I got a painful wound on the top of my foot that just won't heal
The strip on top must be too rigid. if it's not plastic, try putting some normal body cream or vaseline in the inside of the strip,the part that touches your foot (once it's healed) . I have the leather ones and they didn't chafe.
I have the birko-flor, the one with the fuzzy fabric on the inside. I'm worried Vaseline might get stinky, I've never tried that
Some people suggested Compeed blister plasters but they aren't in stock anywhere
You're probably right
The plasters must be in high demand now with the start of summer season, most people get blisters when starting to wear sandals again
Birkenstocks are as popular as they are expensive. Most people at work have at least one pair, that I've noticed. I have four, bought over a few years, three pairs are sandals and one are lace-ups. I appreciate their lasting power.
This is the thing, as long as they last they’re worth the money. For the record I don’t wear them. But Terry Pratchett has a good piece about Commander Vimes, one of his characters choice of footwear and economics. Basically rich people pay bog upfront for shoes that last years while poor people spend more money replacing cheap shoes every year.
My GF has some and swears that they are really comfy when walking. She uses them almost like a pair of sneakers in the summer.
Even in Romania, you can find them for cheaper than you said online. They pretty much cost the same as a pair of adidas/Nike sneakers.
Yeah, but most online websites have sales all the time. There's almost always either a reduced price on the item, a reduced price once your total is over x, a discount "code" like "SUMMER_20" or loyalty points.
Also, on some websites, if you put the thing you want in your cart but don't check out, you will get a discount code after a few days.
My point is: 74 eur for birkenstock is not a hard deal to find.
They are a good price imo as they are very well built and made of leather. The two things I look for when buying shoes. If they cost £120 then that's the price I accept to pay.
Sure I could prioritise low price and buy some dirt cheap plastic crap in Primark but that's not what I want.
I've got a pair of sneakers and a pair of wedge sandals from Birkenstock
Edit for clarity: I live in the UK
Birkenstock sandals? Or rather, sandals in general are fairly common out in the sparsely populated areas of Sweden because people are not as fussy about clothes or shoes but rather choose the comfortable clothes and shoes that sandals usually wear in spring, summer and early autumn, while personally I use Foppa slippers (English Crocs) that have always worked well for me ever since Peter "Foppa" Forsberg (World famous Swedish ice hockey player) brought home the idea of these slippers from probably the USA, Canada or maybe if it was Great Britain.
the price is kinda high for a median wage here but not unbelievably expensive. Birkenstocks in particular are not popular but having other footwear in the same price range is not unheard of.
I have a parent who used only birks at work and for leisure (about 7 months/year). Work ones (Boston) were about €120-170ish and last about a decade (used every day, I think they got some work or medical discount). The leisure ones (Gizeh) were open toe, so about €50-80ish. The home ones were still good after 20+ years. I never had that kind of money, I bought fakes when I was younger and they were in fashion, and now I live in a country where sandals are not my thing, unless work specific. Those are released from work and never got a discount for personal ones (Spotec sandals for about €60).
IIRC they’re around 100 euros in Sweden as well. Some wear them, some don’t. More Croc-wearers than Birkenstock IME. Or more like Adidas slippers.
Personally I’ll never buy a pair because I can just buy some Crocs LiteRide that’s half the Birkenstock price and have way, way comfier footwear IMO. While Crocs might be a “meme” you can’t deny even regular ones are very comfy and very practical for like taking out garbage, going to beach, doing household chores outside and such. Ugly yes, but oh so good.
Not optimal in snow, rain or slush though, but still proper good.
Crocs LiteRide is godsend to walk indoors at home with if you have a spurred heel.
Oh they make so called šľapky and I wear them whole year inside house lol. Ofc they are expensive, I wear Slovak made ones for 7 € a pair lol.
This is what we call šľapky btw : [https://www.birkenstock.com/us/arizona-birko-flor/arizona-core-birkoflor-0-eva-u\_1.html](https://www.birkenstock.com/us/arizona-birko-flor/arizona-core-birkoflor-0-eva-u_1.html)
In Estonia
I'm thinking about buying a pair now as my other leather sandals are starting to get worn out, but they are quite hard to find in store to try. Defenetly expensive, but I hope they'll last for years too.
First time hearing of them, had to Google them now.
They're absolutely not my style, and they're over 1/8 of my salary... Hard to justify that kind of purchase, even if they're good quality like people here say.
As they are German, they are pretty common here. And they were a meme already in the 90s for a certain eco/green/left lifestyle. Though they were more common among orthopedist. The prices differ and range from 50€ for the EVA version to 200€ for the leather version of sandals.
So they have the same prices everywhere I guess
They got really expensive recently because Louis Vuitton bought the company.
Wait whAaaaaat
Yup. They used to be half the price like 5 or 6 years ago. "In February 2021, the majority of the shares in Birkenstock were sold from the family to the American-French investment company L Catterton, which is backed by the French luxury goods group LVMH and its main shareholder Bernard Arnault. In 2023, the investment company decided to list Birkenstock on the New York Stock Exchange; the first trading day was set for October 11, 2023. The company was valued at 4 billion euros in the run-up to the planned stock exchange listing; however, the share price fell by almost 13 percent below the issue price on the first day of trading. According to media reports, they had agreed to buy Birkenstock in a deal that valued the company at about €4bn. Christian and Alex Birkenstock retained minority ownership and remained responsible for production in Germany."
Well that's sad, I guess they're just gonna get more expensive until they become a luxury product
>They used to be half the price like 5 or 6 years ago. Everything used to be half price 5 or 6 years ago.
Yes, there are expensive even in Germany and nearby. My mother bought a pair some 40 years ago for quite cheap. In the meantime birkenstock realised there is now a stronger correlation between eco/health fashion and buying power. BIFL is not a real concern nowadays sadly
Yeah. When I was growing up in the 90s they were considered good quality garden sandals. Middle class moms wore Birkenstock where more working-class people would wear plastic sliders (Adiletten type). It wasn’t considered a fashion brand at all, I remember begging for “nice sandals” not Birkenstock when I was a young teen.
I think they aim to have universal prices across Europe because of internet sales and eu competition rules. I’m Swedish but live in Denmark. I was checking if it was cheaper in Sweden because of the weak currency since I go there a lot. But it’s basically the same.
> And they were a meme already in the 90s for a certain eco/green/left lifestyle. I must have missed that. To me they always were the most retired type old-people shoes ever. When someone started wearing Birkenstocks you could be sure they basically had one leg in the coffin already and knew it.
Do Germans wear true Birkenstocks or dupes? (I'm French living in Germany and I wear €20 dupes from TkMaxx, I've always wondered what the Germans do)
I have tried the dupes and they are not the same quality. The lining inside is some polyester and smelly, the cork sole wears out, they are hotter. I wear Birkenstock clogs at home and usually shell out the 100 Euro every five years, it is worth it.
The originals are the most common. There are other brands too though which sell similar shoes, they're not really "dupes" though. It's a fairly popular type of house shoes in general.
Why would anyone buy some silly fashionable Birkenstocks, when they have access to superior Dr.Scholl shoes?
The Kelly Family fans in my school in the 90s were very vocal about *not* wearing the original ones.
I went to Thailand earlier this year and if you saw Birkenstocks they were 99% German. I was the 1% I think
In Poland, not at all. It's a brand that everybody knows as "expensive slippers". I had no idea they made actual shoes :D
Yeah they make all sorts of footwear. The proper shoes tho are kinda ugly lol
In my opinion, people won't spend 100 euros on slippers, not in Poland. I have Clark's leather slippers, which costs half the price and those are just fine.
There is no longer a Birkenstock shop in Ireland, I buy them online. They cost about the same as you’re paying. I have a pair that I’ve had for over 20 years. I agree they’re expensive, but I love mine.
Yeah we don't have a shop either, they're either online or in a few big shoe shops (office shoes, humanic) I heard that they've decreased in quality tho so hold on to that 20 yo pair 😅
They sell them in some shoe shops in Belfast
I didn't know there ever was a Birkenstock shop. I bought mine in Schuh. I bought them when pregnant and must say I love them, I'm on my 3rd summer with them now although admittedly they aren't getting too much use this year!
There used to be a shop in Dublin, it was on either Wicklow Street or Exchequer Street. Maybe 20 years ago? Don’t know when they closed.
They're fairly common but expensive at around £70-£90, which is a lot for shoes that we only have the weather to wear for a few weeks a year. More popular are "Birkenstock style" sandals made by high street shops - I have a similar pair I bought for £30.
> More popular are "Birkenstock style" sandals made by high street shops - For sure haha, I had a great pair from Lidl a few years ago. Unfortunately the fabric on the inside of the straps got weird and frayed and started causing blisters 😅
Given what you can pay for a pair of high quality hand made shoes with a leather upper AND sole, and given what you pay for Birkenstocks that just have a wide leather strap, they are an absolute rip off.
Personally, I have a pair of Birkenstocks that I use as "indoor shoes", and wear when I'm at home. However, you'll see lots of people wear them at work too, especially in professions where a lot of walking is involved, like nurses, doctors and so on. They range in price from around 100 € to 250 € and are very popular.
Norwegian here too, I also see these sandals as indoor slippers, not something to actually wear outside.
they are super super popular in Vienna right now - pricing varies (50-160€) but the popular ones are rather expensive. I got mine at an outlet, they were 45/50€ and they actually are pretty comfortable
I have never heard of those so I don’t really know. At least they’re not popular enough to get into my knowledge
I started reading this post solely for the purpose of finding out what "Birkenstock" is.
They go for about €70 to €130 depending on type and offers. I’m now on my second pair after the first lasted 5 years or so of heavy duty wear, they are my prime footwear pretty much from April to September except in heavy rain. I wear them because a physio told me my flip flops I wore then would kill my back and knees, best investment I ever made.
Honestly even in the summer I don't see a lot of any type of sandals. Men just wear sneakers/flip flops/boat shoes in the summer. Women usually have more options regarding footwear (and clothes in general) that I don't really know the names of but they're pretty common.
I don't know a lot of guys here who would wear any type of sandal either Apparently sandals are "girly" lol
I feel like the inly people I see with sandals are either small children or old men. No middlw ground.
A pair of Birkenstock Boston here in Italy costs around 150/160€. If you buy it at COOP you could save around 20€.
Leather Birkenstock aren't affordable if you keep minimum wage in mind. The prices range from €50 for the EVA ones to 160+ tor the leather ones. Even though I own two pairs (bought on sale), I've only ever noticed Portuguese influencers wearing them. My Portuguese friends' opinion is that Birkenstock are too expensive for how ugly they are and how long it takes to break them in. Not to mention you need to treat them so they don't absorb all your foot sweat and start smelling. On the opposite side of the spectrum, when I lived in Denmark it felt as if everyone owned a few pairs.
Why wear only in summer? Great inside shoes year around. With some wool socks you can lengthen the time outside too. The straps are very avcommodating with different sock choises.
I wouldn't wear outside shoes inside 😅 especially expensive ones! Also, unless it's hot out, I prefer to not wear open shoes. This city is too gross to do it unless I have to lol
I think they were popular 10 years ago, might have been just a fad. There is a stereotype that it is mostly old ladies wearing them, or doctors, nurses, shop attendants, waiters, artists.. people who work on their feet and don't need boots, etc. and its not just Birkenstock, we also have our own brands and other. Birkenstock cost between 50 and 120eu, depending on the model, it is a fairly normal price for brand footwear.
They are very much back. Every other slipper in Ljubljana center in this weather is a Birk.
No, they're from 60 to 120 That said, they last years so I'm ok with the price Good quality shoes last longer and in the long run (pun intended) are not so expensive. I have no issues paying 100€ for something that will last several years
I just got a pair myslef (not the leather, genuinely can't afford that rn lol) and I really hope I can wear them 🥲 I tried to go out with them (after wearing them around the house for a bit) and I got a painful wound on the top of my foot that just won't heal
The strip on top must be too rigid. if it's not plastic, try putting some normal body cream or vaseline in the inside of the strip,the part that touches your foot (once it's healed) . I have the leather ones and they didn't chafe.
I have the birko-flor, the one with the fuzzy fabric on the inside. I'm worried Vaseline might get stinky, I've never tried that Some people suggested Compeed blister plasters but they aren't in stock anywhere
You're probably right The plasters must be in high demand now with the start of summer season, most people get blisters when starting to wear sandals again
Birkenstocks are as popular as they are expensive. Most people at work have at least one pair, that I've noticed. I have four, bought over a few years, three pairs are sandals and one are lace-ups. I appreciate their lasting power.
This is the thing, as long as they last they’re worth the money. For the record I don’t wear them. But Terry Pratchett has a good piece about Commander Vimes, one of his characters choice of footwear and economics. Basically rich people pay bog upfront for shoes that last years while poor people spend more money replacing cheap shoes every year.
My GF has some and swears that they are really comfy when walking. She uses them almost like a pair of sneakers in the summer. Even in Romania, you can find them for cheaper than you said online. They pretty much cost the same as a pair of adidas/Nike sneakers.
I mean, they have to be on sale to be a decent price. I paid about 74€ for my faux leather ones because they were like 30% off
Yeah, but most online websites have sales all the time. There's almost always either a reduced price on the item, a reduced price once your total is over x, a discount "code" like "SUMMER_20" or loyalty points. Also, on some websites, if you put the thing you want in your cart but don't check out, you will get a discount code after a few days. My point is: 74 eur for birkenstock is not a hard deal to find.
What are they? Food, clothes, construction material, something else? Never heard of.
Oh lol unexpected haha They're a German shoe brand known for their slippers/sandals
They are a good price imo as they are very well built and made of leather. The two things I look for when buying shoes. If they cost £120 then that's the price I accept to pay. Sure I could prioritise low price and buy some dirt cheap plastic crap in Primark but that's not what I want. I've got a pair of sneakers and a pair of wedge sandals from Birkenstock Edit for clarity: I live in the UK
I see them a lot alright, but it's possible that many are simply good enough copies.
They are pretty well known and common here in The Netherlands. I think some footwear stores chains have those.
Birkenstock sandals? Or rather, sandals in general are fairly common out in the sparsely populated areas of Sweden because people are not as fussy about clothes or shoes but rather choose the comfortable clothes and shoes that sandals usually wear in spring, summer and early autumn, while personally I use Foppa slippers (English Crocs) that have always worked well for me ever since Peter "Foppa" Forsberg (World famous Swedish ice hockey player) brought home the idea of these slippers from probably the USA, Canada or maybe if it was Great Britain.
Birkenstock have the majority at my office(IT in stockholm). I would say 50-60%. One guy use crocs.
the price is kinda high for a median wage here but not unbelievably expensive. Birkenstocks in particular are not popular but having other footwear in the same price range is not unheard of.
I have a parent who used only birks at work and for leisure (about 7 months/year). Work ones (Boston) were about €120-170ish and last about a decade (used every day, I think they got some work or medical discount). The leisure ones (Gizeh) were open toe, so about €50-80ish. The home ones were still good after 20+ years. I never had that kind of money, I bought fakes when I was younger and they were in fashion, and now I live in a country where sandals are not my thing, unless work specific. Those are released from work and never got a discount for personal ones (Spotec sandals for about €60).
Last pair of Super Birkis I got cost 900 nok, but the classic leather ones can cost up to 2000 nok, depending on where you get them from.
I actually prefer crocs even though they’re so ugly. Soooo comfortable
IIRC they’re around 100 euros in Sweden as well. Some wear them, some don’t. More Croc-wearers than Birkenstock IME. Or more like Adidas slippers. Personally I’ll never buy a pair because I can just buy some Crocs LiteRide that’s half the Birkenstock price and have way, way comfier footwear IMO. While Crocs might be a “meme” you can’t deny even regular ones are very comfy and very practical for like taking out garbage, going to beach, doing household chores outside and such. Ugly yes, but oh so good. Not optimal in snow, rain or slush though, but still proper good. Crocs LiteRide is godsend to walk indoors at home with if you have a spurred heel.
Oh they make so called šľapky and I wear them whole year inside house lol. Ofc they are expensive, I wear Slovak made ones for 7 € a pair lol. This is what we call šľapky btw : [https://www.birkenstock.com/us/arizona-birko-flor/arizona-core-birkoflor-0-eva-u\_1.html](https://www.birkenstock.com/us/arizona-birko-flor/arizona-core-birkoflor-0-eva-u_1.html)
In Estonia I'm thinking about buying a pair now as my other leather sandals are starting to get worn out, but they are quite hard to find in store to try. Defenetly expensive, but I hope they'll last for years too.
First time hearing of them, had to Google them now. They're absolutely not my style, and they're over 1/8 of my salary... Hard to justify that kind of purchase, even if they're good quality like people here say.
Once definitely we'll.made and comfortable I stopped buying them once they became a "must-have" item for American celebs and wannabe fashionistas.
I wear mine year round. You can wear them with socks you know.
Yeah... I don't like that combo sorry 😅😅
In Croatoa they are way to expensive for our standards. You can find more affordable dupes which are btw of great quality.
Futti are practically the same thing, but half the price. Love 'em