Clogs from Sweden with Lotta's from Stockholm

I have been dithering over summer shoes for some time now, even though summer is nearly over... I really struggle to find comfortable sandals, ballet pumps that fit and shoes that don't shred my feet when I don't wear socks...

The idea of getting some vintage style Swedish clogs has been floating around and there are several brands available for varying prices but since I am waiting for my first pay check I felt a more budget friendly option was important. I came across Lotta's from Stockholm via their eBay shop which has pretty extensive stock but nowhere near as much as their online store.

I decided to buy a pair of red low heeled peep toe shoes to try out. They have featured in a few posts already (here and here) and to my surprise they turned out to be pretty comfortable once they were broken in, but they did take a few outings to soften the leather up and break them in. The low heel meant that the soul was also pretty comfortable and the orthopaedic sole means that my rubbish fallen arches were well supported. One little note on these shoes would be that they are quite big fitting, I usually take a size 40 and I ended up with a 39 in this style although you are well warned about this on their shop information.

I spoke briefly to the folks at Lotta's and they sent me a second pair to review free of charge! I decided to try out a different style so I chose the braided style in a higher heel and in that tan colour that goes with everything. I had to order a size bigger than the red style as they were a more average fit, however I will say that they took more breaking in than the red pair. The braids themselves were very tight when I first received them, but with some pulling and a bit of in house wearing they soon stretched to fit. They are less easy to walk in for long periods of time than the low heel but they're not too bad once you get used to wearing a heel. It probably isn't such a big deal if you're not a complete high-heel wuss like me!

All in all I'd say for this type of shoe Lotta's are pretty good value at half the price of some of the other brands. I can't speak too much on durability but I've been wearing them quite a bit for most of August and they seem to be still going strong!

Of course it wouldn't be a blog post without an outfit too! So here is the dress I wore my tan clogs with when I had the photos taken. It is from BHS but I have no idea when, it has shoulder pads which makes me think the 1980s, but the colours seem a bit off for that although I think the style looks quite 80s too. Anywho, I love this dress' pastel florals, it has an elasticated back but its so old the elastic has stretched indefinitely so I needed to re-sew pleats back into the back of the dress - I think I got away with it though :)

What shoes do you wear in the summer?