The Birkenstock family of Bad Honnef, Germany has been caring While no shoe lasts a lifetime, with proper care and periodic repair Birkenstock can provide you with years of comfort. Here are some tips to keep your footwear looking good foryears to come. During the last decade of the 19th Century, Konrad Birkenstock designed the first flexible arch support that mirrored the shape of the foot. Karl Birkenstock took his family''s footbed concept a step further by introducing it as a sandal to the German market. Today Birkenstock fashionboot come in over 100 different styles, colours and textures. Birkenstock offers comfortable quality footwear in a wide and ever expanding array of styles and prices. While no shoe lasts a lifetime, with proper care and periodic repair Birkenstock® can provide you with years of comfort. Here are some tips to keep your footwear looking good for years to come. Avoid extreme heat If your Birkenstocks have cork footbeds, both the cork and the soles of Birkenstock® footwear can be damaged by exposure to concentrated heat. Do not leave your shoes in closed cars on warm days and keep then away from radiators and fireplaces. If your shoes become wet, allow them to dry slowly, away from direct heat. Birkenstocks with cork footbeds come with a light coating of cork sealant which prevents them from drying out. When the cork no longer looks shiny, apply a thin coat of Birkenstock® Cork Life.

Do these shoes mold to my feet? The Birkenstock footbed is made of resilient cork and latex that is precisly molded to create the fashionboot best possible enviroment for your feet. As you wear them, they actually adapt to your feet-and vice versa-which means fashionboot that the more fashionboot time you spend in Birkenstocks the more comfortable they become. Why do the straps feel so loose? Shouln''t they be tighter? Birkenstocks are meant to be worn loosely. Support comes from the footbed not tightly secured straps. Wearing them fashionboot loosly allows your feet to move naturally. It also improves circulation. Backstraps worn to tightly push the feet forward, preventing them from resting naturally in the footbeds. Why do the soles fashionboot feel so firm? Is there a break in period? Some people find Birkenstocks immediately comfortable. For others, it takes a few hours a day for a week or two to break them in. Although the shoes may feel ridgid at times, remember that the firm support is essential for the orthotic benifits of Birkenstocks. They will become more flexible with wear. The uppers will become more supple and the footbeds will adjust slightly to your feet. If your feet are unaccustomed to the contour footbed, start gradually. Wear your Birkenstocks no more than 1-2 hours a day for 7-14 days.

Polyurethane: This water-and-stain-resistant material is used to create our Birki® Clogs and some of our soles. It''s no wonder feet are happier in Birkenstocks.It''s shock absorbing, comfortable, and durable. EVA (Ethyl Vinyl Acetate): Softer and lighter than polyurethane, EVA is water and stain resistant, shock absorbing, and used to create our Birki Sport Clogs and most of our soles. I had given up hope of finding a shoe that would leave me pain free. As a teacher, I am on my feet all day; I realized after wearing my one pair of Birks sandals all summer that I hadn''t been in pain for 3 months! Needless to say, I have purchased fashionboot several pairs of clogs and shoes and that''s all I wear today! In fact, a Birkenstock is shaped like a healthy footprint. A foot in a Birkenstock is free to function the way a foot was meant to function. And that''sthe key to keeping feet healthy and comfortable. Our famous contoured footbed was designed to recreate the experience of walking barefoot on a gently yielding surface.

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