Birkenstock

London

Unisex

I got these for work at a restaurant. They are beautiful well made shoes as everyone else has said and the leather ages wonderfully, but the sizing is very very tricky if you are not used to birkenstocks or need a reality check on what position your feet should be in inside a shoe. This is my second pair of birkenstocks. My first were open toed Arizona sandals which I got in a 38, as I am 7.5 in sandals and usually an 8 in boots. All of my shoes are 7.5-8 regular width, although I am thin so my feet are kind of skinny (but not narrow in actual shape). In this shoe however, the 38 turned out to be too small, although I thought they fit great at first. After several wearings I could feel that the footbed was just not lining up with the contours of my foot and it was painful, I could feel the toe bar pressing on my fascia with no room for me to engage in this so called gripping motion, or room for warm socks. My foot felt like it was sitting too far back in the shoe. I thought, how is this possible as everyone says these run large and I got my true size? Well, I disagree that they run large if you are sizing for the actual footbed as you should (bc this is the most important part for comfort). For me, getting my "boot size" worked better. My advice is to focus on the placement of your foot on the footbed and notice how it moves and engages with the toe bar (if it presses the bottom of your foot it is too small), not how loose the shoe feels. When I read a review (or see someone in a shoe on the street) where you can clearly see they sized down in a birkenstock it just makes me cringe picturing their foot jammed in there putting pressure on all the wrong spots and destroying the cork before its time. I returned them for a 39 and the footbed feels great, while the shoe part is slightly loose (would fit better if I was a man or had more fat on my feet). As it is, I wear them with thick wool socks bc it is winter and the problem is mostly solved. Half sizes would be even better, or a size where the footbed is the same but the top part has less leather, like a slim version or something. The shoe is a CLOG however, and fits like one, I flip flop around but I don't slosh around IN them. For vanity considerations, yes they do make your feet look large but I think the elven quality is kind of charming. Plus, as my sister says, "why should we pretend our feet are smaller than they are?" If you work at a certain type of restaurant you may find it hard to pair them with your more girly outfits, I just go for skinny jeans and a blouse and embrace my inner euro hippy. Everything everyone says about Birkenstocks is true if you can find your correct size. Don't get narrow unless you are actually narrow, then your baby toes hit the edge and there should be a little space all around your foot. Better than Danskos, IMO (too restricting in toe area, no flexibility of the sole, can cause falls and bunions, baby your feet too much). PS this is Zappos! Order a million sizes and work it out, you are worth it!

As anyone knows, and who has had Birkenstocks before, your foot will "form" to the footbed of these shoes. WELL, it was obvious that the pair I received today had been worn previously because there were obvious TOE MARKS in both footbeds! Yuck...Absolutely disgusting and I'm very disappointed Zappos! I suggest you audit the department that inspects your shoes before shipping them out! Returning immediately and hesitant to order from Zappos again.

I love my Birkenstock clogs, but I wanted a winter shoe -- and London fits the bill. I bought the solid leather version and it's a very nice, warm brown color that is looking even nicer with wear. I don't know about the sizes listed: I wear 9s in most shoes, measured at a Birkenstock store as a 38, and bought a 39 (it was close, but looser felt better to me). I wear these all day at my job in a school library, and they (and I) still feel fantastic by the end of the day! I find that their somewhat plain looks go very well with either casual or slightly dressy clothes, and I even wear them with skirts. Great shoe!

Wow! Awesome shoes. I’ve never reviewed anything but here it goes. I’ve had Birk sandals and clogs and always wore a size 40 regular. Whatever you’ve read or heard about Birk sizing being on the small or large or wide side, ignore all of it! Before investing this kind of money I double checked my size. There are NO Birk retailers in my city so I went to the Birk website. They provide a size guide for you to print off and tape together and then measure your foot. It will measure both length and width. THE SIZING GUIDE ON THE BIRK WEBSITE IS EXTREMELY ACCURATE. I called them to verify that the guide is accurate for your FOOTBED SIZE. So in my case the guide measured me for a 41 regular instead of a 40. But the Birk site was out of my size in the black color. The first site they suggested for my purchase was Zappos. I asked about fakes and second hand products and the Birk company told me that they fully endorsed Zappos as an authorized retailer, but Zappos was the only one they endorsed like that. So I ordered from Zappos which was amazing. Put my order over the phone and the woman had me enter my card number on a recording instead of giving her the number because that is a Zappos policy to guard against credit card theft. Amazing service and super easy to use. She upgraded me to next day shipping and the shoes arrived next afternoon. Perfect Birk quality and the fit was amazing. All these years I’ve been wearing my Birks too small! I’ve attached a pic of the inside on my largest foot. You can see where your toes should stop on the footbed to still allow plenty of room for movement. I’ve been wearing them for a week and a half almost every day for around 14 hours a day. Typical Birks they were very stiff at first, VERY, but after a week of that much wear they finally started to break in. Now they are almost perfect and only need another few days. I also attached pics of their authenticity. A full “Birkenstock” on the buckle, embossed “Birkenstock” on the inner sole, accurate measurements on the footbed with matching numbers on both shoes. After I received them I noticed there was no toe bar? I called Birk to verify that the London DOES NOT HAVE A TOE BAR, so they are not fake. Also posted pic of the sole and they seem to be wearing fine. They are very easy to resole in the future. So, sizing guide from Birk is super accurate, Zappos is amazing and they are endorsed by Birk, quality of the shoe is top notch and comfort is better then even other Birk models. Spend the money and buy these shoes. Footbed fit is the most important aspect so GET IT RIGHT and everything else will be amazing. Good luck!

I own about eight pairs of Birkenstocks and I bought these because I wanted a pair with a closed back for clinic. I love them. I have tried a lot of comfort shoes and my favorites are Birks, Keens, and Earth shoes. The usual excellent arch support and wide toe box. The only thing would be that the back rubbed a little for the first two days, so just make sure you have longer socks, and the whole shoe was a bit loose after a couple of days, like it had stretched out. I normally wear a 39 regular for open toed Birks or 40 narrow for closed toed, and these were a 40 regular because I was unsure about the tightness at the back.