The Unlikely Return of Birkenstock
I have two pairs of Birkenstocks, a cheap foam pair and another cork leather one that I just got. I&#x27;ve been wearing them for the past year, even in the winter or in the rain.<p>My conversion followed from the thought of having sock-less shoes, mainly from the cathartic feeling of removing them after a long day. A cousin recommended me to get a pair of Allbirds; initially, I liked the material of the shoe but it still didn&#x27;t feel &quot;breathable&quot; (especially on a hot day in summer) and the wool began to rub my feet in a wrong way. This is in addition to the issue of build quality: the glue at the head of the shoe was visible, and also began to deteriorate; I&#x27;ve also had a friend whose Allbirds ripped during a session of basketball -- it lasted only a couple of months.<p>I&#x27;m not sure about how other people feel about this, but if a shoe or a sandal costs over $100, it should last at least for a year or two; I sincerely doubt that the difference between retail price and manufacturing cost is small enough to not cover a replacement 3 times over.<p>My issues with Allbirds stirred me to find a long-lasting, breathable pair of footwear. I don&#x27;t remember if it was seeing people on campus wear sandals, or hearing about the longevity about Birkenstocks on reddit that drove me to buying a cheap, &quot;test&quot; pair.<p>After test-driving a foam version, I decided to invest the mid-tier Arizona sandal (which I&#x27;m still wearing today).<p>Back to the main question, is the &quot;return&quot; of Birkenstocks unlikely. I don&#x27;t think so: the culture of the company seems to fit well with the demographics of millennials, who aren&#x27;t afraid to splurge on items with great story &#x2F; quality behind it.<p>And anecdotally, the first time I wore them outside, my friends jestingly compared my sense of fashion to a &quot;white, sorority girl&quot; (which I take to be an implication of their popular amongst college students).