There Goes the Neighbourhood Clogs

Posted by Tiffany on April 2nd, 2010 3 Comments »

Åsa Westlund’s unique takes on the traditional clog have been around since 2005, years before the clog caught on again (and by the way, before Hasbeens too).

Despite this, There Goes the Neighbourhood is still a wonderful little secret just waiting to make it big.

They’re also the clogs I was most curious about.

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Åsa grew up in the middle of Dalarna, the area of Sweden best known for its arts and crafts. Like many of us, she didn’t appreciate everything her home town had to offer until she moved away.

In Åsa’s case this meant eight years of studying fashion and design in London, and then working for a top fashion house in Paris. She then returned to Sweden with a mission to breath new life into the clogs and traditional hand painted patterns of her childhood.

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I swooned over last year’s super cute lines, and I couldn’t wait to see what Åsa had come up with for her Spring 2010 collection. Above all I wanted to try out a pair for myself. Then finally one day my pair arrived!

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Fabulous, no?

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The wood sole is beautifully sculpted and the flower patterns are all hand painted by a woman in Dalarna. It is the same area that is home to the famous hand carved and painted Dala horses.

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So after all of this anticipation, how sad was I when my designated walk day was rainy and gray? Well I wasn’t going to subject pristine leather to that. So I took my walk indoors at one of my favorite places in the city: Japantown.

Japantown is the hub for the cute, the clever, the incredibly inspiring and the downright bizarre. It is the perfect place to explore, eat, and do a bit of impulse shopping.

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Of all of the clogs I have tried these past two weeks, these were my favorites. They were practical, and the hand painted patterns beautiful (resist the urge to keep looking down at your feet while walking). The flirty red soles are adorable. But above all they just seemed special. I wanted to put them on, I wanted to spend a day in them (and yes, I wanted to be seen in them too).

Get your pair of Spring 2010 There Goes the Neighbourhood clogs!

Find out how other Swedish clogs rated:


	• Troentorp Clogs
	• Calou Clogs
	• Swedish Hasbeens Clogs
	• Almost Danish/Maguba Clogs

3 comments on “There Goes the Neighbourhood Clogs”

P. Ling says:
April 15
hi, these clogs are very cute!!! it says ‘designed in sweden’- does that mean they are made in sweden? i am one of those who think it is very important to know where an item is from; i am a conscious buyer so would like to find out before i place an order. thanks a lot!

Tiffany says:
April 15
Hi P.Ling, so cute, right?!

We’ve forwarded your question on to Åsa and will let you know as soon as we find out.

Tiffany says:
April 22
hi again p.ling, here’s the skinny from Åsa:

“All shoes are painted by hand in Dalarna, Sweden by one woman.

Unfortunately the factories left in Sweden could not make my heels with their machines, so now I have a supplier in China who makes the shoe for me.”