About French clogs

The origin of the word French  Sabot that means Clog goes back to the 12th century and would be the combination of the words and savate (from the Arabic Sabbat for shoe) and bot (feminization of boot) as it applied to a ankle length shoe.
The images I have selected to illustrate this post are of Dutch wooden clogs because I find them so beautiful! Hope you will too.


The use of clogs spread like wildfire in the late 15th-early 16th century especially in the eastern, northern and western parts of France.

The making of clogs...

Shoes were then commonly called sabottes.
Clogs were worn by the rural populations for practical and obviously economic reasons as leather shoes were very expensive and could not be worn for working on the farm.

These clogs were made by machine and need to be finished by hand...

Clogs were traditionally made from birch, willow, beech or poplar, soft wood that are easy to work but are also very resistant. 
Once finished the clog was left to dry for several weeks before being put for sale.

Clogs left to dry...

Clogs were always be a size larger than the foot to allow for straw and later thick woolen socks to keep feet dry and warm.


 Farmers wore wooden clogs about until the mid 20th century when cheaper materials came up on the market and allowed for large scale manufacture.



Wearing clogs has never really stopped but they are now found in various forms and colours and in plastic. 
Fortunately there is a very clear return to traditional products and wooden clogs are becoming fashionable.


The French seem to follow the example of the Dutch that produce wonderful painted wooden clogs that could almost be considered works of art. French clogs were never painted as they were more considered for their practical use than their aesthetic.



Reminder: The images I have selected to illustrate this post are of Dutch wooden clogs because I find them so beautiful! Hope you will too.

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