Birkenstock is most famous for sandals, no? So why do its laced shoes look as good as anything offered by its footwear peers? Answer: good taste just comes natural to Birkenstock.
The Birkenstock Utti sandal is a relatively new style in the German shoemaker's lineup, streamlining the concept of a slip-on moccasin to the sophisticated extreme, yielding a clean shape with shades of the Lutry clog, itself a mutation of the Zermatt (if this Birk nerdiness isn't doing it for you, I apologize but I simply cannot avoid getting into the minutiae).
But we're not talking about the Utti.
We're talking Birk's Utti Lace, a derby-style moc-toed laceup that turns the Utti into a trek-friendly Tyrolean shoe.
The result is a pleasantly appealing low-top equally elderly and urbane in both the grey and taupe suede iterations currently available on Birkenstock's website for $150 apiece.
Not bad for a brand better known for going laceless.
Of course, laced Birkenstocks aren't a novel concept. The company has long produced foot-friendly sneakers of surprising steeze and there are plenty of slick closed-toe Birkenstock shoe styles available at any given moment.
So a Birkenstock shoe isn't anything entirely unheard of. But the Utti Lace is unique in the sense that it's one of the few Birk shoes to come closest in appearance to Birkenstock's sandals, in terms of organic, granola-y grace.
It feels similar to the nifty Buckley loafer as a result, especially with that snub toebox.
And, like the Buckley, the Utti Lace can be worn barefoot in warmer weather. In fact, beyond its stylistic advancements, it's also a technical landmark: the Utti Lace is one of the few shoes other than the Honnef sneaker line to utilize Birkenstock's eco-conscious and quietly cushy Deep Blue Footbed.
Birkenstock's timing is on the money. There's a burgeoning demand for more interesting post-sneaker footwear styles, things that aren't quite loafers but aren't quite dress shoes.
Tyrolean-style shoes, with their comfortably spacious toeboxes and approachable low-top design, feel like the next cross-cultural evolution in footwear, and that's exactly where Birkenstock's Utti Lace shoe stands.
